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Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Oil Price Drops on Oversupply

Oil Price Drops on OversupplyBy STEVE AUSTIN for OIL-PRICE.NET, 2014/10/06


In June of 2014 the Brent Crude Oil Price hit $115 per barrel and many oil market insiders were predicting higher prices. Other analyst however, called a peak, and their predictions proved to be correct. By the beginning of October 2014, the Index dropped to $95 and predictions of further falls down to $90 or even $80 hold sway. What changed?

Panic

Back in June, the world suddenly became aware of the Muslim fundamentalist group called IS. This band of revolutionaries threatened to disrupt Iraq's oil output, just as that country was beginning to open the taps and sell to the world. OPEC's estimates of world demand for oil showed that the loss of Iraq's output would produce a large shortfall in supply. When supply cannot meet demand, prices rise. However, that simplistic view ignored many other factors that were coming into play in the oil market. Speculators talked the market up and encouraged panic buying. That panic pricing lasted long enough for those insiders heavily stocked with oil futures to offload them on the general public.

Fracking

Hydraulic fracturing in the United States has redrawn the geo-political map and fundamentally altered the oil market. The United States was and still is the world's largest consumer of oil. Back in 2005, the US had to import 60 per cent of its supplies from abroad. That demand boosted the coffers of oil suppliers and made the control of major oil producing regions vital to US economic stability and so central to American foreign policy. By 2014, however, the USA only needs to import 30 per cent of its oil consumption. As fracking increases domestic production, the USA will switch from being a net importer to a net exporter of oil and that will change the world's political alliances forever.

Crisis

The insurgency in Iraq dominated the world's headlines through the summer and into the fall of 2014. News reporters gasped as IS seized control of larger and larger areas of the recently liberated oil producing country. These reports lit a fuse under the oil price, but those price rises were generated through selective blindness. Anyone reading the whole newspaper on their commute to the city would have realised that IS controls the central region of Iraq and eastern parts of Syria. All of Iraq's oil is in the Shia-populated southern Basra region of Iraq and the Kurdish region in the north of Iraq. IS has imposed a rule of terror across vast tracts of desert in the only region of Iraq that has little oil.

Need and Greed

Predictions of IS curtailing Iraqi oil sales overlooked a fundamental flaw in the organization and its leaders. IS needs money, and its leaders like luxuries. The declared "Caliph" (Muslim Pope) of the group drew ridicule across the world on his first appearance in video on Western news slots by sporting a $5,000 Omega watch. IS controlled a small oil field in Northern Syria, and, after taking over Mosul in Northern Iraq, got access to more. Far from shutting down production, IS cranked up sales by offering bargain basement prices. IS does not have access to international markets, however, and so their low sales price stolen oil cannot be counted as a factor behind the recent fall in the Brent Crude Index.
IS sells its oil in Turkey and smuggles it over the border. Turkey, NATO's second largest military power and ally of the United States, seems to frequently get away with flouting NATO's Middle Eastern strategy. The country was also found to be sanction busting during the embargo on Iran, but faced no punishments from the US. Opposition politicians within Turkey, however, are not so willing to turn a blind eye - Ali Ediboglu, of the Republican People's Party recently drew the world's attention to Turkey's back-door support of IS through oil purchases. IS oil sales now account for about 3.5 per cent of Turkey's oil supply, which is not a significant portion of the world market.

Oil Supply

The fall in oil prices have been predicted since the middle of 2013. Three significant factors were clearly visible a year ago and these movements were bound to lower prices because of greater supply of oil. The end of the US-led embargo on Iran automatically presaged a glut in oil supply. Iran took America's blows on the chin as it attempted to develop a nuclear deterrent. However, the financial embargo on that country left its economy in tatters. Iranian blustering folded and they shelved their nuclear program. Iran's extreme need for cashmeant that it would inevitably pump out as much oil as physically possible no matter how low their actions sent the oil price. Libya suffered a lot of damage to its oil infrastructure during the overthrow of Gadaffi three years ago. However, all that damage has been repaired and now Libya is back in business. Like Iran, Libya is desperate for cash and will sell as much oil as it can no matter how low the oil price goes. Fracking in the US is the third element that has increased oil supply. Although increases in US oil production were predicted, no one foresaw the great leap in production seen this year.

Oil Demand

Recessions reduce the demand for fuel and raw materials for industrial production; booms, increase demand. Since 2008, when the Western world collapsed into recession, growth in China has kept demand for oil at steady levels. As the developed world recovered around 2011, the extra demand placed upward pressure on the price of oil and gas. In 2011, a tsunami caused the Japanese nuclear power plant at Fukushima to go into meltdown. Japan closed down all its nuclear power plants and reopened its mothballed oil-, gas- and coal-fired power stations. This factor placed enormous pressure on the world's fuel supplies keeping prices for all three power sources buoyant. However, this demand suddenly evaporated in July 2014 when Japan reopened all its nuclear power plants. Prices of coal and gas were the first to plummet and only the panic over IS managed to stave off the fall in oil prices for a short period. By the beginning of September 2014, it became clear that industrial production in Japan, Germany, France and China had started to fall. The expansionary phase of the world's economic cycle is coming to an end and recession is on the horizon again. Demand for oil had a sudden fall with the reopening of Japan's nuclear program and there is no growth in the world to take up the slack. Demand for oil will not rise again until the economic cycle returns to growth – an event that is unlikely within the next four years.

Prospects

Increased production from Libya, the USA, Iran, and even Iraq means that oil supplies greatly increased through 2014. The Japanese nuclear program and the onset of worldwide recession mean that demand has plummeted. Thus, a fall in the oil price in unavoidable. The only event that will avert a fall in the oil price is a cut in production.
OPEC is a club of oil producers that was formed to control oil prices through varying supply. Its twelve members include Libya, Iran and Iraq, who are unlikely to volunteer to reduce their production. Algeria is another member and that country suffered destruction of its infrastructure at the same time as Libya. Algeria has also repaired its pipelines and come back to the market this year and they will not give up their only source of funds to repay all those repair costs. Nigeria and Venezuela need every cent they can get their hands on to fund expensive riot control in the face of their discontented starving populations. The United Arab Emirates are still paying their way out of the debt created by a collapsed property boom and so they are unlikely to vote for lowering production. Therefore, seven of the twelve members of OPEC are unlikely to vote for a cut in production. Of the remaining suppliers, Saudi Arabia is by far the largest producer. But the Saudis (who gave the world 15 of the 19 September 11 hijackers) need to maintain production to lavishly pacify their islamists.

Peak Oil

One more factor is often cited to reason for higher oil prices and that is "peak oil." This theory proposes that all the oil in the world is running out and will not be able to supply the industrialized world for much longer. The increasing rarity of oil, makes in more precious. However, 2014 has seen several blows to the peak oil panic. Vast reserves have been discovered beneath the Eastern Mediterranean between Egypt and Greece, the South China Sea has yet to be fully explored and Brazil's estimates of off-shore reserves seem to rise monthly. Russia's threats to cut off gas supplies to Europe have removed all brakes on the development of fraking in Europe. The UK, Poland and Sweden are particularly keen to develop their resources. More oil has been discovered in the Arctic in territory belonging to Denmark and Russia and more shale oil lies beneath Russia than the US. New extraction methods and new discoveries mean that peak oil isn't going to happen any time soon.

Conclusion

The current oil price falls have been in the pipeline for a long time and they are set to continue. OPEC does not seem to be prepared to do anything and intends to debate whether to support a Brent Crude price of $90 at its next meeting in November 2014. The fact that this price level is not an urgent certainty for the club shows that it is unlikely to be defended. A fall to $80 seems likely over the next year. A rush to develop oil production in Europe could even see the oil price fall to $60 a barrel if Denmark is going to find a market for all its Arctic oil. If there is anyone in the world that would find such a price difficult to contemplate, it must be Russia. However, at the beginning of October 2014, Russia's central bank announced a $60 price would be its trigger to intervene in the economy. That shows that even the Russian's can see further price falls ahead and are planning for them.

上善若水 - Water Metaphor in Dao De Jing 道德经, An examination of persuasion

Intercultural Communication Studies XI-1 2002 Chen and Holt
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Persuasion through the Water Metaphor in Dao De Jing*
 Guo-Ming Chen G. Richard Holt
University of Rhode Island University of Illinois at Chicago
Abstract
This paper analyzes how Lao Zi uses the water metaphor in Dao De Jing to
transform meanings of Dao from the metaphysical level to social and behavioral
levels. Through the water metaphor Dao is unified into three concepts: Zhi xu
(attainment of complete vacuity), yong rou (softness/weakness), and chu xia
(subordination)/bu zheng (non-competition. Judging from the rhetorical
perspective the water metaphor used by Lao Zi not only frames a unifying image
of Dao by creating a shared meaning among the public mind, but also helps
people capture the real picture of the society and further persuade them to adopt
a new way of thinking. In this sense, as a persuasive rhetor, Lao Zi successfully
demonstrates that the metaphor, as a linguistic tool of expression, is a powerful
means of transmitting and elaborating an intended meaning of a metaphysical
concept.

Introduction
 As one of the three major systems of thought in China, Daoism , along with
Confucianism and Buddhism, continues to permeate Chinese life and affect
cultures of the Far East. Indeed, because most of the principal concepts in
traditional Chinese philosophy originate in Daoism, a number of scholars (e.g.,
Chen, 1999) hold that philosophical Daoism, based on Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi, is
in fact the main stream of Chinese philosophy. Daoism not only transcends
Confucianism in scope and depth, but also serves as a bridge via which
Buddhism could be assimilated into Chinese culture.
 The influence of Daoism on Chinese life is not merely because of its status
as a philosophical tradition, according to Ge (1991) and Nagel (1994), Daoism
continues to be a key to understanding many aspects of contemporary Chinese
culture, including the rhythm of daily life, medical practice, personal cultivation,
qi kong, the spirit of literature, architecture, painting, business management,
military strategy, agricultural methods, and environmental protection. Because
of its distinct naturalistic and humanistic orientation, Daoism is “an important
part of the backbone of every aspect of Chinese civilization” (Chan, 1963, p. 3).
So extensive is its impact that “Taoist thinking is deep in the heart of every Intercultural Communication Studies XI-1 2002 Chen and Holt
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Chinese… Every Chinese body has at least more or less a cell of Lao-Tzu” (Yu,
1989, p. 1). To know Daoism and its influence on East Asian culture is therefore
an important way to reach cross-cultural understanding between the Far East and
the West.
There have been numerous studies of philosophical Daoism in the areas of
literature, philosophy, and religion. Scholars in communication studies have
begun to provide new perspectives for exploring Daoism, especially from the
rhetorical perspective, contributing new insight into the nature of
communication (Combs, 2000, in this issue; Crawford, 1996, 1997, in press;
Holt, in press; Holt, Chang, & Steingard, 1990; Holt & Steingard, 1990; Jensen,
1987, 1992; Lu, 1998, in this issue; Oliver, 1961; Xiao, in this issue). This paper
extends these lines of research by examining how Lao Zi employs the water
metaphor as a persuasive tool in Dao De Jing for the purpose of reforming
social life.
Metaphor
 The metaphor is the most fundamental form of figurative language.
Figurative language differs from literal usage because of its assumption that
“terms literally connected with one object can be transferred to another object…
with the aim of achieving a new, wider, ‘special’ or more precise meaning”
(Hawkes, 1972, p. 2). Metaphor, broadly conceived, is simply the linguistic
process in which one thing is seen in terms of something else. According to
Bednar and Hineline (1982), metaphors serve three major functions: expression,
perception influencing, and learning. The metaphor, as a linguistic tool for
expression, is a powerful means of conveying, relating, transmitting, and
elaborating an intended meaning. Metaphors “stretch literal expressions by
supplying language with flexibility, expressibility, and a method by which to
expand” (Billow, 1977, p. 81).
The metaphor, as a language device, also affects what we perceive and how
we perceive the world. The metaphorical utterance functions as a way to view
and understand (Loewenberg, 1975). The use of metaphors guides and integrates
human experience by providing the target, focus, and reference fixation
necessary to perceive and interpret the often seemingly tangled external world
(Boyd, 1979; Hawkes, 1972). Brown (1976) and Morgan (1980) point out that
metaphors not only frame an image of reality and provide focus, but also
reframe and create new perceptions of reality. This perception-reframing process
“provides a release from old, entrenched interpretations, and a breaking away
from conventional or traditional modes of thinking and behaving” (Bednar &
Hineline, 1982, p. 12).
 Moreover, Hawkes (1972) notes that the metaphor is a vital part of the Intercultural Communication Studies XI-1 2002 Chen and Holt
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learning process, presenting, retaining, recollecting, and extending information
and knowledge. It is a tool for “capturing and dealing with what is perceived to
be out there’“ (Morgan, 1980, p. 610). The learning function serves to confirm,
validate, sanction, endorse and authenticate specific thoughts and behavior, and
in turn it “evokes a particular structuring of beliefs and emotions” (Edelman,
1971, p. 61).
Edelman (1972) employs the above functions of metaphors to explain
political events, asserting that metaphors perform “a crucial function by creating
shared meanings, perceptions, and reassurances among mass publics” (p. 65).
The symbolic use of political language, therefore, can be a tool to increase the
effectiveness of rhetorical persuasion. Martin and Martin (1984) point out that a
persuasive political metaphor can create unifying images, and can be used to
reason with audiences, reinforcing symbolic images and creating participatory
roles.
Examining Dao De Jing, we realize that its author takes on the role of an
effective rhetor who uses the water metaphor to delineate the meaning of Tao,
which becomes the cardinal concept to persuade readers to accept his arguments
about the best way to change chaotic social conditions. Through the use of the
water metaphor in Dao De Jing, Lao Zi conveys the meaning of Dao and helps
people perceive the entangled circumstances of society, where language works
inevitably to imprison communicators (Holt, in press). Lao Zi not only uses the
water metaphor to make rhetorical points and create a unifying image of Dao for
the time in which he lived, but also successfully evokes a structuring of political
and philosophical beliefs to be used in dealing with social disorder during and
after that turbulent period. In this sense, water becomes the “root metaphor”
through which a whole set of conceptual schemes about Dao can be induced
(Allan, 1997). Water, as an analogy for Tao, patterns these conceptual schemes
into more concrete and understandable categories which function at both the
social and social-behavioral levels. Thus, as an empirically observable
phenomenon, water invokes a structure that helps people come to grips with the
thought in Dao De Jing. This paper analyzes how Lao Zi, in Dao De Jing, uses
the metaphor of water to expound ideas about Dao for the purpose of persuasion.
The Man, the Book, and the Dao
Although none of the important facts about Lao Zi and Dao De Jing can be
completely confirmed by historians, the prevailing belief is that Lao Zi was a
curator of the archives in Loyang, capital of the Zhou dynasty (Chan, 1963). The
book, originally called “Lao Zi,” was composed in the latter part of the Warring
States period (403—222 B.C.). It was named Dao De Jing (“The Classic of the
Way and its Virtue”) in the Former Han Period (206 B.C.—8 A.D.), becoming a Intercultural Communication Studies XI-1 2002 Chen and Holt
156
classic of Chinese philosophy. Depending on which version of the text is
consulted, Dao De Jing contains between 5,227 and 5,722 words, and is often
known colloquially as “Lao Zi’s little book of 5,000 words.” The book is divided
into two parts, Dao Jing, containing 37 short “chapters,” and De Jing, with 44
chapters.
While Dao De Jing is considered a book of mysticism because it asserts that
understanding Dao is beyond words, it also deals with philosophical issues such
as ontology, ethics, and cosmology (Blakney, 1983; Huang, 1981). The book
mainly treats Dao as the vital source and reality of the world, and delineates the
application of Dao to human life (Chang, 1966; Fang, 1981; Lao, 1991).
Dao is a cardinal concept of most of the schools of traditional Chinese
philosophy. It originally meant “the Way,” connoting social and moral meanings
to be taken as a path or a road, and then later used to refer also to method, truth,
principle, and reality (Chan, 1963; Watts, 1975). However, Lao Zi also extends
the meaning of Dao to the realm of the metaphysical. As Fung (1983) notes, in
Lao-tzu, “… we find the word tao being given a metaphorical meaning. That is
to say, the assumption is made that for the universe to have come to being, there
must exist an all-embracing first principle, which is called tao” (p. 177). Fang
(1981) points out that the meaning for Dao Lao Zi intends to delineate in Dao
De Jing can be classified as four perspectives: ontological, cosmo-genetical,
phenomenological, and characterological.
Ontologically, Dao is the fathomless unity, the fundamental root, the great
form, the unique pattern, and the final destiny of all beings, including heaven
and earth, with invisible shape, as Lao Zi indicates, “The Tao that can be told of
is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name. The
nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth; the named is the mother of all
things” (chap. 1). This vacuous, fathomless unity of Dao is inexhaustible. “Tao
is empty. It may be used but its capacity is never exhausted. It is bottomless,
perhaps the ancestor of all things” (chap. 4), and it is the origin of the myriad
things of the world: “It may be considered the mother of the universe. I do not
know its name; I call it Tao” (chap. 25).
Cosmo-genetically, Dao exerts an all-pervasive function, exerting powerful
energy by existing in the transcendental realm of Nothingness and progressing
in a dynamical process of transformation. Dao is the all-embracing, spontaneous
generative principle of the universe. The spirit of Dao is like a river constantly
running in a valley, “The spirit of the valley (Tao) never dies—It is continuous,
and seems to be always existing. Use it and you will never wear it out” (chap. 6).
It is profound and obscure, but it forms the essence of the cosmos:
The thing that is called Tao is elusive and vague. Vague and eluding, there
is in it the form. Eluding and vague, in it are things. Deep and obscure, in it
is the essence. The essence is very real; in it are evidences… How do I Intercultural Communication Studies XI-1 2002 Chen and Holt
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know that the beginnings of all things are so? Through this (Tao). (chap. 21)
 Moreover, Lao Zi argues that the movement of Dao is the reverse of
ordinary direction; for example, weakness is considered strength, as mentioned
in chapter 40: “Reversion is the action of Tao. Weakness is the function of Tao.”
Phenomenologically, on the one hand, the natural attributes of Dao express in
the form of eternity inherent in Dao itself. Fang (1981) indicates that Dao’s
natural attributes include its inseparable character; actionless completion; the
begetting and energizing of all things without claiming origination and merit;
accomplishment of the universe with detachment; non-dominating support of all
things; and creation without possession. For example, “Tao invariably takes no
action, and yet there is nothing left undone” (chap. 37); and again, “Tao is
hidden and nameless. Yet it is Tao alone that skillfully provides for all and
brings them to perfection” (chap. 41):
The Tao produces One. The One produced the two. The two produced the
three. And the three produced the ten thousand things. The ten thousand
things carry the yin and embrace the yang, and through the blending of the
material force they achieve harmony. (chap. 42)
On the other hand, Lao Zi argues that Dao is characterized with arbitrary
attributes that include greatness, abstruseness, vacuity, invisibility, inaudibility,
namelessness, shapelessness, and fathomlessness. All these attributes can be
affirmed by a person’s subjective viewpoint and the use of human language.
“We look at it (Tao) and do not see it; its name is The Invisible. We listen to it
and do not hear it; its name is The Inaudible. We touch it and do not find it; its
name is The Subtle. These three cannot be further inquired into, and hence
merge into one” (chap. 14). In fact, because of its omnipresence and its function
as the sources of all existence, Dao is indescribable and unnameable—it can
only be perceived.
Although the nameless Dao is simple and looks insignificant, it cannot be
overcome. “Tao is eternal and has no name. Though its simplicity seems
insignificant, none in the world can master it” (chap. 32). Another reason Dao
cannot be overcome is that there is nothing that resembles it, “All the world says
that my Tao is great and does not seem to resemble (the ordinary). It is precisely
because it is great that it does not resemble (the ordinary). If it did resemble, it
would have been small for a long time” (chap. 67).
 Finally, according to the characterological perspective, the supreme
excellence of Dao is reflected in the integrity of the sage. The sage, possessing
the full spirit of Dao, becomes its exemplar in human society by restoring
people to perfection, “The sage embraces the One and becomes the model of the
world” (chap. 22), and “… acts, but does not rely on his own ability. He
accomplishes his task, but does not claim credit for it. He has no desire to
display his excellence” (chap. 77). The reflection of Dao in the sage is also Intercultural Communication Studies XI-1 2002 Chen and Holt
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illustrated in the following chapter:
Therefore the sage manages affairs without action and spreads doctrines
without words. All things arise, and he does not turn away from them. He
produces them but does not take possession of them. He acts but does not
rely on his own ability. He accomplishes his task but does not claim credit
for it. (chap. 2)
To summarize, the meaning of Dao, based on Lao Zi’s arguments in Dao De
Jing, can be described as “the substance of the cyclic and dynamic universe. It
(Tao) seems empty but full, static but dynamic; it contain spiritual and
materialistic attributes, time and space; and it produces and regulates activities
of all beings” (Chang, 1977, p. 27).
Water Metaphor and the Unifying Image of Dao
In Chinese history the Warring States period of the Zhou dynasty was
characterized by continuous fighting, greed, and discontent among the people.
As a philosopher, Lao Zi strove, as others have, to reform society through
developing an ideal state. To Lao Zi, this ideal state would be small, isolated,
and simple:
Let there be a small country with few people... Let the people again knot
cords and use them. Let them… be content with their homes, and delight in
their customs. Though neighboring communities overlook one another and
the crowing of cocks and barking of dogs can be heard, yet the people there
may grow old and die without ever visiting one another. (chap. 80)
To achieve this goal, Lao Zi establishes a philosophical system, based on the
metaphysical perspective of Dao, that can be used for three purposes: (1) to
reprove the rulers’ inhumane treatment of the people; (2) to teach and persuade
people to understand the predicament of the society; and (3) to provide
suggestions for necessary improvements in order to reach an ideal society (Liu,
1970; Wang, 1991).
The question is: How could Lao Zi transform the meaning of Dao from the
metaphysical level to social and behavioral levels to fulfill these three purposes
in reforming society? Xiao (in this issue) indicates that the rhetorical
construction of discourse in Dao De Jing consists mainly of three
complementary methods: negation, paradox, and analogy/metaphor. Among
these, the metaphor has been a rhetorical technique used repeatedly in classical
Chinese literary and historical texts (Lu, in this issue). The use of metaphor is
especially common in Dao De Jing as Lao Zi tries to render Dao into concrete
terms, easily observed and understood by the common people.
Although Lao Zi uses several effective metaphors for Dao, including the
infant, the female, the valley, and the uncarved block (Chan, 1963, p. 13), one of Intercultural Communication Studies XI-1 2002 Chen and Holt
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the most flexible and powerful metaphors is that of water: “The best is like
water. Water is good; it benefits all things and does not compete with them. It
dwells in (lowly) places that all disdain. This is why it is so near to Tao” (chap.
8). Elsewhere, Lao Zi also observes, “Tao in the world may be compared to
rivers and streams running into the sea” (chap. 32); and “The Great Tao flows
[like water] everywhere. It may go left or right. All things depend on it for life”
(chap. 34). As Chan (1963) notes, “Water is perhaps the most outstanding
among Lao Tzu’s symbols for Tao” (p. 113).
Analyzing the content of Dao De Jing, we find that Lao Zi uses the water
metaphor to unify the image of Dao by means of three conceptual schemes: Zi
xu (attainment of complete vacuity), yong rou (softness/weakness), and chu xia
(subordination)/bu zheng (non-competition).
Zhi Xu (Attainment of Complete Vacuity)
According to Lao Zi, the highest state of Dao is to “attain complete
vacuity” (chap. 16) which functions as the wellspring of all life, as indicated in
various chapters, “Therefore in the government of the sage, he keeps their (the
people’s) hearts vacuous” (chap. 3); “Tao is empty. It may be used but its
capacity is never exhausted” (chap. 4); and “What is most full seems to be
empty; but its usefulness is inexhaustible” (chap. 45).
 To attain complete vacuity refers one must return to the root through
tranquility (Chan, 1963; Chang, 1977). For example, “Attain complete vacuity.
Maintain steadfast quietude. All things come into being, and I see thereby their
return. All things flourish, but each one returns to its root” (chap. 16); and
“Reversion is the action of Tao… All things in the world come from being. And
being comes from non-being” (chap. 40).
In order to reach a state of vacuity Lao Zi recommends that one emulate
water, because water resembles Dao which possesses attributes of vacuous,
heart, usefulness, selflessness, inexhaustibility, and non-competition, “The best
is like water. Water is good; it benefits all things and does not compete with
them. It dwells in [lowly] places that all disdain. This is why it is so near to Tao”
(chap. 8); and
All things depend on it [water] for life, and it does not turn away from them.
It accomplishes its task, but does not claim credit for it. It clothes and feeds
all things but does not claim to be master over them… Therefore [the sage]
never strives himself for the great, and thereby the great is achieved. (chap.
34)
Three methods of attaining zhi xu specified in Dao De Jing are: wu wei
(actionless action), wu yu (non-desire), and wu shen (non-self). As will become
clear, each of these methods is made understandable through the metaphor of
water. Intercultural Communication Studies XI-1 2002 Chen and Holt
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Wu Wei (Actionless Action). According to Lao Zi, the purposeful action of
rulers often creates serious problems for the state. Too much action violates the
law of nature and damages people and society:
The more taboos and prohibitions there are in the world, the poorer the
people will be. The more sharp weapons the people have, the more troubled
the state will be. The more cunning and skill man possesses, the more
vicious things will appear. The more law and orders are made prominent,
the more thieves and robbers there will be. (chap. 57)
Further, “They (people) are difficult to rule because their ruler does too many
things” (chap. 75). Therefore, “Not to know the eternal (Tao) is to act blindly to
result in disaster” (chap. 16), and “He who acts on it (the empire) harms it. He
who holds on to it loses it” (chap. 29). Knowledge results in having social and
political institutions artificially designed to satisfy human desire. Although such
institutions regulate human life, their purposeful actions are contrary to the
natural course of the universe, bringing harm and leading to disaster. Ironically,
social institutions are sources, not or order, but of disorder, producing the
opposite of what was intended (Fung, 1983).
To correct the problem caused by the purposeful action, one has to practice
“actionless action” by not taking purposive and excessive action, as explained
by Lao Zi in these passages, “Therefore the sage manages affairs without action
and spreads doctrines without words” (chap. 2); “When one desires to take over
the empire and act on it, I see that he will not succeed. The empire is a spiritual
thing, and should not be acted on” (chap. 29); “Through this I know the
advantage of taking no action. Few in the world can understand the teaching
without words and the advantage of taking no action” (chap. 43); and “An
empire is often brought to order by having no activity” (chap. 48).
However, Lao Zi explains that this actionless activity is not simply “doing
nothing.” Instead, it follows the way of Nature like water, “Man models himself
after Earth. Earth models itself after Heaven. Heaven models itself after Tao.
And Tao models itself after nature” (chap. 25). Wang (1971) calls wu wei the
“supreme good and of orderly movement” (p. 4). Natural action (that is,
actionless action) eventually causes the completion of the task, “By acting
without action, all things will be in order” (chap. 3); “They (rulers) accomplish
their task. Nevertheless their people say that they simply follow Nature” (chap.
17); and “Tao invariably takes no action, and yet there is nothing left undone”
(chap. 37). Actors in all these situations are like water moving naturally here and
there, doing nothing purposefully but accomplishing important tasks—water,
merely by following the flow of nature, cleans all which is dirty, as well as
enriching and nurturing all existence (Li, 1992).
Chang (1977) further argues that Lao Zi’s wu wei in fact encourages people Intercultural Communication Studies XI-1 2002 Chen and Holt
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to act. For instance, Lao Zi says: “When the highest type of men hear Tao, they
diligently practice it” (chap. 41). Moreover, “He who knows the white and yet
keeps to the black becomes the model of the world… He who knows glory but
keeps to humility becomes the valley of the world” (chap. 28); “In order to
contract, it is necessary first to expand. In order to weaken, it is necessary first to
strengthen. In order to destroy, it is necessary first to promote. In order to grasp,
it is necessary first to give (chap. 36); and “Prepare for the difficult while it is
still easy. Deal with the big while it is still small” (chap. 63). Such words as
“practice,” “keeps,” “expand,” “strengthen,” “promote,” “give,” “prepare,” and
“deal,” indicate taking action. Nevertheless, all these actions must be as natural
as running water and leave no trace.
A good traveler leaves no track or trace. A good speech leaves no flaws. A
good reckoner uses no counters. A well-shut door needs no bolts, and yet it
cannot be opened. A well-tied knot needs no rope and yet none can untie it.
(chap. 27)
Water cleans and evaporates completely; it performs all kinds of functions and
benefits myriad things, yet never claims credit (Li, 1992).
Wu Yu (Non-Desire). Desire is the source of the kind of purposeful action that
leads to calamity, “The five colors cause one’s eyes to be blind. The five tones
cause one’s ears to be deaf. The five flavors cause one’s palate to be spoiled.
Racing and hunting cause one’s mind to be mad” (chap. 12); and “There is no
calamity greater than lavish desires. There is no greater guilt than
discontentment. And there is no greater disaster than greed” (chap. 46).
Therefore, Dao De Jing teaches, one should reduce selfishness and avoid desire.
When people are free from desire, the goal of Dao is reached: “Being free of
desires, it is tranquil. And the world will be at peace of its own accord” (chap.
37); and “I have no desires and the people of themselves become simple” (chap.
57).
According to Lao Zi, contentment is the principal way to reduce desire. The
teaching of contentment is no doubt a reaction against the struggle for fame,
wealth, and personal gain that plagued social and political life in the Lao Zi’s
time. Contentment means knowing when and where to stop. Although
contentment might produce negative effects, such as discouraging progress and
advancement, it is different from renunciation (Chan, 1963). Lao Zi explains,
“He who is contented is rich” (chap. 33); “He who is contented suffers no
disgrace. He who knows when to stop is free from danger. Therefore he can long
endure” (chap. 44); and “He who is contented with contentment is always
contented” (chap. 46).
Contentment resembles Confucian doctrine of moderation which is based
on discarding “the extremes, the extravagant, and the excessive” (chap. 29), and Intercultural Communication Studies XI-1 2002 Chen and Holt
162
on blunting “the sharpness,” untying “the tangles,” softening “the light,” and
becoming “one with the dusty world” (chap. 56). Lao Zi describes this state as
“profound identification” in which Being and Dao are merged into a harmonious
state and all distinctions and differentiations are totally removed (Chan, 1963).
That Dao gives birth to myriad things and does not possess them is again best
illustrated by the image of water, which occupies low places without complaint
and benefits all existence without desiring to claim credit or be arrogant.
Another way to reduce desire is to be against war. Lao Zi indicates that
wars among states are the most unethical acts committed during the period of
the Warring States. War comes from human desire for fame and profit. Avoiding
war will naturally reduce desire; therefore, Lao Zi is against the use of weapons
(Wang, 1971). In a chaotic time such as the Warring States period a nation may
keep military and weapons, but they should only be used for the defensive
purpose, “Even if there are arrows and weapons, none will display them” (chap.
80). Lao Zi continues, “He who assists the ruler with Tao does not dominate the
world with force. The use of force usually brings requital. Wherever armies are
stationed, briers and thorns grow. Great wars are always followed by famines”
(chap. 30); and “Fine weapons are instruments of evil. They are hated by men.
Therefore those who possess Tao turn away from them... When he (ruler) uses
them unavoidably, he regards calm restraint as the best principle” (chap. 31).
The characteristic of non-desire is like the nature of water which benefits all
things without competing with them, and in turn prevent wars from happening.
Wu Shen (Non-Self). Instead of disregarding or destroying one’s body, wu shen
refers to existence without consciousness of self and regarding oneself as the
least important. Lao Zi does not regard the body as an evil, but recommends on
treating the body with extreme care to avoid selfishness (Chan, 1963, Chang,
1988). Therefore, on the one hand, Lao Zi underlines the importance of being
unselfish, “Heaven is eternal and Earth everlasting. They can be eternal and
everlasting because they do not exist for themselves, and for this reason can
exist forever (chap. 7); and “What does it mean to regard great trouble as
seriously as you regard the body? The reason why I have great trouble is that I
have a body. If I have no body, what trouble could I have?” (chap. 13).
On the other hand, Lao Zi highlights the importance of loving one’s life,
“Do not oppress their (people) lives. It is because you do not oppress them that
they are not oppressed. Therefore the sage knows himself but does not show
himself. He loves himself but does not exalt himself” (chap. 72). Moreover,
persons who know how to love their life know how to well keep it, “I have
heard that one who is a good preserver of his life will not meet tigers or wild
buffaloes, and in fighting will not try to escape from weapons of war” (chap.
50). Once again, according to Lao Zi, to love one’s life must follow the way of Intercultural Communication Studies XI-1 2002 Chen and Holt
163
Nature and the selfless water.
Yong Rou (Softness/Weakness)
Lao Zi not only treats weakness as “the function of Tao” (chap. 36), but
also advocates the superiority of weakness over strength. The nature of water
illustrates this point, “There is nothing softer and weaker than water, and yet
there is nothing better for attacking hard and strong things… All the world
knows that the weak overcomes the strong and the soft overcomes the hard”
(chap. 78). Lao Zi further uses another example to support this argument:
When man is born, he is tender and weak. At death, he is stiff and hard.
Therefore the stiff and the hard are companions of death. The tender and the
weak are companions of life. The strong and the great are inferior, while the
tender and the weak are superior. (chap. 76)
Since it is weak, soft, and tender, water is therefore the best model to follow. It
has the power to transform everything, not by artificial force, but by unobtrusive
gentleness. In Dao De Jing, through the attributes of water, Lao Zi applies yong
rou to four aspects of life: personal cultivation, problem solving, governing the
state, and military strategy (Chang, 1977).
Personal Cultivation. Cultivating oneself through yong rou leads to a peaceful
society. Lao Zi informs us, “Sharpen a sword-edge to its very sharpest, and the
(edge) will not last long” (chap. 9). As soon as a thing reaches its extremity, it
reverses course. Thus, passively, people should “weaken their ambitions” (chap.
3) and emulate Dao, which “blunts its sharpness, unites its tangles, and softens
its light” (chap. 4), and, actively, should “concentrate one’s vital force and
achieve the highest degree of weakness like an infant” (chap. 10). The strategy
for entering state of pure nature, such as that enjoyed by infants, is: “He who
knows the male and keeps to the female becomes the ravine of the world. Being
the ravine of the world, he will never depart from eternal virtue, but returns to
the state of infancy” (chap. 28).
Problem Solving. The principle that “the weak overcomes the strong” is also
used to resolve problems in the process of social interaction. By using negative
force (i.e., weakness) to treat positive force (i.e., strength) is an example of
“contradiction transcendency” which transcends the confinement of the law of
contradiction (Wang, 1971). For example, Lao Zi points out, “In order to
contract, it is necessary first to expand. In order to weaken, it is necessary first to
strengthen. In order to destroy, it is necessary first to promote. In order to grasp,
it is necessary first to give” (chap. 36). Underlying this universal principle is the
phenomenological change of reversion, the idea that “if any one thing moves to
an extreme in one direction, a change must bring about an opposite direction” Intercultural Communication Studies XI-1 2002 Chen and Holt
164
(Fung, 1983, p. 182). Application of this principle, however, has to be in the
right time and at right place. In other words, it has to fulfill the requirement of
Dao, which models itself after Nature and is analogous to water which is soft
and weak but can overcome the hard and strong.
Governing the State. In the art of governing, “The state should place itself
low,” at the place where the water accumulates, because “A big state can take
over a small state if it places itself below the small state; and the small state can
take over a big state if it places itself below the big state” (chap. 61). Moreover,
as a ruler, one should emphasize public opinion, not one’s own, emulating water,
which has no fixed shape, “The sage has no fixed (personal) ideas. He regards
the people’s ideas as his own… The sage, in the government of his empire, has
no subjective viewpoint. His mind forms a harmonious whole with that of his
people” (chap. 49). In addition, one who assists the ruler with Dao should not
wish to dominate the world with force, “A good (general) achieves his purpose
and stops, but dares not seek to dominate the world… (For) after things reach
their prime, they begin to grow old, which means being contrary to Tao.
Whatever is contrary to Tao will soon perish” (chap. 30).
Military Strategy. Lao Zi vehemently opposes the use of weapons. However,
when war is unavoidable, one must handle it with loving care, for “deep love
keeps one to win in the case of attack, and to be firm in the case of defense”
(chap. 67). To Lao Zi, this deep love is to be applied not just to one’s own
people but to one’s enemy, “A skillful leader of troops is not oppressive with his
military strength. A skillful fighter does not become angry. A skillful conqueror
does not compete with people” (chap. 68). Lao Zi quotes an old saying to further
reinforce his principle of weakness in war:
The Strategists say: “I dare not take the offensive but I take the defensive; I
dare not advance an inch but I retreat a foot.” This means: To march
without formation, to stretch one’s arm without showing it, to confront
enemies without seeming to meet them, to hold weapons without seeming
to have them … Therefore when armies are mobilized and issues joined, the
man who is sorry over the fact will win. (chap. 69)
Undoubtedly, this principle reflects the recurring theme Lao Zi emphasizes in
Dao De Jing: “Keeping to weakness is called strength” (chap. 52), a principle
perfectly in keeping with the nature of water.
Chu Xia (Subordination)/Bu Zheng (Non-Competition)
Throughout Dao De Jing, Lao Zi uses water to illustrate the idea that
mastery of life is to be achieved through subordination, “It (water) dwells in
(lowly) places that all disdain. This is why it is so near to Tao” (chap. 8); “A big Intercultural Communication Studies XI-1 2002 Chen and Holt
165
country may be compared to the lower part of a river. It is the converging point
of the world” (chap. 61); and “The great rivers and seas are kings of all
mountain streams because they skillfully stay below them” (chap. 66). At these
and other points, Lao Zi emphasizes subordination through cultivating a humble
attitude and cautiously preparing oneself, from the almost imperceptible
beginning of any movement, “Put things in order before disorder arises. A tree
as big as a man’s embrace grows from a tiny shoot. A tower of nine stories
begins with a heap of earth. The journey of a thousand miles starts from where
one stands” (chap. 64). Hence, to stay low is to possess the means to elevate
oneself; to start from what is small is to accomplish what is great, “Therefore
humble station is the basis of honor. The low is the foundation of the high”
(chap. 39). Furthermore,
Prepare for the difficult while it is still easy. Deal with the big while it is
still small. Difficult understandings have always started with what is easy.
And great undertakings have always started with what is small. Therefore
the sage never strives for the great, and thereby the great is achieved. (chap.
63)
Chu xia also refers to bu zheng (non-competition). Lao Zi conceives Dao,
as reflected in water, as non-competition, “Water is good; it benefits all things
and does not compete with them” (chap. 8). He treats non-competition as one of
the three treasures he proposes in Dao De Jing: “I have three treasures. Guard
and keep them… The third is not to dare to be ahead of the world… Because of
not daring to be ahead of the world, one becomes the leader of the world” (chap.
67). Non-competition also serves as a guide for behavior, “The Way of the sage
is to act but not to compete” (chap. 81). Consequently, through non-competition
one will naturally achieve the goal achieved by using the method of competition,
“It is precisely because he does not compete that the world cannot compete with
him” (chap. 22); and “The way of Heaven does not compete, and yet it skillfully
achieves victory” (chap. 73). It is possible to distinguish two types of noncompetition
in Dao De Jing: non-competition for fame and non-competition for
profits.
Non-Competition for Fame. Lao Zi believes those who follow Dao should
conceal their talents and live in a situation something like taking refuge or
retirement. He expresses this idea by comparing, as he often does, the elevated
object to the lowly, “Therefore enumerate all the parts of a chariot as you may,
and you still have no chariot. Rather than jingle like the jade, rumble like the
rocks” (chap. 39). If this is remembered, and if one does not “exalt men of
superior talent and virtue” (chap. 3), then people will not compete with each
other, and if one remembers to “Abandon sageliness and discard wisdom; then
the people will benefit a hundredfold” (chap. 19). The practice is quite different Intercultural Communication Studies XI-1 2002 Chen and Holt
166
from Western rhetorical traditions where knowledge and display of superior
speaking skill are held to be virtuous.
Although Lao Zi asserts the positive effect of discarding wisdom and
sageliness, he does not really mean to deny their existence. “Straight words
seem to be their opposite” (chap. 78), he writes, and based on this principle,
which one might call transcendence through opposition, we know that wisdom is
an important attribute of Dao. However, one must remember that wisdom has a
special meaning in Dao De Jing. Wisdom, in most philosophical thought, is
gained via elaborate, frequently tortuous, extensions of language, to Lao Zi, this
sort of “wisdom” takes one, not closer to truth, but further away. To be the basis
of persuasion, wisdom must be like water, unselfish and noncompetitive. Instead
of carving out a piece of the truth via debate and argumentation, the sage need
not establish truth, since “the truth” is the truth of nature, which has always
existed and always will. Hence, the sage need establish no personal claim with
respect to knowledge, “Therefore, the sage acts, but does not rely on his own
ability. He accomplishes his task, but does not claim credit for it. He has no
desire to display his excellence” (chap. 77).
Non-Competition for Profits. When people compete, they often do so in order
to simultaneously obtain fame and profit. Since competing for profit seems
much more disreputable than competing for fame, why do people do it?
According to Lao Zi, it is because society values rare treasures and displays
objects of desire, “Goods that are hard to get injure one’s activities” (chap. 12);
moreover, “He who has lavish desires will spend extravagantly. He who hoards
most will lose heavily” (chap. 44). To remove the incentive to compete for
profits is a good way to reach an ideal state for society, because if the people
learn to “Abandon skills and discard profit” they will have a state where there
are “no thieves or robbers” (chap. 19). The idea of “abandoning skills” is
rendered by Feng and English (1989) “give up ingenuity,” a way of putting it
more directly relevant to the practice of persuasion. Ingenious language is
unnecessary and indeed even leads one to stray from the truth. Better one strive
to run constantly in the lowlands and nurture things unobtrusively, like water,
than concentrate on accumulation of artificial objects that nourish nothing and
benefit no one.
Conclusion
Our analysis reveals that the metaphor is an effective and powerful tool
used by Lao Zi to delineate his ideas in Dao De Jing in which the central
concept is Dao. Dao serves as the fundamental basis of Lao Zi’s metaphysical
position where Dao is described as vacuity characterized by namelessness, Intercultural Communication Studies XI-1 2002 Chen and Holt
167
elusiveness, fathomlessness, pervasiveness, profundity, and shapelessness.
However, as other philosophers in his age, Lao Zi’s purpose is to reform society
to reach an ideal state. To achieve this goal, Lao Zi has to transform the
metaphysical meaning of Dao into a set of concepts easily understood and able
to persuade rulers and people to act in accordance with his principles. To
accomplish this, Lao Zi uses the water metaphor to transmit and transform the
metaphysical Dao to a practical level in which meanings and functions of Dao
are more easily grasped. More specifically, the water metaphor used in Dao De
Jing symbolizes Dao as zhi xu, yong rou, and chu xia/bu zheng embedded in
social and political life. Figure 1 summarizes the process.
The analysis also demonstrates that, as Lu (in this issue) has argued,
rhetorical practices have long existed in Asia, with Asian rhetoric often
characterized as moralistic and implicit (Garrett, 1991; Jensen, 1992). Lu’s
(1998) study confirms this argument. Thus, criticism from Western scholars
(e.g., Becker, 1986; Oliver, 1971) that Chinese lack a rhetorical tradition is
premature. Although Lao Zi does not advocate the use of persuasive messages in
human interaction, Dao De Jing itself is a superlative example of an effective
tool for rhetorical persuasion. This paper shows how the metaphor, as a
linguistic tool of expression, can serve as a powerful means of transmitting and
elaborating an intended meaning of a metaphysical concept.
The water metaphor created by Lao Zi not only frames a unifying image of
Dao by creating shared meaning among readers, but also helps people capture a
more accurate picture of society and persuades them to adopt a new way of
thinking. As a persuasive and successful rhetor, Lao Zi’s Dao De Jing continues
to significantly impact many aspects of Chinese and other East Asian cultures.
For more than two thousand years, Chinese customs, metaphysical philosophy,
political behavior, arts, and literature have been deeply engraved with the brand
of Daoism (Kim 1973; Lin, 1948; Liu, 1970). Dao De Jing deserves further
study from rhetorical and communication perspectives. Intercultural Communication Studies XI-1 2002 Chen and Holt
168
 fathomlessness pervasiveness
 elusiveness profoundness
namelessness shapelessness
 Vacuity
 Metaphysical Level
Dao ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
 Social/Behavior Level
Water
 zhi xu yong rou chu xia/bu zheng
 wu wei wu yu wu shen fame profits
 personal problem governing military
 cultivation solving the state strategy
Figure 1. The Water Metaphor and DaoIntercultural Communication Studies XI-1 2002 Chen and Holt
169
* This paper adopts the pin-yin system for romanizing Chinese characters (e.g.,
Dao as Tao) except for those in quotes and references, and translations of Dao
De Jing used are based on Chan’s The Way of Lao Tzu (1963).

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Responding with dao: Early Daoist Ethics and the Environment


RESPONDING WITH DAO  : EARLY DAOIST ETHICS ANDTHE ENVIRONMENT
Eric Sean Nelson
Department of Philosophy, University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Introduction
This essay responds to recent scholarly literature that is skeptical of the potentialenvironmental significance of Daoism.
1 Its argument is that ‘‘early Daoist’’ texts such as the
Laozi and the Zhuangzi and later sources such as the
Yuan Dao, aresalient to contemporary ecological issues by indirectly suggesting a critical modelfor environmental ethics.

2  The phrase ‘‘early Daoism,’’ which some scholars prefer to portray as proto-Daoism, designates the overlapping yet divergent tendencies found in the Daodejing and Zhuangzi.

3 Although I avoid the problematic expression‘‘philosophical Daoism’’ (Daojia道家), which retrospectively ascribes a commonidentity to the collection of texts associated with Laozi and Zhuangzi and ques-tionably distinguishes this position from a later ‘‘religious Daoism’’
(Daojiao 道教),

4   I presuppose that Daoist texts of any provenance can have a philosophical import and be philosophically examined.The Daodejing and the Zhuangzi are not relevant to environmental issues bycontributing specific scientific research, political policies, or activist initiatives. It would be anachronistic to have such expectations of ancient texts. What early Dao-ism does suggest is a phenomenology of the experiential orientation and disposition of the embodied heart/mind (xin 心 ) that is timely in being fittingly attuned with its world. Daoism, interpreted in the light of contemporary thought, offers a philosoph-ical basis for a non-reductive naturalistic ethics in the widest sense of these words.Whereas the naturalism of early Daoism can be glimpsed in its openness to naturalphenomena, without reducing things to a specific doctrine or essence of what con-stitutes nature or the natural, ethics signifies its cultivation of life as the lived andunforced performative enactment of responsive freedom. Although classical Daoist texts seem to reject ‘‘ethics,’’ provided that ethics consists of rules, norms, and con-ventions organizing hierarchical and authority-driven social relations, early Daoismis not so much an anti-ethical and aesthetic nihilism as it is an alternative way of liv-ing with things. This naturalistic and anti-conventional approach to the ethical can be described preliminarily as an embodied receptivity to the myriad or ten thousand things (wanwu 萬物) themselves in their specificity, parity, and interconnectedness.
Daoism, Ethics, and the Environment: Problems and Possibilities

The argument that early Daoism undermines essentialism is apt if its ‘‘essences’’ aredynamic processes, contrasting with static characteristics and properties, calling for
294
Philosophy East & West Volume 59, Number 3 July 2009 294–316>
2009 by University of Hawai‘i Press

vigilance against the reification that turns self-generating transformative phenomenainto unchanging substances like ‘‘nature’’ and ‘‘being.’’


5  Yet the aspect of Daoismidentified as ‘‘anti-essentialism’’ does not therefore imply the transition from essen-tialism to constructivism, for which signification is a mental, linguistic, or socialproduct. To the degree that nominalism and skepticism can be thematized in theDaoist context, they do not presuppose the primacy of the artificial and constructedthat is distinctive of much contemporary thought. Early Daoist texts provide an alter-native to the modern impasse between essentialism and constructivism if ‘‘dao’’ 道 (as way and, originally, verbal wayfaring and way making) can be articulated as thelived or performative enactment of the intrinsic value and life of the myriad things, of ‘‘sky and earth’’ or the natural world (tiandi 天地) as such and as a whole through which
how and the way humans address and are addressed by them. Daoismepistemologically and ethically ‘‘saves the phenomena,’’ potentially correcting theone-sidedness of anthropocentrism and biocentrism by attending to these things themselves—intrinsically and for their own sake rather than as objects reducedto value, use, and exchange—in the context of the self-cultivation or perfection(
zhen 真 ) of life and reality.


6  Many might question whether ancient ‘‘wisdom-literatures’’ can speak to us‘‘moderns,’’ who both benefit and suffer from our dominion over nature. In Dialectic of Enlightenment,
a crucial work concerning the domination of nature, TheodorAdorno and Max Horkheimer argued that profits come with profound losses as thedefacement of ‘‘external nature’’ (the natural world) is paid for with the mutilation of ‘‘internal nature’’ (the human world).

7  It follows from their analysis that the concernwith nature for its own sake, as more than a product of human concern and calcula-tion, cannot be separated from questions of human welfare and happiness. In con-trast to the binary either/or of biocentrism or anthropocentrism, environmentaldestruction intersects with issues of achieving human health, longevity, and well-being. Curative and preventive means of realizing such ends are accentuated inmany Daoist traditions and by and large in Chinese culture, sometimes themselvescausing destruction to the environment and biological life. One controversy about the ethical character of Daoism is whether it can be reduced to calculations andtechniques of longevity and self-perfection reflecting in the end an anthropocentricand egotistical self-interest oblivious to plants and animals and the environment. Icontend that it should not, since Daoist bio-spiritual practices (1) can be distin-guished from those of macrobiotic hygiene in general Chinese culture


8  and (2)should be situated in relation to dao
and its unforced and incalculable naturalness(ziran 自然).

9 One assessment of the ecological value of Daoist traditions contends that only‘‘modern Western approaches’’ can solve ‘‘modern Western problems.’’ This conten-tion is erroneous if environmental destruction is not exclusively ‘‘Western’’ but global, and not only a modern phenomenon but one of long standing. For Hor-kheimer and Adorno, the domination of nature under instrumental reason did not begin in modernity and with the enlightenment, as anti-modernists contend. It wasalready operative in ancient myth, just as myth persists after enlightenment.

10 Nature
Eric Sean Nelson 295