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Justin Vacula
Eastern Philosophy
Dr. Irwin
Benajamin Hoff's The Tao of Pooh gives readers a light introduction into understanding Taoism
via the characters of A. A. Milne. Hoff's book makes Taoism easily accessible because readers such as
myself have a general base of knowledge about the characters in The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
Taoism embraces that which is natural: “The essence of the principle of the Uncarved Block,” Hoff
explains, “is that things in their natural simplicity contain their own natural power, power that is easily
spoiled and lost when that simplicity is changed” (Hoff 10). I will argue that the principle of the
Uncarved Block and some other aspects of Taoism commit the naturalistic fallacy and that, while many
ideas related to it seem to be tenable and may contain wisdom, labeling something good or bad because
Hoff explains that we can't explain too much about the principles of Taoism because we will be
confused and think that the idea is merely an intellectual one that would be ignored, thus we can't reach
a full (or fuller) understanding of the Uncarved Block. Hoff believes that Winnie the Pooh embodies
the Uncarved Block. Pooh's life is quite simple, fun, and practical. Taoism takes the view that simple-
mindedness [not stupidity] is a good thing that is of the natural order, while cleverness leads one to
wasted time and no true wisdom. Taoism wants us to “recognize Inner Nature and work with Things As
They Are. When we don't, we get into trouble” (50).Hoff also mentions that, “people are easily led
away from what's right for them, because people have Brain, and Brain can be fooled. Inner nature,
when relied on, cannot be fooled” (57). All of this information leads us to the conclusion that Taoism
The concept of Wu Wei further embraces the natural as being good; “Tao doesn't force or
interfere with things, but lets them work in their own way, to produce results naturally” (70). According
to Lao-Tse, an important Taoist figure, “the more man interfered with the natural balance produced and
governed by the natural laws, the further away the harmony retreated into the distance” (4). K'ung Fu-
tse “believed that the present was out of step with the past, and that the government of man on earth
was out of harmony with the Way of Heaven, the government of the universe.” More of information
such as this provided in Hoff's book demonstrates that Taoism wants us to believe that the natural is
A major criticism of Taoism is that it often commits the naturalistic fallacy in its core tenants.
David Hume famously argued that you cannot derive an ought from an is. You can look at the world,
understand what exists, and identify aspects of nature, but you must propose a system of values and
make ethical judgments to determine that something is good. We can appeal to a value system and say
what a person ought to do, but making an observation about the natural world is not enough to make a
moral judgment. In other words, just because something exists in a state of nature does not entail that it
has a moral basis. Taoism embraces the idea that one's Inner Nature is good and should be followed,
but it's impossible, using Hume's criterion, to state that this is the case by just appealing to the way the
world is.
Taoists may try to respond to Hume's distinction and evoke a spiritual sense of reality that
makes the natural good, but then the Taoists would have to explain how this spiritual element is good
and how it deems that something is good. Taoists may also argue saying that Hume is simply too clever
and that his cleverness is obscuring the way things really are, but this is just dismissing the objection
and not actually trying to find flaws in the argument. The defender of Hume could easily just say that
the Taoist was being too simple and isn't able or doesn't want to grasp what the academics have
revealed that poses a threat to their beliefs in the goodness and desirability of the natural. Such
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strategies of argumentation are akin to personal attacks and red herring arguments and don't directly
Many people or things in nature may exhibit natural properties that are not desirable such as
mental illnesses, aggressive tendencies, or genetic disorders. Note that these items are not automatically
undesirable or desirable because they exist and are naturally occurring, but rather because they are
maladaptive and do not positively enhance a person (in most cases). Would the Taoist say that a serial
rapist should embrace his/her inner nature? Hoff's book did not describe this or counter this refutation,
but the Taoist would probably mention that these maladaptive items are not in line with The Way
Things Are. Whether or not this is “moving the goal posts” is unknown to me because I don't have a
full understanding of Taoism; my knowledge comes only from Hoff's book. I can be greatly mistaken
I find that many redeeming qualities of various ideas of Taoism I discussed can be found, but
serious problems lie in the assertion that what is natural is good and desirable. As Hume famously
argued, we can not derive an ought from an is and must create a value system to derive good from
nature. In addition, many natural states may be maladaptive and should not be desired for this reason. It
may be good to hold to maxims such as “be yourself” and have the wonder such that a child has.
Looking at the world with an open mind, as Taoism suggests, can be very beneficial and can open us to
new points of view, led us to think harder about our steadfast beliefs that shape our lives, and can
simply just be an entertaining experience. We can take many elements from Taoism that we enjoy,
apply them to our lives, and not have to subscribe to any dogma.
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Works Cited
H o f f , B e n j a m i n . T h e Ta o o f P o o h . To r o n t o : P e n g u i n B o o k s , 1 9 8 2 . P r i n t .