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A Philosophy For All: An Analysis of the Tao


There is no single definition of Taoism in the Tao de Ching. The reader
realizes that she will not find one in the text after seeing the first sentence.
By saying that whatever can be described of the Tao is not the true Tao, its
author, Lao-tzu, establishes his first premise: the Tao is a force beyond human
explanation. However this assumption does not mean that he can't attempt to
describe it. Using the literary tools of contradiction, parallel structure, and
metaphor, Lao-tzu discusses the Tao in language regular people can understand.

Contradiction

In the beginning the Tao gave birth to both good and evil (Ch 5) and along with
that came all of the other pairs. In Chapter 36 Lao-tzu discusses action and
reaction,

"If you want to shrink something,
you must first allow it to expand.
If you want to get rid of something,
you must first allow it to flourish.
If you want to take something,
you must first allow it to be......

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Approximate Word Count: 1227
Approximate Pages: 5 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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