Daoism as a Thinking System

Paper Summary:

Daoism (also known as Taoism), is a major tradition in China that embraces philosophical and religious components. Unfortunately, many people in the West consider their worldview as the only viable way of viewing things around them, but the fact remains that billions of other people around the world go about their daily lives thinking about the fundamental realities that face everyone in drastically different ways. To help shed some light on these differences and how they apply to Western systemic thinking today, this paper provides an analysis of how Daoism can be viewed as a legitimate method of systems thinking to help Western observers better understand and appreciate how others seek solutions to the same types of problems that confront them. A summary of the research and salient findings are provided in the conclusion.

From the Paper:

"From the Daoist's perspective, everyone and everything is equal and part of a larger whole; it is Daoism's emphasis on nature and the natural order that builds on the societal focus of Confucianism; further, Daoism's synthesis with Buddhism forms the basis of Zen (Daoism, 2005). It would, of course, be inaccurate to say that everyone in the East thinks this way, but those who do subscribe to the natural systems of Daoism think in this mode (Fraser, Haber & Lawrence, 1986). Because China has been so closely associated with Confucian thought in the West, it is little wonder that there is so much confusion about what Daoism really means today; indeed, some scholars insist on viewing Chinese tradition "as a whole" rather than separating it into distinctively institutionalized traditions such as "Daoism" or "Confucianism" though (Woo, 2002)."

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