Sandel, M. J., The Case Against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Engineering (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2007). See reviews for the book: Lamb, G. M., “Michael Sandel Makes the ‘The Case against Perfection,’” Christian Science Monitor, June 5, 2007, available at <http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0605/p17s01-bogn.html> (last visited January 3, 2008); Anderson, R. T., “Far From Perfect,” National Review, June 11, 2007, at 46–48; Saletan, W., “Tinkering with Humans,” New York Times Sunday Review of Books, July 8, 2007, available at <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/books/review/Saletan.html?ex=1185l63200&en=76bf87fl3cc280df&ei=5070>) (last visited November 15, 2007). See also Sandel's article in the April 2004 issue of Atlantic Monthly entitled, “The Case against Perfection,” available at <http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200404/sandel> (last visited November 15, 2007).Google Scholar

Id. (Anderson), at 46.Google Scholar

Id., at 47.Google Scholar

A good introduction to Chinese religious traditions by S. F. Teiser – from his introduction to Lopez, D. S. Jr., ed., Religions of China in Practice (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996) – is available at <http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/lopez.html> (last visited November 15, 2007).Google Scholar

A good starting point for understanding the relationship of the two traditions is my entry on “Taoism and Confucianism” in the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Taoism that is available at <http://kirkland.myweb.uga.edu/rk/pdf/pubs/eot-TAOCON.pdf> (last visited November 15, 2007).+(last+visited+November+15,+2007).>Google Scholar

For the study of the history of East Asian science, technology, and medicine, the Needham Research Institute has a good Web site available at <http://www.nri.org.uk> (last visited November 15, 2007). The Research Institute's site provides a series of introductory material regarding the immense ongoing series initiated by the wondrous polymath Joseph Needham (1900–1995) – Science and Civilisation in China (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1954-ongoing); the volumes are available at <http://www.nri.org.uk/science.html> (last visited November 15, 2007) (last visited November 15, 2007).+(last+visited+November+15,+2007).+The+Research+Institute's+site+provides+a+series+of+introductory+material+regarding+the+immense+ongoing+series+initiated+by+the+wondrous+polymath+Joseph+Needham+(1900–1995)+–+Science+and+Civilisation+in+China+(Cambridge,+U.K.:+Cambridge+University+Press,+1954-ongoing);+the+volumes+are+available+at++(last+visited+November+15,+2007)+(last+visited+November+15,+2007).>Google Scholar

The starting point for the study of Chinese science and Chinese medicine is the Web site of Nathan Sivin, Professor of Chinese Culture and of the History of Science, Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania, available at <http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~nsivin/pers.html> (last visited November 15, 2007). A “Selected, Annotated Bibliography of the History of Chinese Science and Medicine Sources in Western Languages” is available at <http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~nsivin/nakbib.html> (last visited November 15, 2007). Among the invaluable “Selected Writings” there (cf. <http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~nsivin/writ.html> [last visited November 15, 2007]) are the following: “Science and Medicine in Chinese History,” available at <http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~nsivin/ropp.html> (last visited November 15, 2007); “Taoism and Science,” available at <http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~nsivin/7tao.html> (last visited November 15, 2007); “Text and Experience in Classical Chinese Medicine,” available at <http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~nsivin/epist.html> (last visited November 15, 2007); and “Reflections on the Situation of Medicine in the People's Republic of China, 1987,” available at <http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~nsivin/medrefl.html> (November 15, 2007). A directory of scholars around the world who study the history, anthropology, or sociology of Chinese medicine is available at <http://www.albion.edu/history/chimed/scholar.html> (last visited November 15, 2007).+(last+visited+November+15,+2007).+A+“Selected,+Annotated+Bibliography+of+the+History+of+Chinese+Science+and+Medicine+Sources+in+Western+Languages”+is+available+at++(last+visited+November+15,+2007).+Among+the+invaluable+“Selected+Writings”+there+(cf.++[last+visited+November+15,+2007])+are+the+following:+“Science+and+Medicine+in+Chinese+History,”+available+at++(last+visited+November+15,+2007);+“Taoism+and+Science,”+available+at++(last+visited+November+15,+2007);+“Text+and+Experience+in+Classical+Chinese+Medicine,”+available+at++(last+visited+November+15,+2007);+and+“Reflections+on+the+Situation+of+Medicine+in+the+People's+Republic+of+China,+1987,”+available+at++(November+15,+2007).+A+directory+of+scholars+around+the+world+who+study+the+history,+anthropology,+or+sociology+of+Chinese+medicine+is+available+at++(last+visited+November+15,+2007).>Google Scholar

I find that even some of what I wrote back in the 1980s and 1990s, even within the publications that I have offered to participants in this conference, is no longer quite in step with how, say, Taoism looks to me during the current century.Google Scholar

A good introduction to Confucianism is Yao, X., An Introduction to Confucianism (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2000). The best Web sites on Confucianism are those of Professor Adler, J., available at <http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln471/links471.htm> (last visited December 18, 2007) and Professor Wilson, T., available at <http://academics.hamilton.edu/asian_studies/home/Temple-Culture.html> (last visited November 15, 2007). On “the fiduciary community” as the ground of ethical thought and action in Confucian tradition, see the many pertinent writings of W. Tu, such as “The Value of the Human in Classical Confucian Thought,” Humanitas 15, no. 2 (1979): 161–176; and Centrality and Commonality: An Essay on Confucian Religiousness (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Numerous pertinent studies are found in Slote, W. H. De Vos, G. A., eds., Confucianism and the Family (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1998); of particular importance is Hsu's, F. L. K. article, “Confucianism in Comparative Context,” at 53–71.Google Scholar

For an overview of the teachings of Mohism's founder, Motzu (Mozi), see Kirkland, R., “The Book of Motzu,” available at <http://kirkland.myweb.uga.edu/rk/pdf/guides/MOTZU.pdf> (last visited November 15, 2007; please note that this address is case-sensitive.) (last visited November 15, 2007; please note that this address is case-sensitive.)' href=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=12+For+an+overview+of+the+teachings+of+Mohism's+founder,+Motzu+(Mozi),+see+Kirkland,+R.,+“The+Book+of+Motzu,”+available+at++(last+visited+November+15,+2007;+please+note+that+this+address+is+case-sensitive.)>Google Scholar

Saying that China was a traditionally Confucian country is comparable to saying that the United States is a Catholic country. Naturally, the U.S. has plenty of Catholic Christians, and lots of things that are true and important for Catholics are also true and important for lots of other Americans. But there are also many Americans who do not share Catholic views, and many who would argue that America is composed of people with varying degrees of allegiance to a variety of value-systems, some of which are congruent with the values of Catholic Christians and others which are distinctly different.Google Scholar

Danto, A. C., Mysticism and Morality: Oriental Thought and Moral Philosophy (New York: Columbia University Press, 1988). I outline and analyze his position about Taoism in Kirkland, R., “Self-Fulfillment through Selflessness: The Moral Teachings of the Daode jing,” in Barnhart, M., ed., Varieties of Ethical Reflection: New Directions for Ethics in a Global Context (New York: Lexington Books, 2002): 21–48.Google Scholar

For overviews of Taoist values in relation to certain modern issues, see my entry in Philosophy of Education: An Encyclopedia (New York and London: Garland, 1996), available at <http://kirkland.myweb.uga.edu/rk/pdf/pubs/ref/TAOISM.pdf> (last visited November 15, 2007). An overview of Taoist values pertaining to “life” and moral issues is my entry “Taoism” in the Encyclopedia of Bioethics vol. 5, 2nd ed. (New York: Macmillan, 1995): at 2463–2469.+(last+visited+November+15,+2007).+An+overview+of+Taoist+values+pertaining+to+“life”+and+moral+issues+is+my+entry+“Taoism”+in+the+Encyclopedia+of+Bioethics+vol.+5,+2nd+ed.+(New+York:+Macmillan,+1995):+at+2463–2469.>Google Scholar

A brief overview of Taoist ethics, by Komjathy, L., is available at <http://www.daoistcenter.org/Contours/Ethics.html> (last visited November 15, 2007). An essential sourcebook for understanding the long-overlooked ethical aspects of Taoism is Kohn, L., Cosmos and Community: The Ethical Dimension of Taoism (Cambridge: Three Pines Press, 2004). “Taoism” has usually been presented in terms of philosophical abstractions, ignoring how centuries of Taoists have approached real-life issues. To demonstrate how “Taoist behavioral guidelines…have defined who Taoists were and where they fit into the greater network of society, world, and cosmos,” Kohn expertly translates a range of little-known Taoist texts presenting “different forms of rules – prohibitions, admonitions, injunctions, resolutions,” ranging from The 180 Precepts of Lord Lao – now well-known to specialists, but to no one else – to The Nine Precepts for Women and other materials of modern (“Complete Perfection”) Taoism. Kohn's introduction explains how the texts illustrate “the Taoist world,” and explicates issues ranging from “Impulse Control: Food, Wine, and Sex” to “Forms of Community.”Google Scholar

See Schipper, K., “Daoist Ecology – The Inner Transformation: A Study of the Precepts of the Early Daoist Ecclesia,” in Girardot, N. J. Xiaogan, Liu Miller, J., eds., Taoism and Ecology (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2001): 79–93, at 90.Google Scholar

The Precepts of Lord Lao also demolish another long-held article of faith among non-Taoists, both in traditional China and among modern writers. That is the dogmatic insistence that Taoists of imperial times, unlike “the classical Taoists,” were characteristically struggling to achieve “physical immortality.” The Precepts put such misconceptions to rest: “Lord Lao said, ‘Unless the precepts and regulations are held to, even if a human life lasts 10,000 years, how is it different from an old tree or an ancient rock? It is better to hold to the precepts for a single day and to die as a virtuous man, living without committing evil” (translated in Hendrischke, B. Penny, B., “The 180 Precepts Spoken by Lord Lao,” Taoist Resources 6, no. 2 [1996]: 17–29, at 21.) For more on the Taoist tradition over history, see Kirkland, R., Taoism: The Enduring Tradition (London and New York: Routledge, 2004). On the differences between how Taoists and non-Taoists have learned to perceive “Lord Lao,” see Kirkland, R., “Hermeneutics and Pedagogy: Methodological Issues in Teaching the Tao te ching,” in Frisina, W. DeAngelis, G., eds., Essays in Teaching the Tao te ching (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, in press).Google Scholar

A brief introduction to the Nei-yeh is found in my entry in the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Taoism, and is available at <http://kirkland.myweb.uga.edu/rk/pdf/pubs/ref/NEIYEH98.pdf> (last visited November 15, 2007). A fuller explication of the Nei-yeh's teachings, and of how they compare with those of the better-known “Taoist” texts of classical times, is my “Varieties of ‘Taoism’ in Ancient China: A Preliminary Comparison of Themes in the Nei yeh and Other ‘Taoist Classics,’” Taoist Resources 7, no. 2 (1997): 73–86.+(last+visited+November+15,+2007).+A+fuller+explication+of+the+Nei-yeh's+teachings,+and+of+how+they+compare+with+those+of+the+better-known+“Taoist”+texts+of+classical+times,+is+my+“Varieties+of+‘Taoism’+in+Ancient+China:+A+Preliminary+Comparison+of+Themes+in+the+Nei+yeh+and+Other+‘Taoist+Classics,’”+Taoist+Resources+7,+no.+2+(1997):+73–86.>Google Scholar

Translation mine.Google Scholar

Of course, even today, many followers of such traditions live in faith that God will provide help to those who faithfully pray for it, yet even they cannot theologically claim that God is somehow required to do their bidding, and often allow that God does answer prayers, but sometimes his answer is no.Google Scholar

It is true that the God of Genesis 8 can be read as remorseful over causing the flood. But that reading is debatable. And the God of Job makes clear that he will be what he will be and will do what he will do, a stance that allows us to cope with the fact of the Holocaust better than a stance based on Genesis 8.Google Scholar

Modern interpreters, both Confucian and Western, usually ignore the fact that Confucius himself said that there is a higher power (T’ien) which has consciousness and will; which acts in the lives of human beings without regard for their wishes (e.g., bereaving a good man of a beloved friend); and has a plan for the lives of at least some individuals. In light of these facts, it is quite misleading to translate T’ien as “Heaven” because in this context, T’ien corresponds quite closely to what Westerners thought of as “God.”Google Scholar

For a full analysis of the range of meanings of the term “Tao,” see my entry, “dao,” in Pregadio, F., ed., Encyclopedia of Taoism, vol. 1 (London and New York: Routledge, 2008): at 304–309.Google Scholar

Even modern environmentalists accept these premises, though by re-defining those premises so that the “we” who are entitled to be pleased by life are “we environmentalists.”Google Scholar

It is notable that even Mo-tzu bowed here to the dictates of Confucian rhetoric. He did not just explain “benevolence” differently; rather, he chose to promote his ideals by means of a term of his own divising, chien-ai. It is true, of course, that Mencius himself utilized the term shan in some of his key teachings, as when he argued that “human nature” (hsing) is inherently predisposed toward “goodness.” But it will be noted that this particular argument is precisely where Mencius moved sharply beyond anything that Confucius himself had ever taught, in that it grounds morality not in anything that had been socially transmitted from the earlier Chou “sage-kings,” but rather in something that Mencius regarded as universal within the human species (and only in the human species). He then had to labor to find some way to explain how the socially transmitted nature of morality could be logically maintained if “goodness” was somehow inherent to all people, whether or not they value li.Google Scholar

For instance, passages of the Tao te ching (which do not echo with much of the Nei-yeh or the Chuang-tzu) generally agree with the Mohists and Confucians that both the ruler and the moral individual have crucial roles to play in bringing order to life. Further, all three seem to assume that we should work to promote a proper understanding of the ruler's moral role, but we should not simply sit by and wait for a moral ruler to appear and correct the world.Google Scholar

The ideas of the British philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) may here come to mind. But many of Hobbes’ teachings had already been held by ancient Chinese thinkers, such as Mo-tzu (Mozi) and the Confucian thinker Hsün-tzu (Xunzi). For overviews of the thought of Hobbes and Xunzi, see the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, s.v. “Thomas Hobbes,” by Williams, G., available at <http://www.iep.utm.edu/h/hob-moral.htm> (last visited November 15, 2007); and s.v. “Xunzi,” by Elstein, D., available at <http://www.iep.utm.edu/x/xunzi.htm> (last visited November 15, 2007).+(last+visited+November+15,+2007);+and+s.v.+“Xunzi,”+by+Elstein,+D.,+available+at++(last+visited+November+15,+2007).>Google Scholar

One might lament that later Taoists did not give us a fuller and more lucid exposition of what they meant by concepts like shan. But the assumption that they did not do so may be, once again, simply a false assumption based upon ignorance about what the texts of later Taoism say, and upon a false conviction that what those texts say are intrinsically unrelated to what we read in Taoist classics like the Tao te ching. Few are aware, for instance, that “goodness” was regarded as a central Taoist virtue by at least one of the greatest Taoists of imperial times: The prolific chronicler Tu Kuang-t’ing (850–933). Ignored until near the turn of the millennium, even by scholars of Taoism, was Tu's “Records of Wondrous Fulfillments in Taoism” (Taochiao ling-yen chi). In his preface to that compilation, Tu lauds “goodness” (shan) and reports that he compiled the work in order to exalt “goodness” and to describe the activities of the men and women who had exemplified “goodness” through history. It would thus not be surprising if researchers of the 21st century were to find much more about shan – and other heretofore unnoticed Taoist moral concepts – in the still-unexplored texts by centuries of Taoists.Google Scholar

Regarding gender assumptions in Taoism, see Kirkland, (Taoism: The Enduring Tradition) supra note 18, at 126–135.Google Scholar

It is no surprise that the Kuo-tien materials lack this passage. It is reasonable to conjecture that the ethical ideal called shan was fully developed only by the text's redactors at the Chi-hsia academy, who saw in it a device for “answering Mencius.”Google Scholar

Rachels, J., The Elements of Moral Philosophy (New York: Random House, 1986): At 11. See further Kirkland, , supra note 14.Google Scholar

On all these matters, see further id. (Kirkland).Google Scholar

Three chapters advocate “knowing when things are sufficient” (chih-tsu) and two commend “knowing when to stop” (chih-chih). But the clearest expression of sagely self-restraint is the phrase pu-kan, “not daring or venturing (to take a given action).” At least two chapters use that phrase in explaining how one may conduct warfare with proper restraint. A somewhat ambiguous usage appears in chapter 73: “If one is courageous in daring/venturing, there will be killing (sha); If one is courageous in not daring/venturing, there will be life.” (Emphasis added.) Sha does not mean “death” (ssu) but rather the act of killing; many interpreters read sha as a passive verb (“one will be killed”), but there is no support in the text for such a forced reading. The line is thus most plausibly read as another reference to restraint in the act of killing others in warfare. Chapter 3 also says that when a sage governs, he “causes those who have thought not to dare to act.”Google Scholar

Apparently misled by an early medieval commentator Wang Pi, virtually all translators render chien as “frugality,” which makes little sense. Originally, chien just meant “restrict” or “restricted,” which makes very good sense here.Google Scholar

For my reading, see Kirkland, , supra note 14.Google Scholar

See Tao te ching 1, 20, 25, 52, and 59.Google Scholar

It is deeply ironic, and deeply telling, that the famous Christian “prayer for patience” asks for “courage to change the things I can change, patience to accept the things I cannot change, and wisdom to know the difference” – clearly assuming that things unquestionably need “changing,” for they are not as they should be, and that it is my duty to change them if I can do so. There is no hint here of the Tao te ching's teaching that there is a higher force at work within things; that my perceptions or beliefs about “what needs changing” may well be in error; and that my moral duty is thus to refrain from the presumption that my “courage” is needed to make things go as they should go. The “Taoist” counterpart, in Tao te ching 67, is: “May I find the courage within myself to accept the fact that things are not in need of me to go out and take actions to try to make them the way that they truly should be.”Google Scholar

Chuang-tzu 2, translation mine.Google Scholar

Translation mine.Google Scholar

It is intriguing that the parallelism would seem to have called for the term shen to appear in the fifth line. It is not clear whether we can determine the reason for the asymmetry.Google Scholar

Again, my translation; a different translation of some of this passage appears in Kirkland, R., “Responsible Non-Action in a Natural World,” in Girardot, et al., Daoism and Ecology, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2001): 283–304. For a detailed analysis of Roth's handling of the text, see Kirkland, R., “A Quest for ‘The Foundations of Taoist Mysticism,’” Studies in Central and East Asian Religions 12–13 (2001–2002): 220–246.Google Scholar

See further id. (“Responsible Non-Action in a Natural World”).Google Scholar

On these matters, see Kirkland, (Taoism: The Enduring Tradition), supra note 18, at 90–110.Google Scholar

See my analysis of Danto's ideas in Kirkland, , supra note 14.Google Scholar

See further Kirkland, , “The Roots of Altruism in the Taoist Tradition,” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 54 (1986): 59–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Translation mine.Google Scholar