I think that The Tao of Pooh was an amazing book, and how it incorporated all of the characters of Winnie the Pooh. Benjamin Hoff made some good points on the western thinking. Hoff said, “Its seems rather odd, that Taoism, the way of the Whole Man, the True Man, the Spirit Man (to use a few Taoist terms), is for the most part interpreted here in the west by the Scholarly Owl, by the Brain, the Academician, the dry-as-dust absentminded professor.” (Hoff 25) I liked this because it basically talks about how the west has a one-minded track and we put things in categories and compartments, and were always trying to solve things. Hoff also talked about how Westerners try too hard and how animals in the forest don’t try, they just do, and we have declared ourselves The Superior Animal. Pooh said “If people are superior animals, then why don’t they take better care of the world.” (Hoff 77) Although Hoff for the most part is right about Western society, I feel like he is a little hard on Westerners. Hoff talked about how Westerners have a hamburger stand, China has a tea stand and France has a café. Those places are places of peace, respect, family, and you are important and the hamburger stand is all about you are not important “eat and get out.” He’s kind of pulling all the bad stuff about westerners and comparing it to eastern culture. He also compared Taoism to the “Confusionist scholar who studies knowledge for the sake of knowledge, and who keeps what he learns to himself or to his own small group, and does not work for the enlightenment of other.” (Hoff 26) I think that Hoff was right on with the thought of America as a culture of Busy Backsons. He talks about how we are constantly doing things, never stopping and destroying nature. “When he talks about how we work to work, work when we exercise, and work when we play.” (Hoff 95) We never have anytime for ourselves, and we have all of these devices to save us time but we end up losing more time then saving. I can agree on how Taoism is a solution to the American problem and its people. Taoism is one with nature, and reverting to a child like mind set, erasing all of the little things that have been drilled into our head through our life time.
I can see what you are saying about Hoff being a little hard on the American culture when he was picking out things like the hamburger stand. I thought he was pretty hard on scientists and scholars too.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you that in the west there is a one-minded track and we try to put things in categories and try to solve things. We don’t usually let things be. I also agree that while Hoff was correct with some of his thinking, he is being too hard on Western society. I did not really think about when he was talking about how Westerners do not having places of peace, respect, family, and that you are important, that he was basically just comparing the bad stuff about western society to eastern culture.
ReplyDeleteI was hoping that Hoff was just using a generalization, trying to prove his point. Our professor has also made a similar point--that it's strange that Americans drink coffee when we're tired. (Not that we're the only ones!) From the Taoist perspective, our culture probably seems Bisy. And from the American perspective, Taoist culture seems Slow.
ReplyDeleteGuys, take courses in Western philosophy, you will be very surprised how smart we are. Taoism is one of the Eastern philosophies. It is NOT a Chinese way of live. Why the majority step into this trap? "Pay and go" stands are present in ANY country of the world, not just in America. Tea-house era in China is over, while in French cafe, you pay five bucks for one cup of coffee. Anyone who completed Focus Inquiry and English-200 should dismiss Hoff's book as on-college-level-unusable nonsense. Just compare it to Alan Watts' book and you'll see the difference.
ReplyDeleteActually Bob, for the purposes of this class, Hoff's book is more on the line of what we are looking at. Hoff's book is written from the point of view of a believer in Taoism, Watts' book is written from an outside view. Religious Studies is meant to let us step into the shoes of a believer, not to look in from the sidelines. And for Taoists it still is a Chinese way of life, perhaps not THE Chinese way of life or the majority, but one of them.
ReplyDeleteI also don't believe that this had anything to do with the intelligence of the Western point of view, merely how it functions differently from the point of view of Taoism, not necessarily of the East.
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