treebuffalo Posted April 28, 2022 (edited) Rather long for a chapter of the Tao Te Ching, Chapter 14 still economizes the space its takes up to describe the entire Universe. Especially compared to the volumes of books written about particle science. One of the great disservices modern science does for the human race, is give us the false sense of complete understanding. We can never know everything. It is impossible. As Lao Tsu tries to impress upon us over and over again, complex knowledge is incomplete (Chap 20). Whole knowledge, on the other hand, is simple and complete because it acknowledges what we cannot comprehend, or are unaware of. In short, life (and the Universe) is paradoxical, and must remain so. If you doubt this, just look where all our complex knowledge has gotten us. Our world is heating up from pollution, and we have manufactured weapons powerful enough to destroy all life on Earth. Instead of looking where we have never been, maybe we should keep our eye on what got us here in the first place. What are the rules of Nature that have nurtured life thus far? We can’t ever know them, but they are not scientific constructs (although science can describe them). They are indescribable, yet obvious. Life begets life, somehow. We can either nurture it, or snuff it out. But whatever we do, we shouldn’t suffer under the delusion that science makes us all-comprehending. It doesn’t. Remember that next time you’re trying to predict the future (or scientifically diagnose someone with PPD;). Edited April 29, 2022 by treebuffalo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
