I have a copy of the Tao Te Ching, from during my days of interest in Eastern philosophy. Interesting poetry, but far too vague - much as Taoism is. It is this ambiguity which I've seen far too many people take advantage of, for the sake of their own whim-worships, arbitrary premises and evasions of reality. This is a prevalent theme in all of mysticism, as I've observed. In the absence of erudition, clarity and definition, people are prone to mining such "mystery" for ores of intellectual onanism, rather than thinking in a vacuum or simply looking at the facts at hand, and admitting that there is inadequate knowledge.
After getting to know several people who've professed a love for Taoism as their ruling philosophy [all of whom were Westerners], I am deeply in agreement with Ed Thompson's views that Taoism is anti-man/anti-life. Or, at the very least, the nature of the philosophy is such that it fosters anti-life behaviors in those who seek refuge from constant assault under reality. But having inspected numerous Taoistic writings, I am heavily inclined with the former assertion. There is a kind of attitude that I gather from Taoistic teachings which has led me to think that Taoism advocates something which I refer to as "Animal Objectivity".
Animal objectivity can be described as a state of being whereby one has renounced the fullest use of their mind in favor of minimal use of it, so as to drift along with the path of "least resistance". It is such a state, where one simply exists at the lowest, simplest and rudimentary level to the extent that is humanly possible; whereby the result is the reduction of one's life to the perceptually-given. The Western-equivalent to this, is known as Pragmatism. Taoism, as I perceive it, is indifferent from any other form of mysticism in the respect that it advocates the abandonment of the mind. Essentially, and ultimately, as I see it, Taoism proposes that we all revert to that which we've spent centuries upon centuries of struggling, enduring, and efforts to evolve from. Indeed, it is anti-life, in my opinion.
Having said that, I'd like to mention that there are some redeemable aspects of Taoism - or rather Taoistic teachings I've read. The first that comes to mind is that Taoism is an Atheistic philosophy. In fact, I have a book on my shelf, called "365 Tao", and on page 211, the opening statement is:
Those who follow Tao declare that there is no evidence that a god created our world. They have not found any empirical proof, and they cannot accept the idea philosophically.
That statement alone garners much respect from myself, for such honesty. Then after that statement, the author takes a total 180 degree turnaround, and begins describing what qualities a "god" would need in order to qualify as a philosophically acceptable premise. Long story short: the author's verdict seems to be that existence = god. Whether this is a glaring contradiction or simply an assertion that requires highly sophisticated reasoning that is compatible with the primacy of existence, is uncertain, but I optimistically lean towards the latter.
Aside from the Atheistic qualities of Taoism, there is also the somewhat redeeming aspect of simplicity and sincerity - which to the untrained, indiscriminate or naive mind, can make it a rather attractive philosophy. I caution 'somewhat', because as we all know, there are many actions which can be quite 'sincere' but in effect, devastating due to contradictory premises. By that same token, there are quite a few actions which may seem harsh, but in reality, are benevolent.
In conclusion: Taoism is an ancient philosophy, and as such, it carries the ancient premises [traditions, ideas, beliefs, etc.] which are often archaic, out-dated, misunderstood and unnecessary by today's standards. Stagnation is never conducive to evolution. I'd recommend the philosophy to one who is simply interested in weeding out the good from the bad; separating the wheat from the chaff. But I would not advise it to any misguided, naive or well-to-do human who wishes to adopt, learn or master a philosophy that is consistent with reality, his identity, life, goals, and purpose.
I'll wrap this up with a link to one of the best articles I've read in the time I've spent here, titled "The Past of Most Resistance", by Joseph Rowlands - especially since it is in contradistinction to Taoist teachings.
http://rebirthofreason.com/Articles/Rowlands/The_Path_of_Most_Resistance.shtml
(Edited by Warren Chase Anspaugh on 6/08, 9:43am)
(Edited by Warren Chase Anspaugh on 6/08, 9:48am)
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