The Tao and the Future of the West

Public thought and opinion about the future of the West (as it relates to technology) has been—some would say nearly irreversibly—marred by the science fiction genre. Books like Asimov’s I, Robot, Harlan Ellison’s Demon with a Glass Hand and Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey; movies with sinister names and premises, such as The Matrix, The Terminator and the Mad Max trilogy show humans in either an adversarial relationship with sentient technology, or living an almost prehistoric lifestyle due to technology going awry. But if we apply Taoist thought to tech (software) and mech (hardware) we will be forced to view emergent technologies as part of our natural order.

To put it bluntly, technology is natural. If we consider the views of cosmological thinkers such as Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme, the entire universe (including all life forms) was created from the same star stuff. If we travel along this line of thinking, whatever we choose to create is ostensibly of the same materials. Hence, technologies (our creations) are a part of our natural world. But to further, and fully, individuate this forward-thinking mindset into our current Western paradigm, we should look at the concept of wu-wei.

Among the many interpretations and definitions of wu-wei; “without action” is the most accurate to further explore the Taoist application to Western future. By not taking any action—in this context, the concept should be taken as not resisting—the West will be in a better psycho-social position to incorporate the rapidity of our technological innovations, products and services. If we resist, we run the risk of being left behind. The West would be a Luddite, trapped and lost in a future hall of digital mirrors. Wandering about confused, screaming futile words of stubborn and pointless anti-technological defiance. Change is inevitable, and if we stand against it, we will be rendered as obsolete as the Commodore 64. As presented here, applying the Tao as an addition to the expression of our Western future can be a very beneficial thing, especially if we can become of the mind that is interested in making all tech and mech universally available. But there is a less benevolent side to the Western Taoist future.

Te (used here as an individual finding his or her own personal expression via the Tao) can be easily manipulated to “put people in their places.” The dangers of a caste system are not too far-fetched, when we consider some of the other meanings of Te. If we use Te in its capacity to denote purpose/duty, many people could be relegated to doing only certain types of jobs, without any hopes of rising above their station, trying new things or expanding their general interests.

With the transhumanist talk of designer genes, memory and skill implantation and biological upgrades, workers could be created for specific industries. And this Te would be passed down to the children of these enhanced workers. If an entire family has been engineered to be rescue personnel, the child would not have any choice other than to be bio-engineered in to the rescue profession. To take this even further, would the child of the rescue worker even have the desire to be other than the Te of his or her family? I find it difficult to imagine the child of a bio-engineered firefighter to say that they want to be a veterinarian. How would they even know that vets exist, being that their Te’s may never intersect? There is a potential for there to be these various Te continuums, existing independently of each other, never coinciding or informing each other, unless their duties force them into proximity and cooperation. Even though this is all just speculation, there are a few things regarding the Tao and the West that are fact.

- The future is coming, whether we want it to or not.

- This future will consist of rapidly emerging technologies that will have a direct effect on how we will play, work and communicate.

-The concept of the Tao (and its various attendant concepts) will play a part in this new future, for better or for worse.

It will be up to us—those that live work and play in the West—to ride this technological wave and ensure that it will work to our mutual benefit. Because whether we actively engage it or not, our technological future is coming and we will be forced to ask ourselves the following question: Am I willing to be upgradeable or do I want to be an eight-track?