1 How to Rule without Taking Unnatural Actions无为而治A.pdfVIP

How to Rule without Taking Unnatural Actions (无为而治): A Comparative Study of the Political Philosophy of the Laozi1 Tongdong Bai Assistant Professor Department of Philosophy Xavier University 5 University Drive Cincinnati, OH 45207 bai@xavier.edu (513) 745-2017 Fax: (513) 745-3065 Abstract: In this paper, I will clarify and elaborate on the Laozi ’s understanding of naturalness and of ruling without taking unnatural actions, and I will argue that the Laozi offers a theoretically adequate and realistic proposal to address both the problems of its times and some of the problems of modernity. 1 How to Rule without Taking Unnatural Actions (无为而治): A Comparative Study of the Political Philosophy of the Laozi2 Tongdong Bai Department of Philosophy Xavier University Abstract: In this paper, I will clarify and elaborate on the Laozi ’s understanding of naturalness and of ruling without taking unnatural actions, and I will argue that the Laozi offers a theoretically adequate and realistic proposal to address both the problems of its times and some of the problems of modernity. In this paper, I first elaborate on the Laozi ’s understanding of the ideas of naturalness and of taking no unnatural actions. In the first two sections I challenge the common understanding that the ideas of naturalness and of taking no unnatural actions separate the political teaching of the Laozi from that of Confucianism, and argue that the real distinction between these two schools lie