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April 15-16, 2005
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April 15-16, 2005
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The Implications of the Origins of the Daodejing for Philosophy Ronnie L. Littlejohn
Belmont University
Ronnie L. Littlejohn (Ph.D. 1978, Baylor) is Professor of Philosophy, Chairman of the Department of Philosophy, and Director of Asian Studies at Belmont University. He was recipient of the 2003 Award for Innovative Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Technology from the International Conference of the Center for Advancement of Teaching and Learning. Although trained in the work of Ludwig Wittgenstein, his current research and publication program is in comparative philosophy, especially classical and contemporary Daoism.
Professor Littlejohn has made scholarly contributions through books, articles, and film scripts, including Ethics: Studying the Art of Moral Appraisal (Rowman and Littlefield, 1993), Exploring Christian Theology (University Press of America, 1984), and Skepticism and Religious Relativism, Episode 13: Religions of the World, presented by Liberty International Entertainment in cooperation with Schlessinger Media (with narration by Ben Kingsley, 1998). Currently he is co-editor of two new forthcoming collections: Polishing the Chinese Mirror: Essays in Honor of Henry Rosemont, Jr. and Liezi Rides the Wind: Essays on a Classical Daoist Text. He is author of four dozen articles, including most recently “Revisiting the Implications of Wu Xing Physics in the Zhongyong” for Metaphilosophy and Chinese Thought: Interpreting David Hall and "'It's Not That Ghosts Really Lose Their Numinous Qualities” in Philosophy East and West: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy.
-- Abstract -- The Implications of the Origins of the Daodejing
for Philosophy
Laozi followers would practice tranquility and recite the Daodejing , engaging in a visualization of Lord Lao and certain celestial guardians such as the god of the Northern Dipper.
Since the time of James Legge who first made available a reliable English translation of the Daodejing , it has been part of the institutionalized authoritative discourse about Daoism to speak of a pure philosophical stream embodied in the Lao-Zhuang tradition (dao jia ), and a degenerate popular religion of superstition, alchemy and magic that began with the Celestial Masters in the 2nd century C.E. ( dao jiao) and is represented in the remainder of the Daoist canon (daozang ). I show that this account of Daoism is hopelessly and irredeemably flawed. I offer an alternative narrative that places the formation of the Daodejing logia squarely in the heart of daoshi lineages and their catechetical and training methods. Then, I select a number of Daodejing passages and provide a new philosophical interpretation of them in light of this origin narrative. I conclude with a description of how the Daodejing is currently used in two daoshi lineages in contemporary China and argue that while this is not a reason to think that my construction of origins is correct, these uses are nonetheless consistent with my view.
Website constructed and maintained by Douglas Shrader / Department Chair Philosc@Oneonta.edu February 11, 2005
Revised April 8, 2005
