Ursinus Intro Ethics Blog - Section B

One thing that occurred to me when reading about Daoism is the seeming incompatibility with working for social justice. I am going to discuss examples from the text that led to this concern. First of all, knowledge is viewed negatively and "becoming a child" is best. It seems impossible to work for social justice while living in ignorance and not seeking knowledge of the experiences of others. Secondly, "When a man who wishes to reform the world takes it in hand, I perceive that there will be no end to it" and "Whoever makes destroys; whoever grasps loses (159)" suggest that acting to change something in particular with a goal in mind is bad. This seems to call for acting in response to things, but never towards a particular end and never putting thought into planning or accomplishing any goals. Further, working for social justice involves active courage, which is explicitly condemned in the Dao De Jing. Courage which "is expressed in daring will soon meet death" and "whose courage is shown in self-restraint will be preserved." I think it is impossible to bring about social change by restraining oneself from taking actions that one finds necessary.