China Social Science Review

No.4, 2023

Laozi’s Theory of “Not-Knowing” and Its Significance

(Abstract)

Chen Xin

It is human nature to seek knowledge, but knowledge itself has boundaries. Outside the boundaries of knowledge, we do not know. In some situations, not knowing may be more valuable than knowing. In Laozi, there are three propositions that directly talk about “not knowing” (wuzhi): (1) “He constantly keeps the people without knowledge and without desire, and where there are those who have knowledge, he keeps them from presuming to act (on it)”; (2) “While his intelligence reaches in every direction, cannot he (appear to) be without knowledge?”; (3) “It is because they do not know these, that men do not know themselves.” Proposition (1) emphasizes that “not knowing” of ingenuity is a necessary condition for the establishment of a well-ordered society, proposition (2) emphasizes that man is unable to know the infinite Dao, and proposition (3) emphasizes that the recognition of man’s inability to know the Dao is a necessary condition for the realization and practice of Dao. These three propositions are valuable at the social, intellectual, and practical levels.