Research Paper on:
Contemporary World and Taoism

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
information on using this paper properly! Taoism is an Eastern philosophy that dates back to the sixth century BC and is closely associated with the Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu and  his writing, the "Tao Te Ching" (LaPlaca 22). Taoism is, basically, a philosophy that teaches adherents to be in harmony with nature, to adopt the "give-and-take" of nature, so  that the individual reacts naturally to the environment and to situations that present themselves (LaPlaca 22). It is a philosophy that is predicated upon the "parsimony of action, the action  of inaction (LaPlaca 22). While this sounds contradictory to the Western mind, it might be better understood by Westerners through the old adage to "go with the flow" (Rux  11). An apt analogy that also describes Taoism is to picture a swimmer who is trying to go against a rip-tide current in order to get to shore. The non-Taoist  swimmer tires himself out fighting to get to shore. The Taoist swimmer doesnt fight the current, but rather swims parallel to the shore until he or she is out of  the currents influence (Rux 11). Then, getting to shore is a relatively simple matter. The principles of Taoism are, not surprisingly, still prevalent in modern Chinese society; however, as  the following discussion will illustrate, Taoist principles are also influencing Western culture and the processes of contemporary daily life in the US. For example, businessmen are advised to apply Taoist  insights toward managing professional trends, such as information technologies (Rux 11). Furthermore, Wellemeyer and Morganthau report that top executives routinely read Taoist literature (145). But what is perhaps more surprising  is that Taoism has filtered into everything in Western society, from pop culture to leadership principles. Pop culture Director Jenniphrs Goodmans film The Tao of Steve offers Taoist oriented