Philosophy High School Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Philosophy High School - Essay ExampleThis is usually translated as the Way. But its hard to say exactly what this means. The Tao is the ultimate creative dominion of the universe. All things be unified and connected in The Tao. Taoism is a religion of unity and opposites Yin and Yang. The principle of Yin Yang sees the world as filled with complementary forces - put through and non-action, lighting and dark, hot and cold, and so on.3The common view of Daoism is that it encourages people to live with detachment and calm, resting in non-action and smiling at the vicissitudes of the world. Contrary to this common view, Daoists through the ages have substantial various forms of community and proposed numerous sets of behavioral guidelines and texts on ethical considerations. Beyond the ancient philosophers, who are well-known for the moral dimension of their teachings, religious Daoist rules cover some(prenominal) ethics, i.e., the personal values of the individual, and morality, i.e., the communal norms and social values of the organization. They range from basic moral rules against killing, stealing, lying, and sexual misconduct through suggestions for altruistic thinking and models of social fundamental interaction to behavioral details on how to bow, eat, and wash, as well as to the unfolding of universal ethics that teach people to think like the Dao itself. About 80 texts in the Daoist canon and its supplements describe such guidelines and present the ethical and communal principles of the Daoist religion. They document just to what degree Daoist realization is based on how one lives ones manner in interaction with the community-family, religious group, monastery, state, and cosmos. Ethics and morality, as well as the creation of community, emerge as central in the Daoist religion.Livia Kohn, Cosmos and CommunityTaoist ethics are concerned less with doing good acts than becoming a good person who lives in harmony with all things and people.4 Taoist e thics are inseparable from Taoist spirituality - both contain the same ideas. If a Taoist wants to live well they should take all their decisions in the context of the Tao, exhausting to see what will fit best with the natural order of things. Taoists thus always do what is required by events and their context, but they only do what is required, no more.But what is required may be a lot less than modern Westerners thinkFrom the perspective of classical Taoism, Western humanism makes the mistake of assume that the ability to intervene in lifes events translates into a moral profession to do so.The constant and unmistakable teaching of the Tao Te Ching is that humans are indeed equal to(p) of intervening in lifes events, but the evidence of life, which humans constantly ignore, is that such intervention is destructive to all involved, and that we therefore have a moral duty to refrain from taking such actions.Russell Kirkland, Responsible non-action in a natural worldSo, in theory at least, Taoists tend not to initiate action - but wait for events to make action necessary - and avoid letting their own desires and compulsions push them into doing things. In practice Taoism recommends the same sorts of moral behavior to its pursuit as other religions. It disapproves of killing, stealing