Episode 11: Nonaction

The concept of wu-wei, often translated as nonaction or effortless action is central to classical Chinese philosophy. But what exactly is the idea and what are its practical implications? What puzzles does it raise regarding the nature of human actions, purpose, and intention? We examine these questions by focusing on some central passages from the Daodejing. 

Many thanks to The Hong Kong Ethics Lab for sponsoring this podcast series.

Want to continue the discussion? Need links to some of the sources mentioned? Go to the support page for this episode on Warp, Weft, and Way.

We thank Lena Li (LI La 李拉 ) for her expert editing and sound engineering. We also thank the blog Warp, Weft & Way for hosting the discussion for this episode.

Co-hosts:
Richard Kim's website
Justin Tiwald's website

Chapters

• 0:00 Part I -- Introduction
• 4:17 • Preface to today's topic
• 11:39 Part II -- Nonaction in the Daodejing
• 13:21 • Three senses of "wuwei"
• 27:41 • The Daodejing's optimism about our natural dispositions
• 31:00 • Chapter 2 ("When the good strives to be good...")
• 45:12 • Chapter 37 ("The Way does nothing yet nothing is left undone...freedom from desire")
• 58:01 • Chapter 48 ("One does less and less until one does nothing")
• 1:04:58 • Two ways of justifying "one does nothing yet nothing is left undone"