Talk:Lao Tse

From Citizendium
Revision as of 15:30, 18 January 2008 by imported>Michael J. Formica (Agreed)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This article is developing and not approved.
Main Article
Discussion
Related Articles  [?]
Bibliography  [?]
External Links  [?]
Citable Version  [?]
 
To learn how to update the categories for this article, see here. To update categories, edit the metadata template.
 Definition (Also Laozi, Lao-tzu; 6th century BCE?) Chinese philosopher, traditionally said to be the author of the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching), the basic text of Daoism. [d] [e]
Checklist and Archives
 Workgroup categories Philosophy and Religion [Editors asked to check categories]
 Talk Archive none  English language variant American English

Questions/comments:

  • What really is the most common spelling of this name in English? We should use that for the title. I'm not sure it is "Laozi."
  • "or perhaps even she" -- does anyone think that Lao Tse was, or even could have been, a woman? I'm skeptical.
  • "Various reports have him living somewhere between the 2nd and 6th century BC" -- we can't do better than that?
  • "Lao Zi is believed by some to have been a contemporary of Confucius (551-479 BC), and by others to be a teacher of Confucius." - Again, some sources here would be helpful. Saying "some believe X, others believe Y" does not help anyone to evaluate the merits of X and Y. To do that, we need to know who says X and Y, and why, and whether their opinions hold any weight among those who know about the subject.
  • "...but one popular account goes something like this..." There is no reason for what follows to be in bold and italics, right? Or even inset, or in quotation marks? That isn't actually a quotation, is it? If not, make it part of the text. (If anyone has ever actually said that.
  • "Some accounts of the story have Lao Tsu traveling to India upon his departure and becoming known as Buddha" -- something that interesting and dramatic needs more explanation and also a better source than some website.

--Larry Sanger 13:43, 18 January 2008 (CST)

Larry: I started addressing some of your concerns without even having read this post. I will continue to clean this up. Blessings... --Michael J. Formica 14:30, 18 January 2008 (CST)