Let go of fixed plans and concepts and the world will govern itself.” These words were spoken by Lao-Tzu‚ a philosopher credited for writing the “Tao-te Ching” and the presumed founder of Taoism. In the Tao-te Ching‚ Lao-Tzu describes the qualities a political leader should acquire in order to become great leaders. Although some people imagine a great leader as being die-hard and commanding‚ Lao-Tzu believes that a great leader is actually one who doesn’t use force unless it is absolutely necessary
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As time has progressed‚ small civilizations have popped up throughout the earth‚ creating many groups of people‚ in all regions of the world. Around 1000 BCE‚ the world consisted of many city-states who eventually combined into large empires. One such empire is what is currently known as China. Originally‚ this empire was ruled by the Great Sage Rulers. These emperors taught their people the secrets of agriculture and medicine. The entire empire prospered‚ however‚ as the need for resources increased
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Lao Tzu once said‚ “He who gains victory over other men is strong‚ but he who gains a victory over himself is all powerful.” I believe this means that the most powerful person is one who understands and has control over themselves. Richard Wright‚ in his autobiography Black Boy‚ and the titular character of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel‚ The Great Gatsby both lend themselves in portraying the truth of this quote. This quote can be interpreted as saying that one who understands and has control over
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Is Government Good or Bad? “In Discussion: Lao-Tzu and Machiavelli’s view on Government” “The Master leads by emptying people’s mind and filling their cores‚ by weakening their ambition and toughening their resolve. He helps people lose everything they know‚ everything they desire‚ and creates confusion in those who think that they know.” (Page 19). This passage supports a number of readings. All of them centered on government. The definition of government is the organization‚ machinery‚ or agency
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Issues 18 September 2012 Compare Lao Tzu’s and Machiavelli’s view of “the people”. How does each author’s conceptualization of “the people” affect what kind of government they support? Life experience‚ culture‚ language‚ time of living and many other factors affected Lao Tzu’s and Niccolò Machiavelli’s views on how an ideal leader ought to govern a country. These views‚ expressed in their texts‚ reflected on how these writers perceived the fellow men. Lao Tzu is a Chinese philosopher and founder
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Contrast between Machiavelli’s writings and Lao-Tzu’s opinion Lao-Tzu’s writings offered a basis for Taoism‚ a religion officially founded by Chang Tao-ling in about 150 A.D. However‚ the Tao-te Ching is an ethical document as much as about good government as it is about moral behavior. Niccolo Machiavelli was an aristocrat who had his ups and downs according the shifts in power in Florence. His writings encourage a prince to secure power by almost any means necessary. Lao-Tzu’s Thoughts
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Lao Tzu and the “Tao Te Ching” Laozi or Lao Tzu‚ was a mystical philosopher who lived in ancient China. Most scholars believe Lao Tzu was born around 600 B.C.E. However‚ some authorities have him being born about 500 B.C.E. and some‚ question if Lao Tzu was actually a person or just a mythical figure. Generally‚ the majority of scholars believe Lao Tzu to be an actual person being born about 600 B.C.E. in the state of Ch’u‚ now known as the Hunan Province in Southern China according to
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Discussion Questions 4 1.) According to Lao-tzu‚ what must the ruler provide the people with if they are to be happy? “Try to make people happy‚ and you lay the groundwork for misery.” According to Lao-tzu‚ in order to make the people happy‚ the ruler must stop insisting that they find happiness. In verse 66‚ Lao-tzu describes‚ “All streams flow to the sea.” By saying this‚ he is describing that a government must take a position underneath its people in order to ensure their happiness. The government
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level of understanding life as we have mentioned before; in this essay though we have decided to focus on two very influential readings in the prism of literature. The first one being that by Confucius entitled Analects and the second reading by Machiavelli entitled The Prince. We will be trying to compare the two authors based on different themes and concepts; but before doing that we must acquire a certain level of background about both the two authors and the two readings. The Analects of Confucius
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effect of actions revolve mostly around how people treat each other. Lao-Tzu largely focuses on how a leader treats his people in “Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching”. He encourages those in power to not force anything in their actions but to just go with the flow of what is occurring around them. When this is done and when the leader actively works for peace‚ avoids war‚ and follows the Tao‚ the country is at its greatest. Lao –Tzu advises that the people should be left to themselves and to lead so subtly
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