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TAOISM AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE
Author(s) -
Barnett Raymond J.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
zygon®
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1467-9744
pISSN - 0591-2385
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9744.1986.tb00751.x
Subject(s) - taoism , epistemology , alchemy , argument (complex analysis) , similarity (geometry) , natural (archaeology) , cognitive science , psychology , data science , philosophy , computer science , history , artificial intelligence , biology , biochemistry , theology , archaeology , buddhism , image (mathematics)
. The seemingly disparate systems of philosophical Taoism and modern biological science are compared. A surprising degree of similarity is found in their views on death, reversion (cyclicity of phenomena), complementary interactions of dichotomous systems, and the place of humans in the universe. The thesis is advanced that these similarities arise quite naturally, since both systems base their knowledge upon objective observation of natural phenomena. Substantial differences between the two systems are recognized and examined regarding verbal argument, machinery, and experimentation. The Taoists' relationship to Chinese alchemy and the biologists' to technology are claimed to mitigate their attitudes toward experimentation.