John has taught philosophy and the History of Ideas at various universities including Singapore.
His books relating to this talk include Oriental Enlightenment, and The Tao of the West, both published by Routledge.
His talk will include historical background to Daoist (hitherto Taoist) philosophy, and a discussion of its recent identification as a contribution to contemporary ecological thinking.
A BIG thank you to John Clarke for your fascinating talk, and the probing Qs raised therefrom, on Daoism and its relevance for our time.
As a multiculturalist with Chinese-Malaysian heritage, allow me to share some thoughts/Qs, too:
Relevance: in an era of money and materialism, utter chaos where power without honour reigns, and hollow rhetorics spreading across social media, Daoism, with its guiding principles of harmony within and without, humility, simplicity and authenticity, are precisely what we desperately need right now!
JC raised a few points in his talk:
– Daoism & Confucianism:
The former is inclusive, the latter, though revered across the world, is full of rituals and misogyny. The following sayings are often quoted by misogynistic men to suit their own ends:
1) A woman must obey her father while at home, her husband when married, her son when widowed (!)
2) Only women and little men are the hardest to breed. (!)
You can understand why not all Asian women are his disciples.
• Q re Heidegger: how is it possible for a Nazi to reconcile his heinous beliefs with the very essence of Daoism? Lao Tzu must be crying in his grave!
JC, your thoughts?
• Ted asked: Is it a tradition to live life based on Daoist principles? A: it depends on the practicioner. Some are strictly vegetarian and would even buy creatures like snakes to release them into the wild as a manifestation of their faith. Others would just eat no meat on the first day n 15th day of each Lunar month. They also tend to be more frugal and less wasteful (just what we need in this materialistic world!)
• JC mentioned that we change our practices as we age – agree! I find myself discarding the hypocrisy of Christianity and starting to read more of Daoism for self-growth.
• Bob raised a scary Q: that killing is part of nature. That Sexism etc is part of existence. Perhaps this answers my earlier question about how MH could reconcile Nazism with Daoism?!
My Q to Bob: just because we are born to be, must we be? Have we not learned and evolved from Hobbesian savagery to be rational beings?
• Charlie asked about how, in an imperialistic society like ancient China, could Daoism be practised? A: Interestingly, just like today’s society, people do not always practise what they preach! Doesn’t Trump raise the Bible and praise God when it suits him? How could God allow such blasphemy?
• Monica asked about the birth of Daoism. A: I believe the advent of Buddhism and the chaos of the seven warring states from the 6th century BCE were influencing factors. Troubled times always cry out for emotional and spiritual comforts and healing. Daoism provided the answer for individual healing.
• Confucius, on the other hand, desperately tried to introduce his sociopolitical doctrines of ‘benevolent governance’ to the warring states, travelling for over a decade, across states, risking life and poverty, with moderate success. It’s an irony that he’s so worshiped after his death, although Mao tried to eradicate his teachings during the Cultural Revolution by burning books and destroying Confucian temples. Today, Confucianism is worshipped like a religion in many Asian countries