Tao And Chi: Two Dimensions Of Comprehending Teachers

Tao and Chi are important concepts in the traditional thoughts of China. There are various interpretations of these two concepts, one of which is to interpret Tao and Chi from the perspectives of value and instrument respectively. Rooted deeply in the Being Layer formed by accumulation of historical culture, Tao has orientations of value and close relation with metaphysics and, consequently, is manifested as moral demands when human being is concerned. Chi has the meaning of instrumental things, which can be relied on to solve practical problems, and is in fact the Operating Layer of the world.This paper has tried to comprehend teachers through dimensions of Tao and Chi.Virtue, which is a kind of transcendental responsibility, is the first to be talked about when teachers are comprehended through the dimension of Tao. Virtue is the intrinsic goodness of people and out of the need of human being to display their transcendental and sacred nature, but has little to do with the consideration of utility. It is not occupational requirements but traditional character and status of teachers that command teachers' virtue.The other aspect of teachers' Tao is occupational ethics, which states clearly the baseline of norms without adding much to the moral burden when teachers are involved in the occupational activities. The demands of virtue and occupational ethics are both reasonable, but the difference between them caused by whether they are occupational deserves notice.Teachers themselves can be regarded as Chi because of their value as means and instrument to achieve social aims of education. This point of view will be helpful when we want to analysis the utilities of teachers by means of economic methods. At the same time of being Chi or instruments, teachers are users of all kinds of instruments, whose occupational activities cannot be fulfilled by only intrinsic attainments, but also a powerful instrument system.This paper has managed to provide a reasonable way to comprehend teachers: the Tao of teachers can be occupational or non-occupational, which helps us to make it clear what virtue and occupational ethics of teachers mean exactly; in working out occupational norms of teachers, we have to follow the logic of utilitarianism, which is in tension with metaphysical virtue; the Chi of teachers should not be taken separately into account from Tao, we can never abandon transcendental considerations completely.