Moses Nyirakomini
Daoism/ Yin and Yang
Daoism is often opposed to Confucianism as a skeptical and mystical school of thought
vs the alternative which is more of a traditionalist and imperious school of thought. It is the most
skeptical in terms of arguing that we should return to a natural state and see beyond the understandings and distinctions we have stored in ourselves. The famous Daoist image of the Yin and
Yang represents most of these concepts held within this tradition. One of the things I found most
interesting was that Yin and Yang is used to describe femininity and masculinity. Yin and Yang
are traditionally described as having female and male attributes but its important how we perceive this definition because there is no value judgment held within this analogy. They represent
different forces in the world such as hot, warm, directed forces for masculinity and a cool,
smooth, and supporting forces for femininity. They are two sides of a cycle, where things rise
and fall and gather and disperse. Both of these forces are completely different from each other,
but they can only be appreciated in terms of their combined dynamic. With how Yin and Yang
applies specific emotions to gender could this be seen a bit sexist in todays society?