Final Exam Taoisim
Answer the following four essay questions, using the Tao Te Ching, class materials, the key concepts (wu wei, the idea of balance and harmony, the 10,000 things (the “flux”), yin/yang, the Tao, images such as water or fire or wood. These ideas are discussed in the Short Commentary:
file:///C:/Users/Dcroc/AppData/Local/Temp/Temp1_Short%20Commentary%20on%20Taoist%20Ideas.html.zip/Short%20Commentary%20on%20Taoist%20Ideas.html (This is the short commentary)
If you use a website, be sure to take notes and do not cut and paste. Use your own words. Each of the four answers should be at least 1 page long, typed. Submit your answers in one document (not 4) to Dropbox no later than the Final Exam deadline identified on your Schedule or the Dropbox.
Each answer should be at least one typed page and if you quote the chapter of the Tao Te Ching that would be a separate page from your answer except as you quote passages form the Tao Te Ching inside your philosophical discussion answering the question.
1. Choose any chapter/stanza from the Tao Te Ching and show how the lines (be specific) and perspective of that chapter illustrate the value of wu wei. Be sure to explain the idea of wu wei, using the Comments and lecture slides provided.
2. Choose another chapter from the Tao Te Ching and show how the lines and perspective of that chapter illustrate the meaning of the yin/yang principle, as represented in this yin/yang symbol of the Tao:
3. A former Dean of Arts and Sciences at Jackson State had this quotation from the Tao Te Ching on her door:
“It is wisdom to know others; it is enlightenment to know one’s self.” Lao Tsu Tao Te Ching Explain the meaning of this quotation, considering all eight lines of this chapter/stanza from the Tao Te Ching? What chapter/stanza is this? Use concrete examples to clarify the meaning of this idea that self-knowledge is “enlightening.”
4. How would you explain Taoism to someone who is unfamiliar with Eastern Philosophy in general, and Taoism in particular? Use one or two chapters from the Tao Te Ching to clarify and illustrate your explanation.
Use Tao Te Ching ISBN: 9780679724346 for source if possible.
The lecture slides mentioned above are linked.
