Lao Tzu's philosophy with regards to the way he perceives the philosophical problem is that it concerns to the natural order or natural way of things.
Lao Tzu perceives the problem as the absence of the Tao. Lao Tzu further broken down the problem as the absence of natural harmony and harmfulness of knowledge and desire. Both of the presented problems are not in accordance to the natural way of things. In the two, he said that it lacks the presence of harmony of the things, thus it lacks the Tao.
The lacking of harmony, according to Lao Tzu, creates a natural disorder. Having a disorder in the natural order or way of things is not natural in nature. It only depicts that there is the absence of the Tao which governs it.
Because of the absence of the Tao, it affected not only an individual but also the society. Different societal concerns are starting to emerge as symptoms of the problem. Some examples are poverty, rebelliousness, and violence. Since the Tao is not revealing itself, some people are driven out of the way and creates temporary solutions to these societal problems. Since the solutions are temporary and only addressed the symptoms and not the problem itself, the presented solutions does not stand that long. It does not last. Lao Tzu argues that the solution to the problem must not be rooted on the symptoms of the problems, not to the society but to nature itself. The Tao is a natural phenomenon that affects the people because it is the ideal way that should govern the society. The Tao therefore is not found in the boundaries of the society but to nature itself.
The absence of the Tao can also be seen through the desires of a men to know and to own. When one has gained knowledge, he defines it using its opposite. It is as if the definition cannot stand without the other. With this case, the man makes distinctions of things which is not according to the natural order of things. Making distinctions only creates disorder which again is not natural in nature. Nature is always in harmony with each other and if there is a created distinction, there is also division among things which disrupts the harmony of things.
Having too much ambition and desire can also disrupt the natural harmony and natural order of things. When one wanted to have something, he will do anything just to get it. He pushes his self more than his natural pace leading him to stress and anxiety. The stress and anxiety are only symptoms to the person's problem which is the absence of the Tao. Since there is an absence in the person's life, he finds ways to fill that space with desires that sometimes disrupts the harmony in things.
The absence of the Tao makes the people look for possible solutions but the problem there is that the people were not able to see that the problem is the absence of the Tao. Because of this, they look for alternative problems which are the ones that is seen in the society. These problems, as what I have said, are only symptoms of the real problem. Since the people only recognized these symptoms, these are the only one that they addressed to. These problems will keep on recurring until the absence of the Tao is solved. It is like patching the tire all the time without noticing the thinness of it which was the real problem.
Lao Tzu argues that the people must recognize that the real problem is not within the society but is in nature itself. Recognizing this will make them look for solutions that are not for and from the society but to the nature. The absence of the Tao is a natural phenomenon and nature promotes natural order, way or harmony of things. When this problem is satisfied, there would be no such thing as disorder.
No comments:
Post a Comment