Finding a Daoist Perspective for Engineering

Some Daoist texts praise and elevate technology, while others denigrate it as a monstrous source of unnaturalness. However, the many positive references and allegories in Daoist classics to tools and artisans count against a sweeping dismissal of technology within the Daoist tradition. The problem is not with technology itself. The problem is with the ways it is designed. Technologies can be designed according to different principles, which could be more sagacious and generous to the people who use and live with them. The Daoist principle of non-action (wu wei, 無為) refers to an action that does the most with the least. That can be a principle of engineering, as I show with some examples. 摘要: 有道家本文颂扬并高尚化技术, 也有一些因技术是非自然的可怕来源而诋毁技术。然而, 道家经典中对工具和工匠的许多正面的提及和寓言, 并不认同在道家传统中全盘否定技术。问题不在于技术本身。相反在于其设计方式。技术可以根据不同的原则来设计, 这对使用和生活在其中的人而言, 可能是更明智和宽容的。道家的无为原则指的是用最少的付出做最多的事。正如我将在本章中举例说明的, 无为也可以是工程的一个原则。