Humanism and Anti-Humanism in Taoist and Enlightenment Political Thought
13 Pages Posted: 13 Aug 2009 Last revised: 3 Sep 2009
Date Written: 2009
Abstract
Some contemporary authors have witnessed the flourishing of the Sinophilia of the Early Enlightenment and the direct impact of Taoist and Chinese thought on the ideas of Spinoza, Leibniz, Voltaire, Duquesne and the philosophes and have proceeded to make overt connections between the Tao Te Ching's notion of “non-action” (Wu-Wei) and Enlightenment laissez faire doctrines as a sign of meaningful overlap. In contrast to such approaches, I will here argue that these sorts of common conceptual comparisons have often been inappropriate where touchstone humanist notions devoid of the Tao Te Ching’s fundamental metaphysical commitments are brought forward as evidence of interconnection.
Keywords: Tao Te Ching, Enlightenment, Humanism, Anti-Humanism
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