1) There is currently an epidemic of anxiety in this country. The Confucius approach would likely be to implement more education and more music into our society to rectify this disharmony. Seeing as anxiety represents the body or mind in a state of alarm- Confucianism would settle to find the source of this uneasiness and set it into harmony. However, a daoist solution might be to stop trying to cure the state of your being and instead allow it to just exist and listen to what these feelings are telling you. Representing this "creative letting-be" would be halting all attempts to mend disrepair and instead allowing the universe to play out as intended. "Repose, tranquility, stillness, inaction- there were the source of all things. Keep this in mind when coming forward to pacify a troubled world, and your merit shall be great and your name illustrious, and the empire united into one" (Perusal Conf.DaoismWWSelection).  By pausing all intensive searches for the answer, the solution will find you be simply returning to the source. Both Confucianism and Daoism play deeply into the idea of looking to the past for the answer- and in this passage of Daoist theory, one can take note of the original "past," as it were, of complete tranquility and of therefore, achieving a state of calm with acceptance of the natural order of things.  2) I do not agree that humans are like warped wood. It seems to me that humans are more neutral. We were not given intention upon birth beyond that of surviving and reproducing to further the species. It is vain for mankind to think we were endowed with a certain expectation and intention that differs from any other creature that has touched this earth. What is goodness? Whatever serves our species because we made it up. There is no divine moral final stop that tells us life is definitively sacred. Life is sacred because we say it is, probably because we are alive. "The world is sacred. It can’t be improved (WW Ch. 4)." The Tao states that the real, eternal force is unchanging and that any attempts to shake it's balance are ones made in vain. Humans are a lot like this; we have a set practice of our real needs and intentions and any attempt to shove them aside or just ignore them are unhelpful because they will simply just reemerge.  3) I have been most surprised by the influence of religion and religious practice in each society- some of them even involving human sacrifice which indicates such an attachment and connection to their beliefs. I've always been fascinated by religion and by people's ability and willingness to follow a faith that lacks all reason, evidence, or logic. Of course, before such scientific revelations, it follows that early societies may be far more inclined to lean on a narrative providing an explanation for their observable surroundings. However, the extent to which each culture went about appraising its own belief system (often contrasting with the ones before or around it) truly brought m.

1. 1) There is currently an epidemic of anxiety in this country. The
Confucius approach would likely be to implement more
education and more music into our society to rectify this
disharmony. Seeing as anxiety represents the body or mind in a
state of alarm- Confucianism would settle to find the source of
this uneasiness and set it into harmony. However, a daoist
solution might be to stop trying to cure the state of your being
and instead allow it to just exist and listen to what these
feelings are telling you. Representing this "creative letting-be"
would be halting all attempts to mend disrepair and instead
allowing the universe to play out as intended. "Repose,
tranquility, stillness, inaction- there were the source of all
things. Keep this in mind when coming forward to pacify a
troubled world, and your merit shall be great and your name
illustrious, and the empire united into one" (Perusal
Conf.DaoismWWSelection). By pausing all intensive searches
for the answer, the solution will find you be simply returning to
the source. Both Confucianism and Daoism play deeply into the
idea of looking to the past for the answer- and in this passage of
Daoist theory, one can take note of the original "past," as it
were, of complete tranquility and of therefore, achieving a state
of calm with acceptance of the natural order of things.
2) I do not agree that humans are like warped wood. It seems to
me that humans are more neutral. We were not given intention
upon birth beyond that of surviving and reproducing to further
the species. It is vain for mankind to think we were endowed
with a certain expectation and intention that differs from any
other creature that has touched this earth. What is goodness?
Whatever serves our species because
we
made it up. There is no divine moral final stop that tells us life
is definitively sacred. Life is sacred because
we
say it is,

2. probably
because we are alive. "The world is sacred. It can’t be
improved (WW Ch. 4)." The Tao states that the real, eternal
force is unchanging and that any attempts to shake it's balance
are ones made in vain. Humans are a lot like this; we have a set
practice of our real needs and intentions and any attempt to
shove them aside or just ignore them are unhelpful because they
will simply just reemerge.
3) I have been most surprised by the influence of religion and
religious practice in each society- some of them even involving
human sacrifice which indicates such an attachment and
connection to their beliefs. I've always been fascinated by
religion and by people's ability and willingness to follow a faith
that lacks all reason, evidence, or logic. Of course, before such
scientific revelations, it follows that early societies may be far
more inclined to lean on a narrative providing an explanation
for their observable surroundings. However, the extent to which
each culture went about appraising its own belief system (often
contrasting with the ones before or around it) truly brought me
to ponder the draw of religion beyond simple explanation in
place of tangible evidence. My conclusion has been that the
social
prevalence in these cultures is the true 'religion.' The warship
is really that of the innate social bond tying us together and
allowing our species to prevail. Humans are incredibly socially
complex and interactive creatures and facing problems together
has always been what's forced us to use our combined strengths
to solve issues- therefore, it tracks that we might create issues
(for example: and angry god depriving the land of water) that
require our combined ritual and social gathering to solve (for
example: a sacrifice and ritual in which most of the society is
present and partaking). However, religion was limiting in
thought- which brings me to the Greeks whose democratic
society allowed for a less secular culture which cultivated a
larger diversity in ideas and explanations leading to scientific

3. predictions and breakthroughs in philosophy. This transition
shows the growth away from a crutch that had gotten us as far
as it could in terms of explanation and now we were branching
off in more modern and evidence based theories.
* Explain why you agree with this three points