Plant Analogy
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Transcript of Plant Analogy
Plant Analogy• Helps account for moral growth
– Knowledge as discriminating ability • (branching) not guided by language
– And as ease of (moral) action• Explain evil (weeds and environment)• Justify liberal politics (soil)• Shi-feithis-not this 是 非 to 智 zhiwisdom
– Growth of intuitive responsive motivation– Neo-Confucian moral “metaphysics” and
the sage
Issues• Strong-weak choice (Conf. detail)
–Weak interpretation plausible, strong needed to defend against moral reform
• Normative result = Mozi (Utilitarian)–Moral psychology for universal
concern• Problem: is moral psychology
relevant–Can’t get “ought” from “is”–Mencius’ strategies: unique, health,
choose!
Two Principles• Link fact & duty:
– "Is-ought": “is” does not imply “ought”• Undermines Mencius’ appeal to nature
– "Ought-can:" ought implies can• Is moral reform possible (yes)
• Anti-language implications–Avoid 2 roots—foolish man–Good language can inspire but not
contribute• Bad language can disrupt and destroy
QuestionsCoffee Tutorial today w/ questions
Back to some Basic concepts (divisions) of philosophy
Ethics
Teleological V Deontological• Normative Ethics: Two Types
– Teleological & deontological (duty)• Consequence/result, look forward, do for result• Duty, desert, merit, look backward, for own
sake• Deontology v utilitarianism
– Telling truth, keeping promises, justice and freedom
– Is punishment justified• Grades on examination—result, encouragement, effort?• Christian duties (10 commandments)
• Standards apply to aspects of morality– Acts or rules (system)
Mozi Resembles Rule Utility• Evaluate individual actions or
“patterns”• Evaluate a tradition by how people
governed by it act– Actually tradition or 道 discourse dao
utilitarian• Tests for Rule v Act Utility
– White lies– Keeping Promises– Birth control– War and deterrence
Normative Ethics ClassificationsTeleological (consequential)
Deontological (Duty)
Act (situation ethics)
Act Utilitarian (Egoist, nationalist etc.)
Mencius (meta-ethics = intuition)
Rule Rule Utilitarian (language, practice, system etc.)
Ten Commandments3000 禮 li
Daoism: Early History• Hermits and Yang Zhu 楊朱 : No
theory of 道 but a Daoist attitude• First theoretical Daoist: Shen Dao慎 到
–Natural performance daoguide 道–Sum of all actual performance 道
daoguides is the great dao 大 道 • The complete history of the universe
–You will follow 大 道— no knowledge of 道 needed
Three Determinisms• Logical, Scientific, Fatalistic
– What will be will be A = A • Like Parmenides “what is is” • Tautology=true by meaning/grammar
– How to be right w/o saying anything• Don’t ___too much; Do what you should do.• Doesn’t entail anything else—free will
• Scientific: induction on experience– Things happen by predictable laws
(causal)– Generalize: everything predictable in
advance
Fatalism• Claim that your decision/will
cannot affect the world, outcome, future–Out of human control–Argument (one of the above or
theological)• Does fatalism follow?
–Not from logical determinism—study\pass
–From causal? Probably not • Soft determinism says free will does not
contradict causal predictability• God’s foreknowledge?
慎 到 Shen Dao’s Problems• Draws fatalism conclusion
– From logical determinism– There is just one future actual history
• The one caused by my (our) actions• Unnatural natural advice
– Knowing & judgment “natural” for humans
• Paradox of "abandon knowledge“– 道 Dao as the object of knowledge
• Knowing dao—not needed abandon• Obey it only if you ignore it
Laozi 老子• Textual issues• The Zhuangzi's history
–Between Shendao and Zhuangzi• Abandon knowledge w/o relying on
fatalism–Argument from freedom from social
control–Spontaneity
Analysis of "Knowledge"• Discourse 道 daos: come in
opposites–Names 名 (opposites)–Distinctions (implied: one per pair)
–Desires 欲• Innovation in seeing desires generated by names/distinctions
– 為 weideem:do action
Problem: Same Paradox?• Distinction of natural and conventional
desires– Forms of social constraint– Language distorts by gross distinction
while there are infinite shades in nature • Desire to be natural• Act on the desire (forgetting)• 無 為 wulack weideem:do a paradox
– Wu-wei and yet wu-bu-wei 無不為– no concept guided action
No Constant Dao
• 道可道非常道 Any dao that guides is not constant dao-ing
• Because based on 名 and – 名可名非常名 Any name that names is
not constant name-ing• Negative 道 daoguide by
emphasizing opposite virtues– Passive, lower, water, cool,
submissive, female– Constant 道 daoguide ? Unspeakable?
Relevance to Mencius• The intuitions that Confucians
think are natural are socially cultivated–Burial, filial piety, attitudes to
authority–Status, wealth, style
• Hong Kong slavery– Innate 天 道 is very thin
• Eat, sleep, children, farm, small villages
Common Anti-language Problem
• 墨 辯 Mohist semantic analysis: – To say “language bad” is bad– Paradox of the liar
• This sentence is false• All Sentences are false
– Not a paradox– But false
• Challenge to Zhuangzi
Puzzle
• All language distorts the 道 dao
Zhuangzi: Textual Issues• Relation to Laozi
– Probably earlier– No contact or knowledge (mostly later
students)– Project a similarity of focus
• Construction of desires from language/culture• Relation to School of Names 名 家
closer– Friend of 惠 施 Hui Shi
• Deals with anti-language paradox better
Pipes of 天 tian nature:sky
• Human voices and arguing about philosophy is natural– Like birds tweeting and frogs croaking
• Gives Yangzhu, Mozi and Mencius what they want– Not worth anything– Want authority over rivals and 天
tiannature:sky fails• Hint from Shen Dao—no normative content• Pure fact—no ought/value
Priority of Dao over 天• Must presuppose a 道 daoguide
• For a Daoist, 道 daoguide the authority, not 天 tiannature:sky
– The cosmos doesn't make guiding judgments--all from a 道 daoguide
– Cannot escape responsibility for our own dao judgments• Should I follow 天 tiannature:sky?• No matter what authority
Refutation of Mencius• Should follow our hearts and
should follow 天 tiannature:sky ( 性 xingnature )–All organs are equally natural
• C.f. Mencius' weeds–How do you 是 shithis:right a favorite?
• Rely on the 心 xinheart-mind? Begs the question
• Take turns or have no ruler?