Philosophical Taoism centers on the concept of Tao ("the Way"): an ultimate, ineffable principle that is simultaneously transcendent (beyond naming or full comprehension) and immanent as the ordering, generative rhythm underlying nature and all life. Its corresponding ethical/practical doctrine, wu wei, describes a mode of action characterized by effortless, non-forcing effectiveness achieved by aligning oneself with the natural grain of circumstance rather than through assertive striving, complemented by values of humility, non-competitiveness, harmony with nature, and the relativity (non-absoluteness) of opposites such as good and evil. This belongs to Chinese philosophy/religion and is typically contrasted with Confucianism as the intuitive, naturalistic pole of Chinese thought against Confucianism's rationalist, socially oriented ethics.
Philosophical Taoism centers on the concept of Tao ("the Way"): an ultimate, ineffable principle that is simultaneously transcendent (beyond naming or full comprehension) and immanent as the ordering…