Jester O. Claro Dr. Jane D.

Gallamaso

Philo 6 – Chinese Philosophy

In application of Chuang Tzu’s: The Usefulness of the useless: in the Promotion of

Children’s Rights in the Philippines

Introduction

Unlike the adult, matured, and response-able human person, any and every infant is

born without a sense of responsibility that is burdened upon them yet. In a common

observation, it can be understood that an infant cannot actively participate in the avenue of

work and future-building of the human life; not only infants but also school-aged children

cannot take responsibility even to take care of themselves because they still need their parents

that would nourish and nurture them physically and mentally. This is considered as a

problem in most, if not, some people who do not really care for the sanctity of human life that

starts from conception. Such people who are inconsiderate of placing rights to children or

who do not see the worth in every child can be detected as one of the issues that the

Philippine society is facing right now. Although there are some countries that legalize child

labor and abortion, it is not moral and/or ethical in the lens of Chuang Tzu – promoting the

rights of every child and appreciating their contributive aspects. The Filipino people and its

government seem to be following the principles of Chuang Tzu’s Useless Tree when it comes

to protecting the rights of children and combating oppression, defending the weak and

helpless children.

The Useless Tree

Chuang Tzu, in the passage The Useless Tree1, refutes Hui Tzu in his idea of

disregarding what is considered as useless to man or what is non-beneficial to man and only

1
https://ando.life/journal/the-useless-tree
concerning that which is practical or serviceable. The story begins in the description of a

useless, crooked and old tree that seems to be rooted on beside the road by Hui Tzu. The

reason for its label as a “stinktree” is that no one can benefit from it even “a straight plank”

and its branches cannot even be cut down in a desired shape because of its crookedness. It is

useless that no carpenter or any other person intends to look at it – Hui Tzu compares this to

Chuang Tzu’s teaching and described it as “big and useless.” In turn, Chuang Tzu counters

Hui Tzu in saying that if the useless tree is planted in the wilderness, then rest on its shadows

and walk around it, one can then finally see its importance.

The carpenter's perspective in this tale is, to use modern, Western language,

Utilitarian. The carpenter views a tree as nothing more than a space waster, regardless of its

size or if it is revered. There is no benefit to the tree's existence. The tree feels fortunate

despite being useless because it lives while other, more "useful" trees are either destroyed by

such violence or cut down to be used as firewood. Chuang Tzu makes the fundamental idea

that a tree's very existence is spared by its being worthless, while its fellow trees that produce

things of utility are killed, in an eccentric and amusing way. In other words, when we just

consider anything in terms of how beneficial it is, we are denying it the freedom to be.2

Linkage to the Great and Small

In the context of an entity considered as whether useful or useless, The Useless Tree

can also be linked to the passage of the Great and Small wherein there is some kind of a

gradation in understanding, meaning that there seems to be no greater or smaller thing than

everything else. Therefore, one reaches a level from which distinctions that once seemed to

be of the utmost importance become less significant; thus, the distinction between the great

and the small. With regard to this contrast, Chuang Tzu asserts that the small cannot surpass

2
https://iai.tv/articles/uselessness-as-life-affirmation-a-daoist-reflection-auid-1217#:~:text=Zhuangzi's
%20story%20of%20a%20useless,more%20to%20life%20than%20utility.
the great: small thinking that stays contained and restricted by its bounds cannot compete

with expansive understanding that ventures beyond. While it is true that the great loses sight

of distinctions that the small observe, this does not imply that they become equal as a result.

Since the small cannot return the favor due to its small size, the great still loves the small by

virtue of their shared magnificence.3

Application

Chuang Tzu's useless tree is realized in real life due to the efforts of the responsible

people. There are youngsters who have not yet grown beyond infancy and who do not yet

meet societal expectations for achievement or productivity. But as Chuang Tzu points out,

even things that seem useless can contain value. If people insist on measuring things

according to their typical standards of worth, they may utterly miss their worth. The fact that

this tree served no purpose and was unwelcome is precisely what kept it safe. Thus, it stayed

uncut, worthless, old and old, living according to its actual essence of being a useless tree.

However, to be useless is to be empty, without any desire to improve oneself or to achieve

something special. Like a child, being useless simply means to unwind, take things easy, and

let our genuine character show itself in a straightforward manner – there is nothing to do, be,

or achieve.

Now, in connection to the issue on children’s rights, many people in the right age

seem not taking seriously how significant is the keeping of dignity of children themselves.

As a solution, implying the aid of Chuang Tzu, the children which are considered small

because of their lack of contribution to the masses, should be taken care of by the matured

ones who are considered as great. This, then, leads to the realization of their rights, for the

children are inherently not useless themselves. In fact, not only that children give joy to their

parents or relatives, but they also have wisdom of their own based from what they see or
3
https://iep.utm.edu/zhuangzi-chuang-tzu-chinese-philosopher/
think or feel – such wisdom is or can be inculcated to the matured ones – that teaches them to

be patient and more responsible. In addition to having specific rights that take into account

their unique needs, children and adolescents also enjoy the same fundamental rights as adults.

Children are neither the parents' property nor the dependent recipients of charitable

donations; they are people with rights because they are people.4

Philippine Context

Taking this teachings of Chuang Tzu into the societal level, particularly in the

Philippines’ small communities that are commonly known as barangays, the promotion of

children’s rights is being uplifted by one of the leading protection groups such as the

Barangay Council Protection of Children (BCPC), which safeguards and protects the rights of

every child such as education and their other physical/emotional/mental/psychological needs.

But it is encouraged that the promotion of human rights must begin first and foremost at

home, avoiding abuse in any form that may diminish their dignity and right to live. Despite of

all this, it cannot be denied that there are Filipino children and their families who continue to

encounter obstacles that jeopardize their human rights and the advantages of development,

notwithstanding overall improvements and the Philippine Government's ongoing efforts.

As of the present, there is an ongoing denial of child rights. As a result of violence,

thousands of children in the Philippines are deprived of their childhood and face

developmental obstacles for the rest of their lives. In their lifetime, 80% of Filipino children

had encountered violence in some manner, whether at home, in the classroom, at work, in the

neighborhood, or even while dating, according to the Philippine National Baseline Study on

Violence Against Children.5 Some of these cases took place in the form of sexual and

4
https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention/child-rights-why-they-matter#:~:text=Every%20right%2C
%20for%20every%20child.&text=Children%20and%20young%20people%20have,subject%20of%20their
%20own%20rights.
5
https://www.worldvision.org.ph/campaigns/child-rights-history-facts-how-to-protect-them/#:~:text=It
%20sets%20out%20the%20rights,age%20and%20stage%20of%20development.
psychological abuse, experience of bullying among peers, physical and cyber violence, and

not being able to access barangay or community services that protect and promote their

rights. In the global context, millions of children are forced into labor, subjected to participate

in violent movements, etc.

Conclusion

In the passage of Great and Small, Chuang Tzu highlights the most important thought

which serves as a reminder to all: “All creatures have gifts of their own. But in bright day it

stares, helpless, and cannot even see a mountain. All things have varying capacities.” 6 This

includes especially children, not because it is imposed to us that we must see through their

importance or make something up that would fabricate their existence, but because of dignity

that would take into account the dignity of the whole human race. The children may be

likened to that of a useless tree, beings that are utterly free of any form of abusive intentions

of people, yet beings of great importance. They may not discover their purpose in the

present, but they have the power to determine their future.

It may be impossible to change how humans perceive usefulness in the future. At the

very least, Zhuangzi's tale of a pointless tree aids in the rediscovery of a place for

pointlessness. It offers an alternate perspective on freedom, challenging us to let go of our

constant need to serve others or our belief that life is merely about utility. 7
The damaging

features of the tyranny of usefulness in Philippine modern culture need to be contested,

especially when the discussion is on the deliberation of human, particularly children rights.

6
Chuang-Tzu, and Thomas Merton. The Way of Chuang Tzu Compiled by Thomas Merton. London (40 Museum
St., W.C.1): Unwin Books, 1970, 87-88.
7
https://iai.tv/articles/uselessness-as-life-affirmation-a-daoist-reflection-auid-1217#:~:text=Zhuangzi's
%20story%20of%20a%20useless,more%20to%20life%20than%20utility.