Kayla Kessler Dekle English 101 11 September 2013 Machiavelli versus Lao Tzu There are many kinds of leaders in this world that believe that their style of leadership is the best. Machiavelli and Lao Tzu were two people that believed that their style of ruling was the best way to rule. They were both extremely outspoken and they stood by their ways. Both Machiavelli and Lao Tzu were very clear about how they thought a government should be run. Even though they both held strong opinions
Premium Political philosophy The Prince Florence
Lao Tzu’s political views are based on Taoism‚ which means that things should be done in conformity with nature. He is against aggression and coercion and recommends the adoption of inaction by both the government and its subjects (Csikszentmihalyi 58). Confucius‚ on the other hand‚ is of the proposition that democracy should be a great aspect that ought to be embraced by all members of the society either as leaders or subjects (Walton 100-101). The two scholars differ in various respects‚ but still
Premium Taoism Chinese philosophy Confucianism
text Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu and Plato’s Five Dialogues. Both of these readings are written quite differently. Tao Te Ching is written as a poem and has more of a self-interpretative aspect to it. On the other hand‚ Plato’s Five Dialogues is written in an essay format‚ using dialogue. I will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these writing styles and the interpretive challenges they present. To begin with‚ I will argue the strengths and weaknesses of philosophical ideas being presented in a
Premium Fiction Literature Writing
Per Lao-Tzu’s “wu wei” if you can master the art of doing nothing‚ then you can achieve anything you desire. As perplexing and difficult as it may seem to comprehend‚ Lao-Tzu’s “wu wei” didn’t exactly mean to literally do nothing‚ but rather let nature take course. Act on what nature entails relatively than what you desire. When you do more‚ you attain less so mastering the art of doing less you achieve more‚ one of the major ways to learn how to achieve more is to stop worrying‚ learning to accept
Premium Four Noble Truths Noble Eightfold Path Gautama Buddha
Lao-Tzu and Machiavelli on Government and Those Who Govern Machiavelli‚ in “The Prince” and Lao-Tzu in “”Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching” have very opposing views. In their writings‚ they differ on topics such as qualities of a leader‚ functions of government‚ and human nature and the world around them. Here I will describe each of their views and compare the differences. Both Machiavelli and Lao-Tzu are philosophers writing in regard to Government‚ giving advice in ways that they feel people should
Premium Laozi Political philosophy Taoism
Lao-Tzu‚ Machiavelli‚ and the American Government Lao-Tzu’s "Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching" and Machiavelli’s "The Qualities of a Prince" both have the ultimate goal of making better leaders. The tactics that each writer chooses to present as a guide for the leader are almost opposite of each other. Today’s American government would benefit from a combination of the two extreme ideas. Lao-Tzu’s laissez-faire attitude towards the economy‚ as well as his small scale‚ home defense military
Premium
2/13/2013 AP Comp Critical Reading Questions Lao-Tzu 1) According to Lao-tzu‚ what must the ruler provide the people with if they are happy? The ruler is entitled to provide the people with space‚ enough space for each individual person. Lao-Tzu is concerned for individual’s whole freedom‚ death included. And when the ruler dies it is the communities’ job to make sure that where the person is buried is nice. 2) To what extent does Lao-tzu concern himself with individual happiness? To the
Premium Laozi United States Declaration of Independence Tao Te Ching
single story‚ I think Plato’s allegory reflect this idea pretty well. In the past‚ when transportation has not been globalized‚ the way we get to know about the other part of the world was nothing but very few descriptions about them. Therefore‚ deep in my mind‚ the first impression about America is gun-shooting‚ white tall guys and sex. These stereotypes were formed because we receive information solely in one approach. Another decent real-world example of the allegory is the reality of Chinese Internet
Premium State Nuclear weapon Taoism
attention of common people. Early Chinese writers like Lao Tzu‚ Confucius‚ and T’ao Ch’ien gave answers to universal questions to help people decide how to live their lives. Many pieces of Chinese poetry like Form‚ Shadow‚ Spirit‚ The Analects‚ and Tao Te Ching answer ambiguous questions like how one should live with the knowledge of death when T’ao Ch’ien explains that one should not waste time pondering about death; the actions of a ruler when Lao Tzu states that a ruler should keep the people healthy
Premium Tao Te Ching Chinese philosophy Confucius
Laos Laos is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia which originates from the ancient 14th century kingdom of Lang Xang. Since the fall of the Lang Xang Kingdom‚ Laos has continually been under control of outside forces. Historically Laos has not been given the chance to grow and prosper as an individual country. After Laos was granted sovereignty in 1953 the neutral country was caught up in the Vietnam War until 1975 and suffered from devastating air strikes and bomb drops. In 1975‚ Laos was
Premium Laos Vietnam War Southeast Asia