The Catch-22 of the logocentric box and the Daoist antidote. A Daoistic perspective on language, knowledge, technology, and nature

Priscilla Van Even and Kevin Vanhaelewijn
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Priscilla Van Even: KU Leuven

No z852u_v1, OSF Preprints from Center for Open Science

Abstract: Our contemporary world is confusing because we no longer know where we stand. Are we on the height of progress and human potential, driven by scientific innovation and technological advancement? Or have we descended into unprecedented, self-inflicted ecological crises threatening our survival? While technological progress is undeniable, it is also the main cause of environmental degradation, creating a paradox that challenges modern thought. This cognitive dissonance is sustained by logocentrism, a way of knowing that considers descriptive language, logic, and measurable knowledge as superior, which disconnects us from direct experience of the Living World, nature, through conceptual constructions. As an antidote to this logocentric trap, we turn to Daoist philosophy, offering a perspective that challenges the dominance of logocentric language and thought. Drawing on Masanobu Fukuoka’s natural Way of farming as a living metaphor, we reflect on this paradox and the logocentric ‘box’ while exploring ecological transformation through wu wei. Using metaphorical language and visual ‘windows’ as epistemic openings, we invite readers to move beyond the logocentric boundaries of these pages and reconnect directly with the Living World.

Date: 2025-07-30
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osf:osfxxx:z852u_v1

DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/z852u_v1

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