"Immortalist" <Reanimater_2000@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:vuefppege04f6c@corp.supernews.com...
"Russ Lyttle" <lyttlec@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:s5HFb.14980$Pg1.4487@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
I'm working on a project to join together the Tao of Lao Tzu with the
Logos
of Heraclitus into a non-Aristotelian physics. Any input would be
helpful.
The web pages underconstruction are :
http://home.earthlink.net/~lyttlec/philosophy/logos.html
http://home.earthlink.net/~lyttlec/philosophy/physics.html
Comments and input appreciated, but lets avoid theological flame wars.
--
Taoism is a mystical nature philosophy but its resemblance to any kind of
physics is of the most nebulous kind. I don't think the recorded thoughts
of Heracleitus extend much beyond a large postage stamp. The conjunction
between the two is likely to be almost non-existent. Although physicists
are fond of quoting the bit about not being able to step into the same
river twice.
Insights into the roots of Taoism can be found in the I Ching, where the
founder Fu-hsi contemplates the patterns of nature (turtles and horses).
The
I Ching is an early example of a binary system, whose basic elements are
Yin and Yang. This is metaphysics (thoughts which precede physics, in the
context of Aristotle).
The Tao corresponds more to the old steady state theory of physics rather
to the Big Bang theory.
Its mysterious presence is undetectable, rather like the hypothetical
Aether. The similarity between Buddhist thought and Taoism makes it clear
that the Tao is the mind, rather than the 'physical' basis of the cosmos.
Mystics would insist they are one and the same.
The Taoism of Lao Tzu was born out of the warring states period in the
North of China. It is essentially a political philosophy, despite its
entanglement with nature. In this regard, Lao Tzu follows the lead of the
I Ching but takes a different path from the more conventional Confucius.
Western science is rooted in the scepticism of Socrates (as reported by
Plato). The philosopher(s) of the Lao Tzu are certainly Socratic in their
contempt for bad rulers but, like Plato, Lao Tzu is searching for the
principles which will reform kings into benevolent rulers who do not flout
the mysterious dictates of the Tao. "Heaven hates what it hates," sums up
the dangers of flouting 'the way of Heaven.' These are essentially
religious (superstitious) sentiments.
That China did not develop the powerful scientific methods forged by
western minds points up the difference in attitude. The Chinese sages were
concerned with the practical affairs of state and with morality rather
than with the kind of objectivity commonly associated with modern science.
Tony Thomas
