Renewing the Dao:A New Interpretation of The Political Philosophy of The Daodejing in Relation to The Contemporary Western Socio-Political Sphere

摘要

In this thesis, I have shown that it is possible for a continuous, new interpretation of the political philosophy of The Daodejing to be compatible with Rawls 'thin' version of liberal democracy, as well as with the considered convictions of individuals within contemporary Western liberal-democratic societies. Simultaneously, I have shown that it is possible for this new, continuous interpretation of The Daodejing to retain its compatibility with the original goals and beliefs ofpre-Qin Daoist philosophy. I began by presenting a traditional, faithful interpretation of The text's political thought, and then showed the aspects of The Daodejing's political theory that are incompatiblewith the realities of the contemporary socio-political sphere. Specifically, I pointed tothe affirmed political actions and methods of faithfully read political Daoism as beingincompatible with Rawls 'thin' version of liberal democracy and the 'considered convictions' of contemporary Western liberal-democratic societies. Having pointed out these incompatibilities, I then provided a new, continuous reading of the political philosophy of The Daodejing. I showed that the text was keenly aware of the importance of one's historical, cultural and societal context, and that The Daodejing is quite open to the possibility of adapting its philosophical and political beliefs depending on context. I then provided an interpretation of key Daoist concepts and affirmed political actions, such as wu wei role, the necessity for the ruler to be 'childish', the necessity for the ruler to be 'hidden' from the common people and the Daoist stance on the issues of education and the desires of the common people. Furthermore, I showed not only that the political theory of The Daodejing can be compatible with liberal democracy and the considered convictions of liberal-democratic societies without contradicting the goals and beliefs of Daoist thought, but that this interpretation of the text's political philosophy is actually very well positioned to deal with the many problems and social issues that can and have arisen in modern, liberal-democratic states (such as consumerism or the 'tri-polar' social hierarchy perceived by Duménil and Lévy).
　　By providing this continuous interpretation of The Daodejing's political theory, I hope to have shown that Chinese philosophy, particularly pre-Qin Chinese philosophy, should not be considered 'dead' philosophical schools. Political Daoism should be considered a viable and contemporarily relevant area of philosophical thought, where new and intellectually valuable interpretations of classical Chinese texts (such as The Daodejing) are waiting to be discovered. While Bai Tongdong, Hans-Georg Moeller and others have shown that new, viable interpretations of pre-Qin Chinese thought are available, there is much work yet to be done in this area, and I hope that this thesis has shown that, if one tries, it is possible to bring new life to ancient philosophical works.

目录

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

SECTION ONE：THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF THE DAODEJING

Faithfully Read Core Beliefs and Goals of The Daodejing

Political Actions and Methods of Faithfully Read pre-Qin Political Daoism

SECTION TWO：THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF THE DAODEJING IN RELATION TO THE CONTEMPORARY SOCIO-POLITCAL SPHERE

Political Liberalism，Liberal-Democratic Societies and Rawls’ ‘Thin’ Version of Liberal Democracy

The Political Philosophy of The Daodejing in Relation to the Contemporary Socio-Political Sphere

Core Concepts and Beliefs of The Daodejing in Relation to the Contemporary Socio-Political Sphere

The Core Goals of a Faithful Reading of the Political Philosophy of The Daodejing in Relation to the Contemporary Socio-Political Sphere

Political Actions and Methods of The Daodejing in Relation to the Contemporary Socio-Political Sphere

The Ideal Daoist State in Relation to the Contemporary Socio-Political Sphere

SECTION THREE：A NEW INTERPRETATION OF THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF THE DAODEJING

The Contextual Adaptability of The Daodejing

Political Philosophy of The Daodejing in a contemporary Western Socio-Political Setting

CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

声明