Martin Luther King and Lao Tzu

Paper Summary:

Martin Luther King of the modern United States and Lao-Tzu of ancient China were two great philosophers whose great differences stemmed from their core beliefs. The paper shows that Lao-Tzu believed that the way for humankind to achieve happiness was to connect fully with nature and to not try to control everyday events. It shows, in comparison, that Martin Luther King believed that humankind should confront evil and correct the wrongs of the world.

From the Paper:

"King's philosophy was more in line with that of Confucius, who believed that people must make a social difference. However, Lao-Tzu's approach to "do nothing" was not the same as King's approach to "do nothing" when demonstrators were attacked. Lao-Tzu's view was mystical. He would have recognized that while Martin Luther's King's approach may have appeared to be "doing nothing" at first, actually it was the final action of an elaborate plan designed to make a very big social difference. It started with King's followers educating the activists very careful about the philosophy of non-violence. They planned where they would demonstrate, and when. They planned what they would wear and exactly what they would do when they "did nothing.""

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