Being Virtuous without Virtues - Essay Example

in a person’s humanity where perfection is not a possibility, hypocrisy lurks behind as a threat that could make him not saintly after all. Therefore, the teacher suggests cut-off saintliness so that in doing so, saintliness could be attained as one becomes more engaged in his considerations on how to prepare for whatever circumstance he will meet.
Ornamental conduct is how Tao Te Ching looks at the forms of human-heartedness which bring one’s thoughts to the aforementioned argument on hypocrisy behind saintliness. When a person considers himself as human-hearted, there is the possibility of acting out for other people but not meaning what one does.

However, when one gets rid of such a mentality about human-heartedness, sincerity will manifest and whatever a person does, good or bad, will not be judged according to its wrongness or correctness but will tell what kind of person one is. In conclusion, the philosopher suggests people act and think as naturally as they can and not be controlled by the disciplines suggested by people and their norms. In this way, true virtues will be attained as people become more observant of how they should act and not be confined to acting as they are expected to do. Read More