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Spontaneity and Nonspontaneity in Wu-Wei as an Ethical Concept of Early Daoism

Peter Gan Chong Beng

Discipline: Philosophy, Cultural Studies

 

Abstract:

Embedded in the Daodejing and the Zhuangzi is a unique concept that lends itself to the formulation of a distinct system of ethics. The distinctiveness that wu-wei infuses into the realm of ethics resides in its principal constituent, spontaneity. Implicit in wu-wei is spontaneity and its dialectical opposite, the nonspontaneous elements that are essential to the integrity of any system of ethics. This paper attempts to bring to the fore this implicit dialectic of spontaneity and nonspontaneity through wu-wei’s relation to the Dao as harmony of opposites, its imperative of enlightened response, and its congeniality to the case for libertarianism.