NOTE: The "Africa" group will answer these questions and bring them to class.
Answer TWO of the following:
Q1: In Chapter 8, it states "what is long is not too long;/That which is short is not too short" (67). This makes sense, but how does it relate to other aspects of life, particularly in things like moral judgments, and ideas of beauty, etc.?
Q2: Chapter 9 blames the sage (the wise man) for spreading discontent and envy among the people? Does this contradict the work's earlier claim that "there is no boundary to knowledge"? If knowledge/learning is boundless, why would the sage spread evil by seeking to teach the masses?
Q3: If the "Tao" is the way of truth, enlightenment, etc., what do you think it means in Chapter 10 when it states, "Is there a Tao for the thief? Chih replied, "What profession is there without its Tao?"" (77). How can thieves and other criminals have--and follow--their own Tao, or truth?
Q4: One of the great paradoxes of the work occurs at the end of Chapter 10: "Everything in the world knows how to seek for knowledge that they do not hav, but do not know how to find what they already know" (80). What do you think this means, and why is the pursuit of knowledge potentially dangerous to both the wise man and his students?
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