The Thinker – Spring 2023

The Thinker 2023

Greece and China

Plato’s tripartite soul: how useful is it in assessing human nature?

If you have ever dabbled into philosophy, whether it be in a classroom or a thrilling dinner-table discussion, chances are Plato will have come up! Often regarded as the founder of western philosophy, Plato’s views have undeniably inﬂuenced and shaped modern thought. One of his most interesting ideas is his tripartite soul, in which he proposes that human beings are deﬁned by the antagonism between their reason and emotions.

Plato’s conception of the tripartite soul states that the human soul or psyche can be compartmentalised into three fundamental aspects: reason, spirit ( emotions like pride and courage), and appetite (bodily and worldly desires). These three aspects seek knowledge, reputation and material gain and each can come to do an minate our behaviour. Plato anchors his view, in an analogy of a chariot where the charioteer represents our rational, and the horses represent our spirit and appetite. Plato states that it is the role of the charioteer (reason) to curb and restrain our appetites and emotions in order to guide us to a successful destination. Whilst this might seem a bit abstract, it can be best explained by cake! Imagine you have been offered a scrumptious piece of Victoria sponge cake. Your appetite urges you to eat it, but your rationality understands that it would be grossly unhealthy for you. Which one do you listen to? Plato argues that you should allow your reason to guide you, as this is an essential property in human nature, which distinguishes us from other sentient beings. Moreover Plato believes that our capacity to be rational stems from an ability to be objective, whereby we can disregard bias, and feelings that distort our conception of the world. Plato extends this theory to suggest that reasoning allows human beings access to the transcendent: knowledge or truth that exists above the ordinary realm of experience. Thus, Plato believes that human capability to reason is what allows us to distinguish ourselves from the empirical world that surrounds us.

Whilst Plato’s tripartite soul does an admirable job in addressing the intrinsic dualities in human nature, it is underpinned by the assumption that our reason can be separated from our appetite/spirit- an assumption that has been widely scrutinised by other philosophers and academics. Let’s take the example of a person choosing whether to drink from a chalice that they know has been poisoned. Whilst it might seem like that said person is utilising their rationality by choosing not to drink from it, isn’t this decision underpinned by their desire to live? Extending this further Hobbes propelled a mechanistic view of human nature, suggesting that reason is merely a calculation in which one analyses the beneﬁts and drawbacks of a given action in choosing whether to pursue it. Therefore, Hobbes believed that rationalism was actually a disguised form of self interest, as at its heart it concerns the personal gain of an individual. In this way is rationality synonymous with egoism?

To add another philosopher into the mix, David Hume adopts a sceptical position, questioning the importance of rationality altogether! Hume’s radical philosophy argues that reason alone is completely actionless, as it relies on the assistance of our emotions for it to be used effectively:

“Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other ofﬁce than to serve and obey them”. To put this into context: imagine you are walking to the store to buy a new jumper. Your rationality undeniably has a role to play: it guides you on which route to take, which store to go to, and how much money to bring etc. However, the reason you walked to the store was because of your desire for a new jumper, so if you didn't have a passion for fashion, then you never would have walked to the store to begin with. In essence, our passions motivate us to take action, and our reason helps guide the actions we take. Returning to Plato’s analogy, the charioteer ( reason) is dependent on the strength and vigour of the horses (appetite and spirit) to propel the chariot forward. The role of the charioteer in controlling the horses is redundant if the horses did not move in the ﬁrst place.

The question of what deﬁnes human nature is one that will deﬁnitely continue to be investigated and analysed by philosophers. If the ideas of Plato, Hobbes, and Hume have taught us anything, perhaps it’s that human nature is multifaceted, and can not be neatly packaged into one thing - be it rationality or self interest. So the next time you are eating Victoria sponge cake or deciding whether to drink from a poisoned chalice, try to acknowledge that it was the unique intersections of your emotions, reason and desires that brought you to where you are.

Diogenes; “A Socrates gone mad”

While many of you will not know exactly what the infamous Diogenes of Sinope actually said, you may recognise him as the melodramatic ﬁgure in blue who is sprawled over the steps in Raphael’s The School of Athens. I have to commend Raphael, because when I ﬁrst saw this painting I could not tell which was Heraclitus, Anaximander or Aeschines, but I knew immediately who Diogenes was. This is because, much like this portrayal, Diogenes is loud, provocative and does not leave room for anyone else, including perhaps the most famous Greek, Alexander the Great.

Diogenes is considered one of the founders of Cynicism, which is essentially a no-nonsense attitude to avarice that builds on the selfsufficiency pioneered by the Stoics and a repudiation of physical luxuries in the aim of creating a primitive utopia outside of contrived social conventions. The ideal life is free from all of these unnecessary possessions. Regarded now as the first anarchists, they viewed the dissolution of the state as necessary for human progress, calling for a devaluation of materialism and social status in an essential return to nature. After all, as Diogenes said, "humans have complicated every simple gift of the gods”. This is an attitude he likely developed under the guidance of his teacher Antisthenes, an ascetic philosopher who championed the pursuit of virtue over pleasure, but who reportedly tried to beat him with a staff when the persistent Cynic refused to leave him alone. Nevertheless, Diogenes regarded him as the true successor to Socrates, filled with disdain for Plato’s abstract metaphysics, and expanded on the importance of distinguishing physis (nature) from nomos (custom). This he continued to pursue until his death, despite being captured by pirates on the way to Aegina and being sold to the famous sophist Xeniades, who apparently admired his occupation with self-control and hired him to tutor his children.

So you may be thinking that none of that sounds particularly provocative, but it is important to note that Diogenes was a man who led by example, and much of what we know about his principles comes from anecdotes for a number of classical sources. The most famous of these is probably his living situation; he is said to have occupied a clay wine jar belonging to the Temple of Cybele, a home intended purely to protect him from the weather. While once in possession of a single wooden bowl with which to drink, this was soon discarded as he saw a young boy use his hands as a vessel, and was horrified at his own superfluous possession. As part of his rebellious attitude to society, he refused the custom of abstaining from food in the marketplace and proclaimed that he must eat three because that was where he felt hungry. His more vulgar activities, such as urinating on those who insulted him and defecating in the theatre are symptoms of this active disregard for the current state of humanity, and while he went on long searches with a lamp in broad daylight for “a man”, he reputably found nothing but rascals and scoundrels. Not even Alexander the Great was of any real significance to him, and when Alexander asked him if there was any favour he may do for him, Diogenes simply asked him to stand out of his sunlight. Supposedly the conqueror, while being shocked by this entitlement, was rather impressed and proclaimed "But truly, if I were not Alexander, I wish I were Diogenes”. Diogenes’ inelegant response was that he too would wish to be himself.

While no man seemed to satisfy Diogenes’ ideal behaviour, there was another creature who he used as an exemplar embodiment of the correct way to live. The Cynic admired the virtues of the dog, and seemed quite pleased when he was called as such. While humans have become artiﬁcial beings, dogs have not a care for social restrictions, and have an instinctive knowledge of those that can be trusted, and those who cannot. It seems that the canine way was the one that Diogenes saw as allowing him to speak out despite the controversy of his habits. However, this is likely the root of his rather scandalous bathroom habits.

Potentially offensive public acts aside, perhaps we all have something to learn from this incredible philosopher, whose determination to change what he saw as harmful in society drove him to lead a life that continues to be marvelled at to this day.

After all, “of what use is a philosopher who doesn't hurt anybody's feelings?”.

Aristotelian Psychology; the study of the soul

Though his works on ethics and politics remain amongst the most influential of all time, Aristotle’s contributions to science are often overlooked. To this day, we tend to associate the Socratic philosophers with their metaphysical reflections, but disregard how Aristotle combined these with the natural sciences to produce what he referred to as “the study of the soul”; in other words, psychology. His critical attitude exemplified the analytical nature of the modern scientific approach, he provided the basis for contemporary scientific methodology -that combines observations and inferences to reach conclusions- and wrote the first book on psychology, De Anima, which laid the basis for extant branches of psychology including Behaviourism. Considering this, it is safe to say that Aristotle has earned his title as the founding father of psychology.

Aristotle’s theory on the acquisition of knowledge

Though Aristotle is considered to be a Socratic philosopher, his views contrast and criticise those of Socrates and, in particular, those of Plato; of whom Aristotle himself was a student. One of the major distinctions lay in their epistemological theories. Plato, a rationalist, believed that fundamental truths about reality lay in the mind; in intellectual, abstract concepts as opposed to the physical world, and that knowledge was hence acquired using a deductive approach. This meant using innate rationality to acquire information about tangible things. In contrast, Aristotle argued that knowledge was gained by making observations about reality, reﬂecting on them, then coming to a conclusion. Aristotle suggested that knowledge is acquired through an inductive approach that combines empiricism and rationalism. By criticising the prominent view that material experiences would deter one from making valid discoveries, Aristotle produced a method to acquire knowledge that combined both physical observation and intuitive reasoning.

We see Aristotalian reasoning manifested in the scientiﬁc method. Scientists collect data -empirical facts- and then use their innate logic to classify, examine the reliability, evaluate hypotheses and make conclusions surrounding the data. Modern scientiﬁc methodology is, therefore, simply an application and extension of Aristotle's metaphysical and epistemological position.

Aristotle’s theory of memory: The four laws of association

Aristotle’s theory of the acquisition of knowledge led him to question Plato’s theory of memory. Plato had previously suggested that humans are born with memories and -as with knowledge- we must simply retrieve them from the world of the forms using our rationale. Aristotle disagreed, arguing that memories are composed of sensory experiences and physical encounters with the material world. Memories aren’t simply recalled, but rather formed through interactions with reality.

In de Memoria, Aristotle suggests that memory works through various cerebral associations, the dominant hypothesis that prevails in current psychological theory. He outlines these in the 4 laws of association; which attempt to explain how we retrieve and recall information. The ﬁrst law -the law of contiguity- relies on cooccurrence, stating that events and objects that occur simultaneously in space and time are linked together in the mind. For example, when thinking about listening to music, one may also recall dancing as they often co-occur. Aristotle’s second law -the law of similarity- states that concepts that are similar in nature are also linked in the mind. Aristotle suggested that our minds subconsciously homogenise similar events, leading us to perceiving them as a part of a greater whole, causing a mental correlation. According to Aristotle, this law extended to contrasting concepts; opposites become linked in the mind as a result of their difference. The colour black, for example, may elicit memories of the colour white as they are directly contrasting. Finally, Aristotle proposed the law of frequency, arguably the most inﬂuential theory of memory, which states that the more often two events co-occur, the stronger the mental association between them. We can witness the law of frequency around us every day: you wake up to your alarm every morning, so when you hear it during the day it jolts you awake, or when you see a calculator and it involuntarily evokes the suppressed horrors of GCSE maths.

How did these theories develop?

Until the 17th century, nobody would be as inﬂuential to psychology as Aristotle. In the 1600s, Aristotle’s laws of association became the basis for Associationism; a psychological theory illustrated by seventeenth century philosopher John Locke. In his Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Locke proposed that complex concepts are generated from creating a subconscious network of association between simple ideas. This suggestion of cerebral connections as being a passive process became known as Associationism, a term coined by Locke himself in 1700. Associationism later evolved to form Behaviourism, a branch of psychology which states that all behaviours are learned through continued interactions with environmental stimuli by processes of conditioning. Behaviourism is demonstrated in quintessential psychological experiments such as Pavlov’s Dog and the Little Albert experiment, both of which explore the effects of classical conditioning.

It is clear that psychological discoveries remain indebted to Aristotle’s works and that the impact of his examination of human learning continues to penetrate the ﬁelds of science, education and philosophy. By presenting psychology as a union of biology, epistemology and metaphysics, Aristotle showed that psychology is a progressive and ubiquitous ﬁeld that proves its relevance in any and every discipline.

Xenophanes, Anthropomorphism, and the Milesian Naturalists

Xenophanes, not to be confused with Xenophon, a rather brilliant historian who wrote practical treatises on everything ranging from horsemanship to taxation and is pretty much responsible for 90% of the contextual resources in Classical Civ A Level, is one of the most signiﬁcant pre-socratic philosophers and predecessors to the Eleatics.

In order to understand Xenophanes, you need the context of the contemporary cultural climate of popular Greek religion against which he was reacting. Most of us are aware from childhood adventures into the colourful world of Greek mythology of the traditional pantheon of Olympian gods, with Zeus, Poseidon, Aphrodite and Hermes to give a few prominent examples, residing over the states of human affairs. While perhaps fantastical and whimsical tales to us now, this was the legitimate theology of Ancient Greece, as expounded in Homer, responsible for such brilliant epic poems as the Iliad and Odyssey, and Hesiod, who described the genealogy of the gods in the Theogony.

Xenophanes, however, had many qualms with this model of divinity and he produced, in response, the ﬁrst recorded systematic account of divine nature. He is not questioning the existence of the divine, but rather the way in which the nature of it is discussed. The crucial factor in this assault on contemporary religion is a critique of anthropomorphism, a term stemming from the Greek words ἄνθρωπος ("human") and μορφή ("form"). As suggested by the etymology, this essentially means that the notion of the divine has suffered an attribution of distinctly human qualities as part of the endeavour of conceptualisation. The famous example he uses of this demonstrates the tendency to have a preconditioned mould into which a divine being will ﬁt as based on the constitution of the thinker is as follows:

“But if horses or oxen or lions had hands or could draw with their hands and accomplish such works as men,horses would draw the ﬁgures of the gods as similar to horses, and the oxen as similar to oxen,and they would make the bodies of the sort which each of them had”

As an alternative, he employs a cataphatic theology (defining the divine through positive declaratives) in which he delineates a being who bears no resemblance to humanity in either form or mind. This culminated in five key concepts; God is beyond human morality, cannot be likened to humanity, is eternal, is not part of a divine hierarchy and does not intervene in human affairs. This supposedly spherical being comprehends all things within himself but, contrary to traditional religion where the gods are active participants in the earthly world, is completely unmotivated by human affairs. One of the primary reasons this is significant, is that it opens the gateway to naturalistic interpretations of phenomena that do not rely on external interventions by the pantheon. In other words, we are epistemologically autonomous, and must use our faculties to inquire into the state of our world.

This attitude is unsurprising given the context of the Milesian Naturalists, Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes, three Ionian cosmologists who were pioneers of methodological naturalism. Moving away from the mythological explanations of celestial bodies and terrestrial phenomena, they focused on empirical observation, and identifying interactions of the elements as involved in a causal dynamic with these events. Alas, the poor Olympian gods and their continuous intervention was replaced with hylozoism (the belief that matter is alive) and material monism (that there is one basic material principle of the universe e.g. water or air). Xenophanes was certainly innovative, but he was also one part of the great journey pioneered by a line of sometimes questionable and always eccentric Greek philosophers that has led us to modern science.

After all, as Xenophanes says, “everything comes from the earth, and everything ends in the earth.”

An Introduction to Chinese philosophy

Whilst ofﬁcially known as an atheist country, China has seen many different belief systems throughout history, as well as the political and social turmoil and conﬂict that these ideals have brought to the population. Of its three main philosophies and religions - Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism - arguably, Confucianism has been one of the greatest causes for rife in China, and this will be shown by looking at its involvement in the Chinese Cultural Revolution under Chairman Mao Zedong.

The Warring States period which lasted from 475-221 BC is a period of time in ancient China characterised by division of states, warfare, and military reforms, all in the lead up to a greater united China. During this period and earlier, many diverse philosophical systems of thought flourished in China. The Hundred Schools of Thought, which prospered from the 6th century BC to 221 BC, is used to represent this. Amongst these schools, the most prominent were Confucianism, Mohism, Legalism, the School of Names, the Yin-Yang School, and Taoism. Mohism rested on the idea of impartial care and “universal love” as Mozi believed that “everyone is equal before heaven”. Legalism maintained that human nature was immutably selfish and that the only way to keep social order was to impose discipline. The School of Names was a philosophy that developed from Mohism and focused on definition and logic. The Yin-Yang School focused on the complementary agents of yin (negative, female, dark) and yang (positive, male, light) and the Five Elements (water, fire, wood, metal, and earth). Taoism placed emphasis not on the individual within society, but within the natural realm. Taoists advocated for adaptation to the rhythm of nature, to follow the Way of the universe, and to live in harmony. But this sense of harmony in nature must be distinguished from the social harmony highlighted in Confucianism.

Confucianism developed from the Hundred Schools of Thought from the teachings of Confucius. Confucius (551-479 BCE), traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages, came from a “poor” and “lowly station”. He worked various normal jobs, including being a shepherd and a clerk, before he started to climb up the positions of government, becoming an adept advisor at the top levels of government. Confucius is known as the ﬁrst teacher in China and he aimed to make education broadly available, establishing teaching as a vocation. Confucianism rests on the belief that humans are fundamentally good (much like Aquinas in this aspect) and that they are teachable and improvable especially through self-cultivation. Confucius’ other key objective was to create social and political harmony for China. This rested on three foundations, which became the key values of Confucianism for centuries to come: ﬁlial piety (xiao), humaneness (ren), and ritual (li). Filial piety is the respect for one’s parents, ancestors, and the hierarchies within society: father-son, elder-junior, and husbandwife. Humaneness is the quality of compassion for others. Ritual is the proper way a person should behave in everyday life to live in harmony with the law of Heaven.

The extent of whether Confucianism is a religion or philosophy is much debated. It is built on an ancient religious foundation with the aim to establish the social values, institutions and transcendent ideals of traditional Chinese society. Having been called a “civil religion” by the sociologist Robert Bellah, or a “diffused religion”, the founder Confucius himself did not set out to create a religion. In fact, the core of Confucianism is humanistic with its emphasis on family and harmony of human relationships, as opposed to something otherworldly or spiritual. The American philosopher Herbert Fingarette commented that Confucianism regards “the secular as sacred”, as its stress on social harmony is an expression of human moral nature, which is anchored in Heaven (Tian). Confucianism centres itself on the practical order that can be interpreted from the awareness we have of the Tian as humans living in this world. There are Conﬁcian priests or ‘sages of rites’ who worship Confucius as a spirit or as ‘God of culture’ at temples of Confucianism, where important community and civic rituals take place. For Confucians, this philosophy is a way of life and everyday life is the arena of Confucianism.

Yet, perhaps taken in effect contrary to Confucius’ intentions, for more than two thousand years, Chinese emperors have used his teachings to “support social hierarchy autocratic rule.” The Dutch writer said, “Confucianism, originally a moral as well as a political philosophy, became ideologically imposed to instil obedience to authority.” However, with the rise to power of Chairman Mao Zedong, and especially during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), all the old ideals were overthrown, including the old Confucian order. In 1973, Mao launched a political propaganda campaign named ‘Criticise Lin (Biao), Criticise Confucius Campaign’. Mao aimed to eradicate the Four Olds: Old Ideas, Old Culture, Old Customs, and Old Habits. Although this meant cruel old traditions such as binding women’s feet were eradicated, it opened doors to other forms of cruelty and conﬂict. Openly assaulting Confucius’ teachings, actions of violence also took place. Red guards from Beijing came to Qufu, where Confucius was born and buried, and destroyed the monuments assigned to him. They even dug up Confucius’ grave but found that there was no body in his tomb. The virtues of ﬁlial piety and harmony were acted against to the extreme. One lawyer admitted to writing a letter to the authorities, informing them that his mother had called Mao a ‘traitor’, which led to her execution in 1970. With the values of harmonious relationships gone, citizens were encouraged to turn against each other. The youth challenged authority and respect at home, school or at work.

But with the end of Mao’s reign, so came the restoration of Confucianism in China. The current president of China, Xi Jinping, recognised that what China needs after decades of revolution and class struggle is stability, discipline, and harmony. Confucius seems like the right man for this.

Confucianism: The Giant of Chinese thought

I'm sure we have all heard the beauty pageant's clockwork response to their one true wish for the future of society: “World Peace”. But what if they were onto something? What if there was a way to achieve global harmony? For human beings, the fundamental ultimate goal is individual happiness. The necessary condition to achieve happiness is through peace, and through Confucious’ work, he set out a clear path to fulﬁlling humanities requirements for happiness.

For many people, knowledge of Confucianism is limited to bits of paper inside the odd fortune cookie, but it should be known that his teachings had almost the same impact as the works and teachings of Jesus Christ and Christianity on the Western world. Confucius, or sometimes known as “Master Kong”, was the ﬁrst early philosopher in the tradition. A ﬁgure who opened up the set of debates that would launch the Chinese philosophy tradition. His beliefs, widely known as Confucianism, revolved mainly around ancestor worship and humancentred virtues for living a peaceful life. The golden rule of Confucianism is: “Do not do unto others what you would not want others to do unto you.” - an aphorism quoted hundreds of times by droning teachers. But Confucius was convinced of the importance of living an ethical and moral life, imparting this good character onto others with the hope of creating a “cosmic harmony”.

So, how does one truly live an ethical life? What does it mean to be ‘good’, and what kind of human do we become if we achieve this? Confucius hoped that people would bring out different responses, and change the degree and ways in which they act in the world. One begins to self consciously change their view of the world; not fall into the usual defining emotions of anger, spite and sadness. Mankind’s curse of the original sin of Adam and Eve explains our inability to refrain from sin, leading us to live overall unethical and immoral lives, and ‘submitting’ to these defining emotions. Confucius posed the idea that we should challenge the habits, notions, interactions and lifestyles that our environment has inflicted onto us and define our life trajectory and human ‘self’. These habits, he argued, cause us to be passive in the world, shaping us according to what we encounter. This response sets into our fundamental experience of the world and the person we become. To Confucius this was wrong, an abomination, and a waste of precious time on earth. So how does one counteract these indoctrinations?

Rituals take these customs we are born into, and turn them into an opportunity to change yourself from the inside out, to become the ‘ideal person’. For example, instead of being rude and blunt to your parents after a long day at school when they ask you how your day was, you act with kindness and maturity and form a response more expressive than just ‘ﬁne’. Tough, but achievable. This ritual practice requires us to take on different roles and emotions during customary events and happenings, occurrences that we have been environmentally indoctrinated into, in this example, with the aim of becoming the loving child your parents long for! For instance, we have been drilled into always saying “please and thank you”, out of politeness and due to societal expectations. Confucius would want us to refrain from expressing our gratitude not because we have been forced to, in a habitual way of acting, but from a point of view of someone who is genuinely grateful and wishes to undergo a positive interaction with those around us.

Confucius became ‘good’ through this ritual practice. Frequently described as a joyous ﬁgure, who is truly ‘alive’, as he senses situations, people, ruts and interaction playing out around him, turning them and reframing them into the better. Therefore, people feel joyous by being around him, and others who follow his teachings, as they are always attentive to altering situations into the better. He is joyous because he responds contrary to what he was taught.

So what can we really take from ‘Master Kong’ and his life of questioning? Are any of his teachings applicable in a modern day world where most people are too busy to spend time rethinking the ways they have been brought up in? On the whole, he can inﬂuence us on our intentions in the world. The way we react, respond, treat others and most of all, how we treat ourselves. Confucius argues that his teachings help us to become the good people we have been prevented from becoming; the type of people society restricts and holds back; forcing us to act in a certain way simply because we have been told to. The people of the world, the beauty pageants and the idealists would get their overarching goal of world peace and harmony.

Taoism: The Spiritual Path to Harmony

Spiritual philosophies such as Confucianism and Buddhism have ruled the eastern world for centuries, often erasing smaller, more ancient ethical approaches, one of the most notable being: Taoism. With no ofﬁcial founder, Taoism can only be dated back to approximately 3000 BCE and became semi-ofﬁcial during the Tang Dynasty where it gathered its most prominent position in the Chinese spiritual sphere. However, with the rise of communism in the early 1900s, religion became increasingly censored and the number of Taoists decreased drastically and has continued to do so. But is this simply a case of Taoism being forgotten by western media or has its role in Chinese culture diminished as well?

At the centre of the philosophy lies the need for unity and harmony. Alike many other eastern religions, Taoism is not constricted to a monotheistic ideal but instead promotes many deities. Instead there is a heavy focus on the promotion of achieving harmony, the pursuit of spiritual morality, virtue and selfdevelopment. Taoists learn to live within a Taoist ideology through the Tao. However, the Taoconfusingly so - is not an object or a thing or even a substance on this earth; it is a set of concepts. These concepts include: source of creation, the ultimate, the inexpressible, the unnameable, the natural universe and the way of nature as a whole. Moreover, the Tao itself if meant to be ineffable, no human can fully comprehend and live in accordance to it, however the importance is placed on how humans relate to it and importance is also placed on the intention to comply with the Tao. Undisputedly, the Tao is a challenge to the more traditional conventional religions ﬁlled with asceticism and hierarchy that dominate the East.

The ethics concerning Taoism are inseparable from the spiritual beliefs and are essential in leading a good,positive life. Ultimately, a good person lives in harmony with the world and does not disrupt the natural order of things. A good person is one who avoids letting their own desires push them into doing wrong and should be humble and recognise the fact they aren’t required to make the world a better place and ignorant if they take action against it. Overall, Taoism itself aims to interfere the least amount possible with the natural earth and takes on a genderneutral approach and holds no prejudice towards a certain sex, an ideal further highlighted in the Taoist drawing of the Ying and Yang. Implementing Taoist ideals into a quotidian life is slightly more complex than a regular, conventional religion. Followers of Taoism are subject to meditation and chanting as well as slightly more atypical practices such as fortune telling and feng shui. Practices like these are less adapted to the hustle and bustle of the modern world and can often be overlooked or simply forgotten as fortune tellers are deemed a “conspiracy” and feng shui “just a trend from 2015”.

Although the Ying and Yang is one of the most recognisable symbols on the earth, very little know the true meaning behind it or even its origin. Taoism has become overlooked by more extravagant spiritual doctrines like Confucianism, yet it is important to note that the Tao holds the basis for many more modern philosophies and impacted the Chinese political system - albeit before the communist revolution - signiﬁcantly. In fact, in places like Taiwan, Taoism has millions of adherents which all follow the example of great Taoists such as Lao Tzu and the ﬁrst celestial master: Zhang Daoling. In the UK, Taoism is prevalent in a few societies such as Jade Circle of the British Daoism Society and modern Taoism requires no badges, baptisms, churches, nor any external validation processes. Arguably this makes it more accessible than any abrahamic religion.

It is clear that, although Taoism has fallen in its societal prevalence, the roots it has implemented in Chinese culture have not yet dissipated and can arguably never be erased. Ultimately, due to past political decisions the prominence of Taoism in mainland China have led to its relevance in mainstream media to decrease, leading to this fundamental spiritual doctrine to have become slightly overlooked as time goes on.

The School of Yin-Yang

Does the concept of Yin and Yang ring a bell in your mind? I’m sure the ﬁrst thing many of you envision are those black-and-white bracelets, or those mood necklaces, or those colour-changing rings... the list goes on and on. And yes, while such jewellery has become a rather popular, albeit clichéd, symbol of harmony and peace, Yin and Yang at its most basic level is ‘a Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces’ (courtesy to our widely trusted friend Wikipedia). In simple terms, this principle is a way of understanding and looking at the world where every situation or phenomenon is thought of as a balance of opposite forces, working together to create a harmonious whole (e.g. the world as we know it). Two complementary forces, namely Yin and Yang, are opposing yet interdependent aspects of all things, their balance essential for maintaining harmony and order in the universe.

A common symbol for Yin and Yang is two halves of a circle (-see mention of jewellery above-). The circle represents the universe, the two halves represent the Yin and Yang forces, and the halves are divided by a curved line which represents their interdependence - one cannot exist without the other. The black half depicts Yin, associated with qualities like darkness, femininity, negativity, stillness, etc. Conversely, the white half depicts Yang, associated with light, masculinity, positivity, activity, etc. These ﬂow into each other and are intertwined, a small dot of each colour present in the other; from this, we can see that (for example) there is a small spark of light even in the midst of darkness, and vice versa. Otherwise, think of the theory as a dance between two partners. They are constantly moving and shifting, creating a harmonious dance while still being in perfect balance with each other. The School of YinYang teaches that this balance is essential for the natural world to function, and for people to live in harmony with it.

Now we ﬁnally arrive at the title of this article: The School of Yin-Yang, otherwise known as the School of Naturalists. This philosophy was thought to be founded and developed by Zou Yan, a philosopher living in ancient China during the Warring States era (475-221 BCE). Not only did this school attempt to advance and progress the theory of Yin and Yang to be applied to the human body and to health, but Zou Yan was also the ﬁrst to synthesise various existing theories about the natural world to create the concept of the Five Elements. He combined it with the developing theory of Yin and Yang to create the central ideas and reasoning behind the School of Yin-Yang.

So what are the Five Elements, you ask? Well, the Five Elements are believed to interact with, and balance, the Yin and Yang forces. At their core, they are the building blocks of the universe - interdependent and constantly transforming into each other - and the key to understanding the world’s workings. We can think of them as ingredients in a recipe. Each ingredient (i.e. wood, ﬁre, earth, metal, and water) contributes its own unique qualities. Just like how a cook must balance ﬂavours and ingredients to create a delicious meal, the Five Elements must be in balance in order for the natural world to function harmoniously - no element can be too dominant or too weak.

While the School of Yin-Yang is an ancient philosophical tradition, its inﬂuence is very much seen in contemporary Chinese society. Imbalances in the Five Elements, and consequently in the Yin and Yang forces, were (and still are) believed to lead to disease, and thus restoring balance was thought to restore health. In traditional Chinese medicine, these concepts are still widely used to both diagnose and treat different health conditions. For example, if one has an abundance of ﬁre (anger) in their body, they might be advised to do cooling activities or to eat herbs to balance it out. Additionally, the principles of Yin and Yang are used in Feng Shui, a system of design and placement that attempts to harmonise people with their environment, the balance of Yin and Yang seen as essential for creating a healthy living space. Art, literature, martial arts, you name it! Fragments of ideas from the School of Yin-Yang are present and incorporated into many aspects of Chinese culture - they are often seen as principles that can be applied to all areas of life.

The School of Yin-Yang remains a vibrant and inﬂuential philosophical tradition in Chinese culture. Its enduring popularity is most probably a testament to its ability to provide a rich and nuanced understanding of the natural world and of human experience, contributing to a deeper appreciation for the universe while teaching people how to live in harmony with it. So whether you are a student of philosophy, an enthusiast of the rich cultural heritage of China, or simply looking for a way to bring more balance and harmony into your life, The School of YinYang would be a fascinating and rewarding ﬁeld of study for you.

The development of Chinese Buddhism

Buddhism is one of the oldest religions known, formed 2,500 years ago in India It has expeditiously spread across the world evolving with different cultures, this is evident from it’s adaptation and impact in China.

Buddhism originated in India when founded by Siddhartha Gautama who was originally considered to be neither a divine entity or a messiah but rather a teacher or guide and was later know as the Buddha (the enlightened one). His quest was a philosophical one aspiring to unveil the truths about the reality regarding the roots and ‘cure’ for suffering. Like most eastern philosophers, he wasn’t interested in the unattainable answers surrounding metaphysics that preoccupied the Greeks. Instead, Buddha advocated for the practice of a ‘middle way’: after having lived a life of sensual indulgences and luxury and later experiencing extreme hardships under asceticism. A ‘middle way’ path involved a simple lifestyle which concentrated on an individual’s self, balance and the assured impermanence of life. Ultimately, the main goal of Buddhism is achieving enlightenment and subsequently escape the cycle of samsara. The Buddha was the ﬁrst person to accomplish this, when mediating under a peepul tree he uncovered the answers about existence. He realised that: Unless enlightened, all souls are trapped in the endless cycle of samsara in an inﬁnite rotation of life, death and rebirth where suffering is inevitable. It is only when they achieve enlightenment that they can break free and reach nirvana, a state of peace deprived of suffering.This core ideology is consistent throughout all forms of Buddhism.

Theravada Buddhism known as ‘the school of the elders’ is regarded as the orthodox form of Buddhism adhering to the conventional practices which Buddha established. It is mostly prominent in countries like Thailand, Sri Lanka and Cambodia. However, the proliferation of Buddhism prompted the formation of different Buddhist traditions which were more suitable in relation to their areas. Mahayana Buddhism began to emerge as an umbrella term referring to later Buddhist traditions. These included; Pure Land Buddhism, Zen Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism. This is the type of Buddhism most distinguishable in China. Although both types share the same core beliefs such as the four noble truths and the eightfold path, Mahayana promotes the concept of the aspirant not just seeking personal enlightenment but the enlightenment of all. A Theravada Buddhist would strive to become an arhat, a perfected person, who has overcome causes of suffering and individually attains enlightenment. However, for Mahayana Buddhists the ideal is to become a Bodhisattva rather than an arhat. Since Mahayana commends compassion, a Bodhisattva is the most admirable position as it involves the great sacrifice of optionally remaining in the cycle of samsara despite achieving enlightenment. A Bodhisattva does this in order to help others break free of the cycle. In Theravada Buddhism the Buddha is depicted as as a solely historical figure, who is absent in the world. This opposes Mahayana Buddhists who believe Buddha to be immanent and pervading. Chinese Buddhists even perceive Buddha as a deity to be prayed to for help and salvation. The Chinese portrayal of the Buddha is considerably different to the original teachings. Traditionally, the Buddha was said to be extremely skinny and gaunt when achieving enlightenment, due to his time practicing asceticism. However, a very popular depiction of the Buddha in China is the ‘laughing Buddha’. He is seen as ultimate symbol of happiness from his smiling cheeks and plump stomach. He also represents good fortune, wealth and fulfilment which could arguably contrast traditional Theravada Buddhism as it stems from ideas of financial benefits which goes against traditional concepts of impermanence and the futility of materialistic aspirations.

Buddhism ultimately had a significant impact on China. Despite being a foreign religion and facing major persecution, Buddhism overcame the challenges and developed into the largest foreign religion in China and one of the three largest religions in China overall. While Buddhism influenced China’s other philosophies, art and other aspects of Chinese culture, the religion itself adapted to accommodate to China. Buddhist schools were established with ideas from Confucianism and Taoism and Buddhism transformed into its own branch separate to traditional Theravada Buddhism. All of this exhibits Buddhism’s influence in Chinese culture and development.

The Tao of Pooh

Amidst the other articles and reviews circling around Chinese and Greek philosophy, this review may strike you as rather an anomaly, perhaps — or at least I hope, given how unique the book in question is. “The how of Pooh? The Tao of who?” reads the blurb, and indeed, yes, Pooh as in Winnie the Pooh. The Tao of Pooh, written in 1982 by a tree pruner named Benjamin Hoff, may not strike the average reader at a cursory glance as a particularly insightful or inspiring read, when in fact, it conceals a treasure trove as a light hearted but thorough introduction of Taoism to a Western audience, allegorically through the characters of Winnie the Pooh.

Hoff interweaves breaking of the “fourth wall” into this introductory text by cheerfully employing the characters of Winnie the Pooh as his companions as he gently tugs the reader in different directions, from Wu Wei to the Chinese story of the woodcutter, all framed within snapshots of the beloved childrens’ works by A. A Milne. Conveniently, Pooh and his little friends provide a clear and amusing depiction of what Taoism advocates for: the idea of just ‘being’. Pooh represents Wu Wei and pu — “effortless doing” and being open to but unburdened by experience, while Owl, Rabbit and Eye-ore provide gateways into discussions of other Eastern thinking, such as Confucianism. Hoff quotes both passages from Winnie the Pooh and prominent Taoist authors such as Laozi and Zhuang Zhou in order to illustrate the main ideas of Taoism in an enlightening but straightforward way.

If you’re looking for a light philosophical read, a nostalgic trip to your childhood, a gateway into an interest in Eastern philosophy, or a mixture of all of these, The Tao of Pooh is assuredly the place to look.

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Articles inside

The Thinker – Spring 2023

The Thinker 2023

Greece and China

Contents

Plato’s tripartite soul: how useful is it in assessing human nature?

Diogenes; “A Socrates gone mad”

Aristotelian Psychology; the study of the soul

Aristotle’s theory on the acquisition of knowledge

Aristotle’s theory of memory: The four laws of association

How did these theories develop?

Xenophanes, Anthropomorphism, and the Milesian Naturalists

An Introduction to Chinese philosophy

Confucianism: The Giant of Chinese thought

Taoism: The Spiritual Path to Harmony

The School of Yin-Yang

The development of Chinese Buddhism

The Tao of Pooh

Articles inside

The development of Chinese Buddhism

The School of Yin-Yang

Taoism: The Spiritual Path to Harmony

Confucianism: The Giant of Chinese thought

An Introduction to Chinese philosophy

Xenophanes, Anthropomorphism, and the Milesian Naturalists

Aristotelian Psychology; the study of the soul

Diogenes; “A Socrates gone mad”

Plato’s tripartite soul: how useful is it in assessing human nature?

The Thinker 2023