The Metaphorical Concept "Infant" And The Philosophy Of Laozi

Interpreted from the metaphorical concept of the infant,this thesis explores the construction process of relevant philosophy in the text of Laozi.The infant is taken as a metaphorical concept through Laozi's thoughts in all aspects,including cosmology,life theory and political theory.First of all,the connotation and characteristics of Tao are derived from the metaphor of mother and her baby.The metaphor that mother gives birth to her baby provides the generative and rooted nature of Tao as the origin of everything.The metaphor that mother raises her child provides the content that all things can't grow without the Tao which generates everything and accomplishes everything at the same time.This is the content of cosmology in Laozi's thoughts.Secondly,as a concrete object,the infant's pattern of weakness,ignorance and no desire constitutes the virtue of Tao including soft attitude to life,“practice Tao by reduction”,nature and effortless inaction.Soft attitude to life,“practice Tao by reduction”,nature and inaction as the virtue of Tao form the ideal personality in Laozi's thoughts.Thus,the Infant becomes the metaphor of the ideal personality.The road to saint is the return to the baby.This is the theory of life in Laozi's doctrine.Finally,the metaphor of infant also provides Taoist way of governing the state.In other words,the use of infant as a metaphor not only constructs the content of the Tao,but also constitutes the expression of the Tao,which can't be expressed with words but can be presented through images.In addition,studying the text of Laozi from the metaphorical concept infant can also be regarded as an attempt and exploration of the “philosophy through children” in children's philosophy.