Ancient wisdoms for modern crises : learning from Laozi's "Daodejing" / Steve Hallett.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hallett, Steve, 1966- author.

Laozi, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Laozi. Dao de jing--English--(Hallett).

Laozi.

Laozi. Dao de jing--Criticism and interpretation.

Taoism.

Philosophy, Chinese--To 221 B.C.

Philosophy, Chinese.

Physical Description:

[ix], [205] pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

West Lafayette, Ind. : Purdue University Press, 2026.

Summary:

"We live in a time of abundance and comfort for some, scarcity and hardship for others—a period that seems to have all of us teetering on the brink. Certainly, there is no lack of modern crises, but do we possess the wisdom to overcome them, and where might we seek that wisdom? Ancient Wisdoms for Modern Crises: Learning From Laozi’s “Daodejing” looks to the Daodejing, a text written during the late Zhou Dynasty (600–400 BCE), for guidance. One of the core treatises of Eastern philosophy, it advocates humility, simplicity, and sustainable living. As both a personal and political philosophy, it is radically gentle, encouraging readers to embrace humility, modesty, compassion, and selflessness while simultaneously resisting the urge to conquer, control, and dominate—teachings that can help each of us navigate contemporary life. Finding solutions to such difficult problems requires all the wisdom, ancient and modern, that humans can muster. Replete with the author’s fresh translation of the eighty-one-verse Daodejing, this book touches on topics ranging from environmentalism and human suffering to biodiversity loss and the rise of authoritarianism in an effort to forge a more restrained, sustainable, just, supportive, and compassionate society." -Back cover.

Contents:

Prologue: Wise ancients?

The ways of nature

Everything changes

The uncarved block

The ecology of everything

Emergence

Ten steps on the Cosmic Path

Beyond human being

How long is the present?

The ways of people

One fight

Our invasive species

The causes of war

The tragedy of the Commons

The middle path of democracy

Capitalist realism

Shape the path

Nonviolent resistance

Build resilience

Slow down, do less

Quality and beauty

Be like water

The path has no beginning and no end

The ways of the mind

The elephant and the rider

Meditation and mindfulness

Manage your monkey-mind

The middle path for the mind

The middle path between Yin and Yang

Resilience for the mind

Let your self go

Awakenings and enlightenment

Meetings of the minds

Love thy neighbor

The righteous mind

On free will and justice

Letting go

The Daodejing of Laozi

ISBN:

1626712956

9781626712959

OCLC:

1534116825