Taoism is the philosophy/religion responsible for acupuncture, feng shui, the popular yin and yang symbol. Out of all major religions it’s probably the one least often discussed and understood. Taosim has never got as much attention from the West as Buddhism, but there are notable exceptions, ranging from anarchists like Peter Kropotkin who noted that Laozu was among the earliest proponents of essentially anarchist concepts to science fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin.
The most important Taoist principles are inaction, simplicity and living in harmony with nature. Taoist philosophical principle rested on a belief in the law of unity of the two opposite forces: yin and yang. In many ways, Taoism is a paradoxical religion because it doesn’t tell its followers what to do, but rather not to do anything and find their own way (tao). In fact, Taoism is an anti-religion in many ways. Lao Tzu says
- We shouldn’t listen to any authority except our inner voice
- We should do away with all morality and people will be good
- We should do away with money and all people will be rich
- Religious rites are a sign of an evil world
A lot of what is written in the Tao Te Ching may seem merely paradoxica and non-sensicall. Here are some excerpts.
For those who practice not-doing,
everything will fall into place.
Forget about knowledge and wisdom, and people will be a hundred times better off. Throw away charity and righteousness, and people will return to brotherly love. Throw away profit and greed, and there won't be any thieves.
The Tao of the universe
does not compete, yet wins;
does not speak, yet responds;
does not command, yet is obeyed;
and does act, but is good at directing.
The Tao of Heaven nourishes by not forcing.
The Tao of the Wise person acts by not competing.
All in all, Lao Tzu’s advice doesn’t seem to be sound if it makes sense at all. His “go with the flow” philosophy may lead to homelessness rather than what people understand a successful life. However, that is exactly the point. Lao Tzu believed that people had become corrupted and they had to “unlearn” their cultural heritage in order to find the way. If we try to pinpoint him on Solomon Schwartz’s system of universal values it isn’t very hard to find where his values are located.
Lao Tzu’s values are
- Self choice
- Openness,
- Caring (pacifism)
- Nature
And he is generally against
- Materialism
- Conformism
- Tradition
- Rules
- Power
I have argued that these values are hunter-gatherer and farmer values, respectively. We can understand Lao Tzu’s philosophy as the reaction of a forager mind growing up in a farmer society. How did he arrive at his insights? He himself writes that he arrived at them via introspection, by looking inside himself. And he was probably extremely good at understanding himself, understanding that his mind was not programmed for the kind of farmer society he had been born into.
Reading the Tao Te Ching from this perspective makes a lot of sense. Lao Tzu is not impartial to which side people should choose, yin (forager) or yang (farmer). His preference is yin, the feminine/forager side of life:
Know the masculine, but keep to the feminine: and become a watershed to the world. If you embrace the world, the Tao will never leave you and you become like a little child.
For more on the hunter-gatherer neurotribe check out my book:
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