Hermeneutics and Pedagogy: Methodological Issues in Teaching the Daode Jing
Hermeneutics and Pedagogy: Methodological Issues in Teaching the Daode Jing
In this “contrarian” approach to reading he DDJ, Russell Kirkland argues that most textbooks do a credible job of presenting the DDJ as it has been inherited through both Confucian and Western conceptual lenses, but that such a view fails to see the Daoist as they saw themselves. He challenges students to “ponder the alienity of ancient China” before making assumptions about what the text is trying to accomplish. By focusing their attention on early Daoist religious practices, and the status of the DDJ as a Daoist scripture, Kirkland aims to cultivate in his students an appreciation for both the originary aims of the text and the way hermeneutical models are developed, challenged and clarified.
Keywords: Daode jing, Tao Te Ching, Laozi, Lao Tzu, Daoism, Taoism, Chinese religion, Daoist practice, hermeneutics, literary forms
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