Conatus: THIRD EDITION by Tom Wallace - HTML preview

C O N A T U S

embodied consciousness, we are agents in the world — in fact, it is our choosing and willing, along with that of all other beings, which defines the universe. There is no need to postulate separate meanings or purposes beyond this.

The Tao of Eastern thought is an excellent expression of how all this can be ‘lived’, rather than just acknowledged as an intellectual construct. ‘Chi’ — the name given to the flow of energy through the body — exemplifies our embodiment and our interbeing with the rest of the universe.

Are there any moral principles in the Tao? In a way, no. But there can be thoughts or beliefs that block or frustrate the Tao. This is a bit like asking what is the morality of nature, or does nature act purely on the basis of expediency. Although value and meaning may be built in from the very start, it’s difficult to discern obvious rules (or indeed, whether the rules get obeyed or broken). So the Tao is to be at one with our embodied selves, conscious of our interbeing with the rest of nature.

Finally we can ask — should everything be treated as if it is only the embodiment that counts? Should we deny all splits on the world, whether transcendent or supernatural or

otherwise? I’d suggest that we are often forced into abstraction. Even although we may accept that clear and obvious thing about something that’s true just being true, nonetheless, abstracting truth into a separate realm of knowledge actually serves us well, and in any case may be impossible to avoid. Even so, it is worth paying close attention to the manner in

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