It is what allows the world, the society, and the person to flourish on their own terms.Ĭlassical Daoism, Philosophical Daoism, Early Daoism: these terms are increasingly being seen as obsolescent by scholars in the last couple of decades.

Wu then is simultaneously metaphysical and concrete, general and particular. In this paper I suggest an understanding of wu as a philosophical framework that places Pre-Qin Daoist thought as a system that both promotes our understanding of the way the world works and offers solutions to particular problems. In the political aspect, wu defines, or rather un-defines the actions (non-coercive action, wuwei無為) that the utmost authority exerts to allow the utmost simplicity and “authenticity” (the zi自constructions) of the people. As a term of negation, wu usually indicates the absence of something, as seen in its relation to the term you 有-'to have” or “presence.” From the perspective of generative processes, wu functions as an undefined and undifferentiated cosmic situation from which no beginning can begin but everything can emerge. Whereas Dao serves as the utmost principle in both generation and practice, wu becomes one of the central methods to achieve or emulate this ideal.

However, unlike Dao, wu is generally used as an adjective modifying or describing nouns such as “names,” “desires,” “knowledge,” “action” and so forth. Wu 無is one of the most prominent terms in Ancient Daoist philosophy, and perhaps the only term to appear more than Dao in both the Laozi and the Zhuangzi.

Define laozi