“In ancient Chinese rituals, straw dogs were used as offerings to the gods. During the ritual they were treated with the utmost reverence. When it was over and they were no longer needed they were trampled on and tossed aside: ‘Heaven and earth are ruthless, and treat the myriad creatures as straw dogs.’ If humans disturb the balance of the Earth they will be trampled on and tossed aside. Critics of Gaia theory say they reject it because it is unscientific. The truth is that they fear and hate it because it means that humans can never be other than straw dogs.”
John Gray, Straw Dogs
March 22, 2023 | The Daodejing is an ancient text that became a founding document for both philosophical and religious Daoism, as well as exerting huge influence on all subsequent East Asian Confucian and Buddhist traditions.
In the past two hundred years, its massive impact has expanded to worldwide scope. Its complex textual history, its inherent multivalence, and its explosive philosophical content have inspired endless interpretations in East Asia but beyond; indeed, it has been translated into English more times than any other single text.
In this lecture, the core structure of the thinking embodied in its many rhetorical modes is laid bare: a thoroughgoing overturning of some of the most basic assumptions about the nature of human desire and action and the world in which they function, raising radical questions about the ultimate value of purposive activity for either human flourishing or for the operation of the cosmos.
Religious studies courses can feature a broad range and variety of texts, including anything from the Daodejing, to The Mishnah, to Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, to Mary Douglas’s Purity and Danger, to Said’s Orientalism. The Marty Center partnered with the Undergraduate Religious Studies Program to design “Why This Text Matters” as a series of videos to help faculty prepare for courses, their students, and anyone generally curious about important texts in the study of religion. In the space of about 30 minutes, viewers can gain a deeper understanding of the context, themes, and significance of texts taught by experts at the University of Chicago Divinity School.
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