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LAOZI - TAOISM

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LAOZI - TAOISM [노자]

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LECTURE 1: LEVERS OF INFLUENCE - (POWER) TOOLS OF THE TRADES [프롤로그: 설득 심리학으로의 초대]

LECTURE 2: RECIPROCATION - THE OLD GIVE AND TAKE [설득의 법칙 1: 상호성 법칙]

LECTURE 3: LIKING - THE FREINDLY THIEF [설득의 법칙 2: 호감 법칙]

LECTURE 4: SOCIAL PROOF - TRUTHS ARE US [설득의 법칙 3: 사회적 증거 법칙]

LECTURE 5: AUTHORITY - DIRECTED DEFERENCE [설득의 법칙 4: 권위 법칙]

LECTURE 6: SCARCITY - THE RULE OF THE FEW [설득의 법칙 5: 희귀성 법칙]

LECTURE 7: COMMITMENT AND CONSISTENCY - HOBGOBLINS OF THE MIND [설득의법칙 6: 일관성 법칙]

LECTURE 8: UNITY - THE "WE" IS THE SHARED ME [설득의 법칙 7: 연대감 법칙]

LECTURE 9: INSTANT INFLUENCE - PRIMITIVE CONSENT FOR AN AUTOMATIC AGE [에필로그: 정보화 시대의 설득 전략]

THREE MAJOR TAKEAWAYS FROM THE LECTURES [__________________________]

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CHAPTER 1: LEVERS OF INFLUENCE - (POWER) TOOLS OF THE TRADES [프롤로그: 설득 심리학으로의 초대]

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Lecture 1 - June 22, 2024

The definition of humanities stands for the pattern that humans draw which exists within a holistic flow. The decision-making by businesspeople directly determines their success or failure and therefore they are always on the boundary between life and death. Due to encountering the endlessly continuous risks, businesspeople possess an outstanding humanistic insight which is an ability to understand something at a short glance through an intuition.

In the early stage of a nation, law and political science play central functions. During the development stage, disciplines including economics, business, sociology, and journalism take the lead. In the advanced stages, philosophy and psychology become the central functions. In an empire, archaeology and anthropology attempt to interpret humanity as a whole. As explained, the study of humanities guides the direction in which humanity moves.

Imagination and creativity are required to discover new breakthroughs in economic, political, and educational structures. Businesspeople intuitively sense the need for these breakthroughs. There exists a significant difference between a person who is within a collective framework and a person who expresses their own individuality. Renaissance Humanism was an attempt to free humanity from the domination of the divine and to secure human independence. Cicero defined the studia humanitatis not as a formal doctrine, but as a style of thought which asserts the importance of humans as cultivated beings in control of one's moral universe. Alan Bullock mentioned that it is impossible to define humanity, humanism, and humanistic values in a way that everyone can agree on because humanity always changes along with the different worlds in which humans interact throughout time. Humans must return from "us" to "me" because humanistic insight is not a matter of analysis but holding intuition and strength.

For example, a person who makes judgments through humanistic insights does not judge things as good or bad. Instead of attempting to give answers, an intuitive person asks questions wondering what changes could have occurred in our world which made things that were impossible ten or fifteen years ago to be possible as of today.

The belief that correct answers always exist and are to be found in books, authorities, and experts is ingrained in the Asian Psyche. When humans seek answers, we are unable to think and therefore impossible to solve problems. The main reason why humans can not think is due to strong beliefs, ideologies, values, and intellectual systems which is already preoccupied in our human brains. Humans who are governed by ideologies see the world as they are supposed to see it and as they want to see it. Humanistic insight is realized when a person is prepared to see the world as it truly appears and only then can a person become not a follower of ideology, but a creator of ideology.

A person with humanistic insight is a leader who continuously stands at the boundaries. A leader must never try to eliminate but instead endure fear, ambiguity, and anxiety. The moment a person attempts to clearly define one side from the boundary, one inevitably encounters limitations to the process of thinking. Clarity coexists with conflict, narrowness, and limitation. The moment a person chooses one thing, one accepts a system and consequently lives on one side. With these difficulties, humanistic creativity is about courage which makes a person return to oneself.

Lao Tzu explains that the values and ideologies that govern us are standards that are merely conceptual structures that have been artificially created. As long as these standards are enforced, a society or a person will be divided. After division, one side will naturally be excluded and therefore lead to oppression. As long as a person holds on to the standards, one will inevitably take a side which results in a violation of spontaneity and autonomy. A society composed of spontaneous and autonomous individuals is strong and the nation of this society becomes prosperous.

Nouns are incomparably more rigid than verbs. All concepts, which are nouns, are rigid and a person who is armed with concepts becomes as hard and stiff as cement concrete. The path of happiness, the path of life, the path of creation, and the path of prosperity begins with awakening oneself from a rigid noun state to an active verb state.

Lecture 2 - June 23, 2024

The historical codes that explain the relationship between humanity and the world before Lao Tzu include fire, geometric shapes, blood relations, the god, and virtue. The study of humanity is examining the relationship between the world and humans. In relation to the world, the history of humans has been surrounded by the rise of human status. To begin with, humans started to cook meat with fire and reduced the energy invested for digestion. As a result, the skull and muscles became thinner and the mouth expanded which provided more space for the human brain to grow and for the tongue to move freely. By using fire, humans obtained capabilities to think and speak unlike other animal species. Then, humanity developed an ability to use geometric shapes to categorize the world.

After a period of time in the East, blood relations were used as a key concept. Due to the Neolithic Agricultural revolution, surplus productions emerged and men who were more suited to agriculture began to take the lead. Consequently, the concept of ownership was developed and this led to a desire to pass on properties to one’s own children rather than to other descendants. Throughout this trend of ownership, a new system of monogamy was established and blood relations became the most important concept. Along with the concept of blood relations, people started to interpret themselves in a broader sense which included time and space. The system of primogeniture allowed the authority of the eldest son to become a social status acknowledged in a bigger society.

People of the Shang Dynasty progressed into believing that all events were determined by god. It was the beginning of humans to interpret themselves with universal grounds and standards mediated by a universal absolute. By changing the code for interpreting the world from blood relations to god, the status of humans has once again risen by creating a standard that is consistent and unchanging. An important change once again occurred when the Zhou Dynasty overthrew the Shang Dynasty. When the Zhou Dynasty was establishing its rules, the legitimacy of overthrowing was created by the Mandate of Heaven. The concept of 'virtue' (德, dé, 덕) emerged to explain the change in the Mandate of Heaven. The Zhou Dynasty claimed that they possessed the ‘virtue’ that the Shang Dynasty lacked, and thus the Mandate of Heaven was transferred. In this context, humans emerged as being capable of changing the Mandate of Heaven which is the universal force governing the world, thereby once again elevating the status of humanity. By establishing virtue as the minimum regulation within human society which determines the decision of the divine god, humans for the first time emerged as a responsible existence in history and culture.

Lecture 3 - June 24, 2024

Learning is about imitation as it involves following and practicing exemplary theoretical systems created by other scholars. Confucius in the Analects emphasized learning (學, xué, 학) and practice (習, xí, 습) with the belief that learning empowers individuals to take actions, explaining the uselessness of a person who memorizes entire poems of the Book of Songs and is incapable of handling small political affairs. While Confucious suggested that learning empowers creative thinking, he did not foresee how the structured system of learning that he created could limit the openness in the learning attitude. As learning was structured into a single system, the path to creativity was obscure.

On the other hand, the first chapter of Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu explains “The Tao (道, Dào, 도) that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal Name. The unnamable is the eternally real.” When Lao Tzu criticized Confucius, he says that learning (學, 학) means adding something new every day, but practicing the Tao (道, 도) means subtracting something every day. Subtracting in this context is an act of reducing and weakening our own value system and the path of practicing the Tao leaves one with an infinite openness. Laozi's teaching is about placing oneself at the boundary and gaining the strength to embrace openness.

A German Philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel mentioned “Whatever happens, every individual is a child of his time; so philosophy too is its own time apprehended in thoughts. It is just as absurd to fancy that a philosophy can transcend its contemporary world.” Any philosophy merely reflects its era and there is not a universal belief system or theory that can solve all human problems. Therefore, understanding philosophy involves understanding the organic relationship with the era from which it emerged. To truly understand Lao Tzu, one must know the historical conditions in which he emerged and by understanding the context of his philosophy, one can see why such philosophy arose. Approaching learning this way transforms learning from imitation to a path of creativity.

Back to the historical context, the Zhou Dynasty created an advanced political system which was distinct from the Shang Dynasty, known as a feudal system (封建制, fēngjiàn zhì, 봉건제). The emperor distributed lands to intelligent individuals within the same blood relations which allowed the Zhou Dynasty to manage, expand, and defend the vast territory efficiently. The system that supported feudalism in particular was the lineage system (宗法制, zōngfǎ zhì, 종법제도) which guaranteed loyalty of the vassals to the emperor based on the blood relations.

Money is crucial for the successful management of a state, so the effectiveness and fairness of the tax system are vital for the health of society. Establishing a solid tax system is essential for state management. The tax system of the Zhou dynasty was the well-field system (井田制, jǐngtián zhì, 정전제). In this system, a square piece of land was divided into nine plots. Eight households each received a private plot (私田, sītián, 사전), while the remaining plot was designated as a communal plot (公田, gōngtián, 공전). At the early stage of the well-field system, people harvested crops from their private plots for their sustenance and from the communal plot to pay taxes to the vassals. As a result, people preferred to spend more energy working on their private plots instead of the communal plot.

The era of Confucius and Laozi was during the transition from the Spring and Autumn period to the Warring States period. For over 500 years after the founding of the Zhou dynasty, the time people spent working on private plots increased while the time spent working on communal plots decreased. As the well-field system persisted for over five centuries, tax revenues consequently dwindled, making it difficult for the state to maintain a consistent fiscal policy. A new tax system, known as the head tax (初税亩, chūshuìmǔ, 초세무) was introduced, where a fixed amount of tax was levied based on the land area. With the implementation of this fixed tax system, farmers gained more freedom. The necessity for everyone to farm disappeared, leading to the emergence of commerce. Simultaneously, the invention of iron tools in China provided a significant boost to the income of small landowners. As productivity surged, these small landowners earned higher incomes and hence began to form a new social class.

Lecture 4 - July 18, 2024

The presence or absence of a fact is not merely a matter of addition and subtraction, but it surrounds aspects of ecological factors. A person who not only imitates but possesses the will to create thinks beyond understanding a fact and considers how that fact operates within an ecological context. The scholar Alvin Toffler considered the collapse of the Soviet Union as the prelude to enormous world change. The world undergoes immense changes because human social classes shift based on how goods are produced, information is managed, information is produced, and information is distributed. The current challenge humanity is encountering is the computer which has completely transformed the way humans produce goods and the system of laboring. Since those who earn money have become an entirely new group, computers are driving the world to unprecedented changes in world structure.

Directly changing the way people think and live is influenced by money. Therefore, when the main ways of making money change, the group of people who earn money change as well. This shift alters social classes, which in turn changes political desires and the political structure ultimately. Back to the historical context, during the late Spring and Autumn period and the early Warring States period, the introduction of iron technology into Chinese industry caused a revolutionary change. The immense advancement in production tools led to a rapid increase in industrial productivity and a significant accumulation of wealth. The existing industrial structure and the money distribution channels which had been maintained since the beginning of the Stone Age could no longer contain the overflow of money within the system. The commoners consequently escaped from domination and began to accumulate wealth.

Money seeks power. The early wealthy individuals in the new era were mostly those who had no previous ties to the established cultural norms. These new wealthy individuals who lacked connections to the traditional elite sought to be elevated into the aristocratic class, while the junzi sought to suppress them. This class conflict between the commoners and the junzi began to cause chaos. In the Analects, Confucius mentions that the junzi seeks harmony without uniformity while the commoner seeks uniformity without harmony. The junzi advocated for fulfilling different roles to create a good country, whereas the commoners who had lived through centuries of disparity claimed that these differences only caused their suffering and therefore demanded equality. The development of Chinese history was shaped by the rising power of the commoners who had adapted swiftly to the Iron Age and therefore evolved into a new class of landlords and merchants, ultimately becoming the capitalists.

The newly risen capitalists found the class structure based on blood relations highly uncomfortable and recognizing their own growing power, the commoners concluded that they could dismantle this class structure. A revolution led by this new group of capitalists occurred and paved the way for the rise of Qin Shi Huang. Throughout this entire historical flow, the root cause for the rise of Qin Shi Huang was iron technology. Possessing a humanistic insight is having the ability to discern the historical relationship from the invention of iron to the revolution of capitalists.

The invention of iron brought about changes in political structures as well. During the Western Zhou period, the emperor (天子, 천자) was the dominant ruler, and the feudal lords (诸侯, 제후) were subordinates, creating a stable power structure. However, the power relationship between the emperor and the feudal lords reversed. By the Warring States period, an emperor disappeared and left 71 feudal states and a war began among these 71 states to become the new emperor. The development of state forms during the Spring and Autumn periods saw a transition where the number of states decreased while the size of the remaining states increased. At the end, Qin Shin Huang unified all states into one state and at the root of this historical change was the emergence of the iron technology.

During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, a god ruled and humans were ruled, junzi ruled and commoners were ruled, and the emperor ruled and the feudal lords were ruled. This stable structure was created by the Mandate of Heaven (天命, 천명), characterized by the consistency. However, as the ruling structures established by the Mandate of Heaven collapsed, the doubts from people about the Mandate of Heaven exploded. The invention of iron led to the accumulation of wealth and weakened trust of people in Heaven. As a result, humans decided to remove the divine heaven and began to believe they must manage the world with own power.

Hence, the new important issue surrounding how to manage the world was inquired by humans who remained, feudal lords and commoners. The Mandate of Heaven had been absolute prior to the change, so recognizing and following was the correct way of living. With the disappearance of a god, humanity no longer lived by the commands of a transcendent force but had to forge its path through human power alone. Confucius and Laozi, in this context, had to redefine the path humans should take and the path created by humans was the Tao (道, 도).

In the West, the first philosopher was Thales who claimed that the fundamental principle of the world is water. Before Thales, Western people believed the principle of the world foundation was about gods. This shift from belief in gods to human thoughts marks the beginning of philosophy. The emergence of the Tao meant transitioning from the age of gods to the age of humans, from the age of myth to the age of philosophy, and from the age of belief to the age of thought. The emergence of the Tao represented the declaration of independence of humanity from the belief in transcendent force. To believe something is a noble and humble act involving surrendering one’s independence. A human should not fear to abandon beliefs and thus thoroughly prepare to embark on a new path.

Lecture 5 - July 18, 2024

During the late Spring and Autumn and early Warring States periods, the Chinese community transitioned from an age of belief to an age of thought, and the emergence of the "Tao" (道, 도) represented a declaration of human independence. At this time, Confucius and Lao Tzu were in need to establish the concept and the order of the "Tao" and the "Tao" had to be a new force that overcame the contradictions of the Mandate of Heaven since the ideologies based on these contradictory and confusing transcendent force could not be sustained in the upcoming era.

A society of the Shang Dynasty which believed that everything was decided by the god was not peaceful, but rather highly turbulent. This characteristic existed because a society ruled by the divine is mostly subjective, inconsistent, and empowered from hidden subjectivity. The authority was reserved for a few who acted as divine agents representing the Mandate of Heaven. In summary, the contradictions of the Mandate of Heaven were caused with traits such as subjectivity, secrecy, and arbitrariness which are directly related to turbulence rather than peace.

To overcome these contradictions, the direction of the "Tao" needed to be surrounding universality, transparency, and objectivity. Confucius and Lao Tzu under this same era showcased different solutions regarding this direction.

The Analects of Confucius holistilicaly attempted to teach people how "the reason humans are humans exist within human." The philosophical revolution of Confucius happened when he asserted that the reason humans are humans is not due to transcendent force, but the own inherent nature of humans. Confucius called this inherent nature of humans "ren" (仁, rén, 인). The "ren" means "seed" and Confucius believed that every human possess the inherent "seed" of humanity and that humans must focus on how to nurture the seed. To become a more mature and ideal human, one method Confucius suggested was to "not impose on others what you do not wish for yourself."

Every single human beings share this common "ren" which grants the ability to empathize with each other. Through this empathy, Confucius believed that adhering to the aforementioned principle will enable people to be fully mature. According to the Analects, the best way to nurture this common "ren" is through "learning" (學, xué, 학) and "practice" (習, xí, 습). Confucius wanted humans to learn and practice with a purpose of cultivating "ren" to align with the universal values, ideals, and order of the society which is "li" (禮, lǐ, 예) meaning "proper conduct."

The Confucian Scholars including Zhu Xi who systempized Neo-Confucianism summarized the Analects with a phrase (克己復禮, 극기복례) "restrain yourself and return to the proper conduct," emphasizing the cultivation of "ren" to an ideal state. The Doctrine of the Mean states that "ren" signifies humans and treating those who are related by blood with greater care is fundamental. Confucius argued that preserving the natural human nature observed in familial relationship is the starting point of humans. Filial piety (孝, xiào, 효) towards parents and harmony among siblings were told as the foundations of practicing "ren" which confirms the distinctiveness of humans from animals. Confucius believed that all societal order and state governance should be built upon filial piety, viewing the adherence to "li" ((禮, 예) as the universal standard of becoming a human of an ideal state.

Lao Tzu criticized this very point of Confucius, challenging the universal acceptance of "li" as the ideal and common standard for all. The social order, termed "structure" (格, 격), is broken by "breaking the structure" (破格, 파격). "Breaking the structure" countlessly happens in the world, but only some become "trends" while others disappear. Recognizing whether this "breaking the structure" phenomenon can become a trend can lead a person into wealth. The human history shows the pattern of the periphery challenging the center and the minorities overthrowing the majorities. When "breaking the structure" become a "trend," the trend turn into power and ideology which cause standards to emerge, eventually creating distinctions and hierarchies. Lao Tzu argued that any standards, even if deemed good, become power and therefore turn into violence once universally accepted.

In Chapter 2 of the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu states "When the people of the world all know beauty as beauty, there arises the recognition of ugliness. When they all know the good as good, there arises the recognition of evil." The rebuttal of Lao Tzu against Confucius was that "Tao" which is meant to overcome the contradictions of the Mandate of Heaven must be transparent and objective. When ideals (example: cultivation of "ren" adhering to "li") which are agreed upon as "good" become universal standards, these ideals inevitably breed violence and division.

Self-reflections mostly uses existing universal standards to evaluate oneself, often turning these standards into perceived truths. Universal standards are conceptual structures which can not accurately reflect the reality. No one can perfectly fit into the universal standards, so when a person compares oneself with these standards, one is led to self-deprecation. Standards should not be imposed from society to a person, but they must be generated from the inside through personal growth. The true forms of freedom, happiness, and creativity do not stem from universal standards, but from independent inner vitality. A person must not learn and practice the standards, but one must become an existence which create standards. People should never regard distant ideals as universal standards and perceive themselves as inferior or flawed. The philosophy of Lao Tzu emphasizes the importance of self-trust and self-love which contributes to formulating true life meaning, a healthy society, and overall a prosperous nation.

Lecture 6 - August 25, 2024

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Lecture 7 - August 25, 2024

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Lecture 8 - August 25, 2024

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