The concept of wuwei or “non-action”: does it mean that the perfect sage or political ruler simply never does anything?

History of Philosophy: India, Africana, China

HPC 38. Easy Does It: Non-Action in the Laozi

The Zhuangzi’s critique of dogmatic approaches to argumentation and governing the state.

HPC 42. A Black and White World: the Zhuangzi on Shi-Fei Dogmatism

We introduce the second great classic of Warring States Daoism, the Zhuangzi, and ask whether it adopts a position of radical skepticism.

HPC 41. To Speak or Not to Speak: Skepticism in the Zhuangzi

Are the methods of warfare proposed in the famous Art of War an example of “applied Daoism”?

HPC 40. Antiheroes: Sunzi’s Art of War

An interview on the pervasive use of the yin-yang relational pair in classical Chinese thought generally, and in Daoism in particular.

HPC 39. Robin Wang on Yin-Yang Thinking

How the Laozi (Daodejing) applies the lessons of complementarity to the contrast between male and female.

HPC 37. She Stoops to Conquer: Femininity in the Laozi

The significance of the Laozi’s use of opposing pairs, which are treated as complementary rather as exclusive dichotomies.

HPC 36. Fishing for Complements: Polarities in Daoism

The Laozi (Daodejing) refers to the winds, the rain and the waters. We discuss how these ideas express the Laozi’s views on nature.

HPC 35. Way Better than Greenwashing: Daoism on Nature

The first rule of dao is: don’t talk about dao. We do so nonetheless, focusing on its role in metaphysics and language.

HPC 34. You Don’t Say! the Dao That Cannot Be Told

What does “Daoism” refer to in a range of contexts, and how have excavated texts changed our understanding of the tensions between Daoism and Confucianism?

HPC 33. Let Us Count the Ways: What is Daoism?

Society & Culture

Philosophy