Chad Hansen: Taoism and the Tao Te Ching

Originally from Utah, Chad Hansen studied Western philosophy and entered the PhD program at the University of Michigan. He then taught at the universities of Pittsburgh, Stanford, and Vermont and went on to hold several visiting professorships in Hawaii and at U.C.L.A. before settling in Hong Kong as a professor of philosophy at the University of Hong Kong in 1993.

In this exclusive interview for Life Arts Media Professor Hansen shares his knowledge and insights about Taoist philosophy and his new translation of the Tao Te Ching.

Although written more than 2,500 years ago and within a radically different culture, the Tao Te Ching’s concepts and teachings have become more influential in the West than ever before.

Laozi, the Chinese sage and founder of Taoism, sets out a path (tao) that allows us to tune in to the nature of the universe. His axioms are intended to help us achieve transcendence and a life of integrity and balance: they explore the importance of male and female complementary qualities while praising self-knowledge and criticizing rational understanding. Among his insights are the beliefs that flexibility and suppleness are superior to rigidity and strength, and that self-absorption and self-importance are vain and destructive.

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Category: Consciousness, Film Library, Video Interviews