Chapter Five discusses the methodological theory of Liu Xiaogan's "Two Orientations", and addresses a new "non-objectified" approach of interpreting the Laozi. / Chapter Four examines Tao in a new perspective and discloses the value of Tao based on the analysis of "simplicity". First, Tao in the Laozi mainly has three interconnected meanings, namely "origin", "law", and "vision", which are not objects of a clear, fixed, or external nature. Second, the active, indescribable and intuitive nature of Tao cannot be fully clarified by the meanings of "General principle", "subjective vision", or "horizon". Third, "simplicity" is not only an expression of Tao, but also the presupposition of human nature and value orientation; in this sense, Tao can be defined as the understanding of the significance of life in the world when people return to the nature of "simplicity". / Chapter One focuses on Feng Youlan's approach, which interprets Tao as "General principle" and "Universals". However, Feng Youlan did not solve the problem of how the "General principle" itself could produce things, nor did he deal with the problem of the relationship between Tao and human beings. In his later works, he claimed Tao as the intuitive understanding of the cosmos and life. Accordingly, Taoism is one of the manifestations of Tiandi Jingjie. However, he did not clarify the relationship between the intuitive understanding and "General principle" as well as the "Universals". / Chapter Three explores the case of Zhang Xianglong, who interprets Tao as a "non-objectified horizon" which is constitutive and self-sufficient as a structure that generates meaning, or a real experience of life in the world. It matches with the obscure, active and creating nature of Tao in the Laozi. However, his phenomenological perspective can only lead to a further disclosure of the vivid, rich, and fundamental meanings of Tao, it fails to deal with the value of Tao. / Chapter Two examines the case of Mou Zongsan, who interpreted Taoism as the "Metaphysics in the line of vision" and viewed Tao as a disclosing vision under certain subjective state of mind. The ultimate vision is established on the unity of the objective Tao as a foundation and the subjective Tao as a subjective vision. However, Mou Zongsan did not clarify how to achieve the ultimate vision by Gongfu of subject without distinguishing subject and object from each other. He recommended Heidegger's concept of "non-objectification", attempting to acquire the understanding of horizon as the hidden background of the distinction of object and subject. However, he could not fully understand the phenomenological approach of Heidegger and failed to overcome the dichotomy in interpreting Tao. / This dissertation aims at studying how to interpret Tao in the Laozi beyond the dichotomy of object and subject. There are three contemporary typical approaches to explore Tao: First, Tao is interpreted as an object with external and objective features, such as principle or universals; the representative figure of this approach is Feng Youlan. Second, Tao is interpreted as a subjective state of mind; the representative figure of this approach is Mou Zongsan. Third, Tao is interpreted as the horizon that exists before object and subject are distinguished from each other; the representative figure of this approach is Zhang Xianglong. This dissertation gives a new interpretation of Tao based on a clear exploration and critique of the theories of Feng Youlan, Mou Zongsan, and Zhang Xianglong. The methodology of different approaches will also be reviewed. The dissertation consists of five chapters: / 林光華. / Adviser: Xiaogan Lin. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-04, Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 190-202). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Lin Guanghua.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:cuhk.edu.hk/oai:cuhk-dr:cuhk_344916 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Contributors | 林光華., Chinese University of Hong Kong Graduate School. Division of Philosophy., Lin, Guanghua. |
| Source Sets | The Chinese University of Hong Kong |
| Language | Chinese, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, theses |
| Format | electronic resource, microform, microfiche, 1 online resource (vii, 202 p.) |
| Rights | Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons “Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International” License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) |
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