Practice by Unpractice: Taizhou Moral Philosophy Reconsidered

Abstract

As followers of Wang Yangming, the Taizhou school places significant emphasis on the body, which has led to challenges concerning the potential dissipation of natural desires. Critics argue that Taizhou philosophy, while acknowledging human’s natural state, fails to adequately address the existence of evil and tends to overlook the role of deliberate moral practice by idealizing the natural as morally perfect. This article employs the framework of embodied cognition to present a novel interpretation of Taizhou moral philosophy and to address critiques regarding its views on evil and moral practice. It explores Taizhou’s holistic approach, integrating mind and body, self and others, to offer fresh insights into the balance between deliberation and spontaneity in moral practice. As a comparative and interdisciplinary endeavor, this article bridges Eastern and Western philosophies, connecting moral philosophy with empirical science. It aims to deepen understanding of Taizhou philosophy while highlighting its broader relevance for ethical behavior and moral reasoning in a global context.