The concept of nature-naturalness in Taoist philosophy and it's educational implications

ABSTRACT THE CONCEPT OF NATURE-NATURALNESS IN TAOIST PHILOSOPHY AND ITS EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS HALİS ADNAN ARSLANTAŞ Doctoral Degree 2025 Department of Philosophy and Sciences Studies Prof. Dr. Abdüllatif TÜZER ABSTRACT Concepts related to nature, naturalness, education, the human being, and human nature have shaped the fundamental modes of thought not only in Western philosophy but also in ancient Eastern cultures such as Mesopotamia, China, and Egypt. In these cultures, the relationship between nature, naturalness, and the human being is understood not through a vertical hierarchy but within a horizontal and holistic framework; accordingly, nature is approached not as an instrumental object but as a valuable and immanent entity. Similar approaches can be observed in the concept of naturalness, just as in the concept of nature itself. Human perception of the world and modes of action are inevitably grounded in a religious or non-religious worldview or belief system. The interpretation of the Tao as independent of God yet, metaphorically, as God itself can be understood as a mode of thought that defines the human being's relationship with the self, society, and nature. The educational philosophies of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Friedrich Fröbel, Maria Montessori, Célestin Freinet, John Dewey, Herbert Spencer, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau similarly reflect approaches that define the human being's relationship with the self, society, and nature. For instance, Pestalozzi's views show parallels with Liezi's pragmatic understanding of nature and social balance, particularly in terms of individual and social harmony and experience-oriented education. Fröbel's emphasis on play and community-centered education can be associated with Liezi's stress on social balance. Montessori's approach-centered on the child's learning at their own rhythm and the concept of a prepared environment-reflects Laozi's notions of natural flow and non-action "Wu wei". With regard to Freinet and Dewey, Freinet's pedagogy, focused on experience and social cooperation, aligns with Zhuangzi's principles of spontaneity and individual freedom, while Dewey's pedagogy of active experience and problem-solving is also compatible with these principles. Liezi's pragmatic view of nature and social harmony may be seen as parallel to Spencer's emphasis on environmental adaptation and socially oriented education. Likewise, Zhuangzi's focus on individual experience and spontaneity bears similarities to Locke's concept of tabula rasa and knowledge acquisition through experience. Rousseau, in turn, may be understood as having carried Zhuangzi's notions of spontaneity and individual freedom into a pedagogy of the natural child and free development. However, interpreting these thinkers solely in terms of influence may lead to misleading conclusions. It is therefore necessary to emphasize that each of these thinkers opened a path toward re-establishing naturalness, simplicity, and harmony in education by producing ideas shaped by the conditions of their own historical periods and existing bodies of knowledge. This study adopts a qualitative methodology and employs an interdisciplinary analysis based on textual interpretation within ontological, epistemological, and ethical perspectives. The findings indicate that the emphases on naturalness, experience, harmony, simplicity, and individual development in modern educational thought exhibit significant parallels with Taoist philosophy. As noted above, these similarities should be understood not as the result of direct influence but as outcomes of the original intellectual pursuits developed by each thinker within their respective historical and social contexts. In conclusion, based on the idea that existential meaning grounded in movement can generate harmony and unity through the attraction of resemblance, this study conducts a comparative analysis between naturalistic, experiential, and pragmatist educational philosophers and Taoist thinkers within ontological, epistemological, and ethical frameworks. Through this analysis, the fundamental principles of modern educational philosophy and its understandings of nature and education are examined in relation to Taoist philosophy, with an effort to reveal both parallels and differences where they exist. Keywords: Tao, Nature, Naturalness, Education