Confucianism And Daoism Essay Example

"a man should study himself and be well aware of the path he is following, interfering as less as possible in the things and actions which surround him."(Confucianism and Daoism)

Taoists believe in a Natural Law where the world should be allowed to go on without distractions. "Do not be disturbed, do not be frightened; all things will clarify themselves. Do not be upset, do not be startled; all things will order themselves."(Cleary 39) Rather than disturbing the balance of nature, or being themselves disturbed by things beyond their control, they allow nature to take on its own order and find peace in that setting.

A difference in self-knowledge can be determined between the two philosophies. Confucianism teaches the idea of spending more time with society learning everything you can so you can judge good from bad and promote virtue. Daoism gives a different view of self-knowledge. It promotes the belief that there is more to the world than can be studied. It says that human judgements and teachings can be flawed by lack of understanding the whole worldly picture. Instead, one should go about life with the concept of "wu-wei"(non purposeful action) which allows nature to show humans their ideal "path".

Nature does not play as big of a role in Confucianism in development as it does for Daoism. Confucianism deals more with your learnings from society and strive for the ideal of a "gentleman" or "perfect man". One thing that is said to be determined by nature is that Confucius never stated whether man was born good or evil, noting that "By nature men are similar; by practice men are wide apart"(Lun Yu).

Daoism has everything to

do with nature. It plays the most important role in human development and knowledge . It states that humans should help everything grow according to its own way and should cultivate the way of no-action and let nature be itself. The Dao Te Jing says: "Humanity follows the Earth, the Earth follows Heaven, Heaven follows the Dao, and the Dao follows what is natural." Daoists therefore obey the Earth. The Earth respects Heaven, Heaven abides by the Dao, and the Dao follows the natural course of everything.

Daoism uses art in many ways in its theory. Symbols like the yin and yang are found in flags and logos, on temple floors, or stitched into clothes. Square or triangle flags can be seen flying near Daoist temples for reasons such as to provide guidance, bring good fortune, and increase life span. Also things like chinese dragons and phoenixes made from colored ceramic tiles and a pearl between two dragons can be seen on many Daoist temples.

Confucianism and Daoism are very different in many way and can sometimes be called opposites. Their are a few broad similarities that are hard to distinguish. One relies more on learning from society and the other tries to push society out of the way and let nature take its course in self-development.