Weekend Literary Supplement: "Digging Your Own Well", Part Nine

A short chapter today, but I believe a very important one---.

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Process Versus Substance

There is something about Western society that encourages people to look at the world as being composed of “things”. In significant ways, Daoism is different---it teaches us to look at the world as “processes”.

What is a river? We give them names, draw them on maps---but they are really just a prediction that a large number of water droplets will be moving down hill in a particular place. The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus pointed out this fact in his quote that “No man ever steps in the same river twice”. The point he was making is that even though we talk as if what we call a “river” is a thing, actually, it is a process, namely, the process of a myriad of water droplets moving down hill.

And what we call a “river” is actually one part of a “homeostatic process” known as the water cycle. That is the system where water gets evaporated, falls as precipitation on high ground, then flows downstream, where it evaporates, moves as vapour over high ground, then falls as precipitation again, to flow downstream all over again. A homeostatic process is one where a certain degree of stability is maintained through positive and negative feedback. In the case of the water cycle, naturally occurring mechanisms such as swamps, beaver dams, and, glaciers regulate the flow of water to ensure that a river has a constant flow instead of simply drying up when there is no rain.

Another example of homeostasis is the flame of a candle. The heat melts wax, which allows it to flow through the wick and feed the flame. This in turn melts more wax, which continues the practise. This allows for a more-or-less consistent flame from when the candle is first lit until it completely burns up.

What is important about this idea of homeostasis is the implication for how humanity views itself. The Western world rejected Heraclitus' ideas and instead embraced those of Plato, who believed in the idea that all of the world consists of 'things'. Even ideas existed as objects, which he called the 'Forms'. Ultimately this notion resulted in the idea that what makes people “people” is a specific thing, which is called a soul. Most people are aware of the first half of Heraclitus' saying, but not the second: “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” I suspect that Heraclitus would not suggest that human beings have souls.

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I believe that many Daoists would agree with Heraclitus. They do not look at the world as a collection of things, but rather of processes, which they call “daos”. And embracing all of the minor daos, is one great process, known as the “Dao”. People sometimes equate the Dao to God. But that misses the point. The God of the West is a being (which is just a type of thing), whereas the Dao is simply a homestatic process that governs all of the universe. Daoists do not seek the mind of God to explain why something happens. Instead, they look for the general process that has manifested in a specific example.

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Moreover I say unto you, the Climate Emergency must be dealt with!