Laozi for sustainability education: Its principles, logic, and relevance

Sustainability is a world issue. Sustainability Education needs not be monopolized by the paradigm posited or tacitly assumed by the rational scientific approach to the environment. This Chapter aims to outline the logic and relevance of how sustainability could better be taught in school curriculums with the inclusion of principles from Laozi (The Book of Logo and Virtues), an influential ancient Chinese classic. We will first set in proper historical and philosophical perspective what teachings there are in Laozi. Its curriculum data and pedagogical coverage in the contemporary tertiary educational setting in Hong Kong will be examined. The authorial aim is to underpin the Logoist holistic and coherent perspective of Nature and Humanity. On the basis of these observations, advice on the use of Laozi for future Sustainability Education will be made. In a nutshell, Laozi - the philosopher - is not a national thinker. His thoughts have logic and values that transcend time and boundaries. His Logoist perspective, at the very least, provides a cogent and holistic counter-framework for the educational purposes of Value Clarification and of challenging the misconceived Human-Nature relations. This alone will be a great service to the world’s tertiary education, facilitating mutual understanding across cultures.