Taoism

Taoism
Indigenous to China,
Taoism represents the
Chinese counterculture (Yo,
1995). They champion
individuality and individual
freedom. Taoism dislike a
hierarchical view of the self,
society, or cosmos.
• Unlike confucianism, Taoism
does not regard the self as
an extension of and defined
by social relationships. The
self is but one of the
countless manifestations of
the Tao or universe.
• The ideal self is selfless, he
or she becomes a sage in
tranquality, and a king in
activity (Yo 1995). Through
self-transformation a selfless
person lives a balance life
coherent with nature and
society.
• Tao and Te
• Tao (dao) and te (de) are central
concept of Taoism. Tao (meaning
“The Way”) has been described as
“the divine way of the universe” and
the “unproduced producer of all that
is.” Te is the power of Tao and the
power to bring Tao into realization. It
incorporates. It incorporates the
belief that human interference is
damaging.
 • Taoist View of the Self

The self is actually manifestation of Tao

• Subject and object and self and other
are canceled in the oneness of Tao
• This negation of the duality doesn’t
imply the undifferentiating between
the self and others, but refers to no
fixed ideas of the self by giving a total
freedom to the total identity, which
allows the interpenetration and
interfusion between the two polarities.
(Chen,2013,100)