Plant Analogy

1. 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

2. 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!

3. 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

4. Questions Coffee Tutorial today w/ questions Back to some Basic concepts (divisions) of philosophy Ethics

5. 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)

6. 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

7. Normative Ethics Classifications

8. Daoism: Early History • Hermits and Yang Zhu 楊朱: No theory of 道 but a Daoistattitude • 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

10. 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

11. 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?

12. 慎 到ShenDao’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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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 wulackweideem:do a paradox • Wu-wei and yet wu-bu-wei無不為 • no concept guided action

16. 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?

17. 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

18. 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

19. Puzzle • All language distorts the 道 dao Distorts the 道 dao

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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?