Problem of Evil in Taoism

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Associate Professor of Religions and Mysticism, University of Tehran, Iran

Abstract

This paper attempts to present the Taoist understanding of evil. In the Taoist tradition, especially in Tao Te Ching, evil is divided into two categories: causal evil and consequential evil. Causal evils are those evils that are said to be the causes of other evils; consequential evils are those that are said to be the consequences of the causal evils. Causal evils originate from human will, and cause suffering. This means that evil is not equal to suffering. Lao Tzu does not clearly talk about natural suffering. He regards all evil and suffering as resulting from human actions that are not in accordance with Tao, which is the source of all life. Therefore, the way to overcome evil is to follow Tao, to actualize wu-wei in life.

Keywords

References

Blofeld, John. 1978. Taoism: The Road to Immortality. Boston: Shambhala.
ChuangTzu. 1968. The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu. Translated by Burton Watson. New York: Columbia University Press.
 Creel, Herrlee Glessner. 1970. What is Taoism? And other studies in Chinese cultural history. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Hick, John. 1963. Philosophy of Religion. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
———. 1978. Evil and the God of Love. New York, Hagerstown, San Francisco, London: Harper & Row, Publishers.
Tao Te Ching. 1963. Translated by Wing-tsit Chan. Indianapolis, Ind.: Bobbs-Merrill.
———. Translated by Stephen Mitchell. New York Harper & Row Publishers.
Lin, Yutang, ed. and trans. 1976. The Wisdom of Laotse. New York: The Modern Library.
MacGregoi, Geddes. 1973. Philosophical Issues in Religious Thought. Boston: Houghton Milllin.
Mackie, J. L. 1973. “Evil and Omnipotence.” In Philosophy of Religion, edited by W. Rowe and W. Wainwright. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Needham, Joseph. 1956. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press.
Pojman, L., 1991. Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Co.
Kirkland, Russel, Timothy Barrett, and Livia Kohn. 2000. “Introduction.” In Daoism Handbook, edited by Livia Kohn. Brill: Leiden.
Yu-Lan, Fung. 1952. A Hisrory of Chinese Philosophy. Translated by Deck Bodde. Princeton. N.J.: Princeton University Press.

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics