tk102

Just sign here teekay!

oh also i finished the Tao te ching. Aside from its very eastern "don't let the commoners know anything" idea (also saw this in the Art of War), I liked it quite a lot. I think the difference that you were speaking of between W's quote and the one from the Tao was a difference in methodology, not really so much ideas: W illustrates what he wants to say negatively; that is, he either shows that knowledge of it is impossible or unsayable, but the Tao gives propositions like "the tao is..." (or "positive" statements), which is contradictory to what W is interested in doing. Like that one quote: W says it's senseless to say that something is an axis if nothing turns or can turn on it; the Tao speaks of the axis regardless, in an effort to illustrate a way to live. I don't e.g. think that W would accept those statements in the Tao te ching as "descriptions" of the Tao. It's more likely he would reject them as descriptions of any "real" metaphysical reality--whatever that is--- but respect the sort of life people who use those illustrations live (and their Tao-sayings as part of that life).