NOTE: The “Egypt” group will answer these questions and report back
to class.
Answer TWO of the
following:
Q1: In Chapter 13, the
book seems to satirize the point of writing books, as it claims, “This
generation values words and puts them into books, yet what it values is perhaps
mistaken, because what it values is not really all that valuable” (115). How
can words—and books—not be valuable? Does this mean his words and his books? Or
just what we’re supposed to be writing and reading about?
Q2: Chapters 12 and 13
seem to directly confront the teachings of Confucius, and in one instance, Confucius
even debates with Lao Tzu, the founded of Taoism. What seems to be the biggest
critique of Confucianism and those who follow it? What ‘truth’ are they missing
or do they ignore the most?
Q3: In Chapter 12, the
book claims that things lose their innate natures when one of five things
happen. What are these things and how are they related? Why might these cause
someone to pervert or impair the natural world?
Q4: These chapters are
also more explicit in discussing the ‘Tao,’ which is the foundation of Taoism,
and this book. What understanding about the Tao, or “the way” did you take away
from this reading? How can we know what the Tao is or isn’t?
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