Category: Philosophy & Ethics

Lao-tzu, A Study in Chinese Philosophy

One of the most remarkable men in the history of China, as also in the history of philosophy, is Lao-tzŭ, the author of the _Tao-tê-ching_ (道德經). This book deserves, and has obtained with those who know it, a high place among philosophical works, and the posthumous fortunes of...

Chapters

7. CHAPTER VII.

Lao-tzŭ’s notions on ethics are fortunately set forth with much more fulness than on any other department of knowledge, and in giving a brief account of them one is rather encum...

6. CHAPTER VI.

We now breathe a freer air—escaped from the trammels of Physics, and at large in the wide spaces of Politics. Here Lao-tzŭ speaks more plainly and fully, and it is easily seen t...

8. CHAPTER VIII.

It is not unusual for foreigners no less than for Chinese to speak of Lao-tzŭ and Confucius as having lived on very bad terms with each other and as having been diametrically op...

5. CHAPTER V.

What was Lao-tzŭ’s conception of the Cosmos? To this question we are unfortunately unable to give a clear and satisfactory answer. It is only occasionally, and then usually by w...

2. CHAPTER II.

The life of Lao-tzŭ, like the book which he wrote, is enveloped in mystery; and one might almost be excused for doubting whether such a person ever actually existed. One author,...

3. CHAPTER III.

Lao-tzŭ is said to have died at the age of eighty-one years in B.C. 523,[1] though, as has been seen, nothing is known positively about the time or manner of his decease. He had...

4. CHAPTER IV.

Before proceeding to examine in detail the doctrines of the _Tao-tê Ching_, I shall briefly indicate their general nature; and by way of preface to my own remarks, I now present...

9. CHAPTER IX.

It would be a very interesting study to examine the points of similarity and difference in the writings of the early Buddhists and the teachings of Lao-tzŭ; but this cannot be a...

1. CHAPTER I.

One of the most remarkable men in the history of China, as also in the history of philosophy, is Lao-tzŭ, the author of the _Tao-tê-ching_ (道德經). This book deserves, and has obt...