Spelling+Tuesday+Block+F

Colin Shin James Huh James Park

5 September 2011 F Block __http://disney-clipart.com/winnie-the-pooh/owl.php__

__http://www.just-pooh.com/tao.html__

Summary--Summarize the reading in simple terms. In the beginning of the chapter, Pooh and the main character entered Owl’s home in the Hundred Acre Wood. They went to search for answers, since Owl is a well-known scholar. The main character talks about how “the wise are not learned and the learned are not wise”, which is a major teaching and attitude toward knowledge and wisdom in Taoism. According to the book, Tao Te Ching, and Chuang-tse’s speeches, scholars are restricted by his or her own learning limits. Their knowledge comes directly from books and not from actual experiences.

Next, the narrator talks more about Confucianists and how they only seek knowledge which causes them to restrict themselves. This kind of learning is useful in analyzing certain parts of life, but it limits people to see things from a broad perspective. Therefore, Confucianists may have difficulty in seeing things beyond expectations. On the other hand, Taoists view life in a larger and broader context and focus more on real experiences. In the book, Pooh doesn’t understand Confucianist Dedicated,and the narrator describes him as Confusionist Desiccated.

In order to show Taoism in a real life situation, the importance of spelling - or actually the insignificance of spelling is brought into the story. This was shown when Owl corrected Pooh's spelling of Tuesday and said that it was actually spelled "Twosday." He also corrected Pooh's spelling of Thursday and made himself look smarter by correcting other errors in spelling that Pooh had. This implied that scholars use hard, long words to make themselves seem superior. The discussion then led to a comparison between knowledge and experience, and how they were different. The comparison stressed that scholars usually lack experience and only possess scholarly intellect which does not have the spirit of Taoism.

For example, Desiccated scholars tend to put names on everything, even for the smallest things that are not important. The narrator questions why this is necessary and points out that there is more to life than providing a whole of information. At the end, Eeroye explains how only educated people know the letter “A” when they see one, and how others who see it as a bundle of sticks don’t. However, the Rabbit could do both. He saw it as a bundle of sticks, then said he knew it was an A as well. Therefore, Eeroye’s way of classifying the “educated” and “uneducated” was wrong, and is definitely unfair if you apply that in real life.

Thematic Analysis--Analyze important themes that arise in the readings “To begin with, it is necessary to point out that in China, scholars were generally Confucianist in training and orientation, and therefore often spoke a somewhat different language from the Taoists, who tended to see Confucianist scholars as busy ants spoiling the picnic of life, rushing back and forth to pick up the bits and pieces dropped from above. In the final section of the Tao Te Ching, Lao-tse wrote, ‘The wise are not learned; the learned are not wise’––an attitude shared by countless Taoists before and since” (24).

//The main broad theme that was introduced in this chapter was the idea of Confucianism vs. Taoism. By saying this, the narrator is trying to show the readers a specific example of how some ideas of Confucianism contradict with ideas of Taoism. This is a large difference between the two beliefs because Confucianism says that knowledge helps people to be smarter, and Taoism says that knowledge is actually the barrier that prevents people from analyzing things at a deeper point. //

Adding onto this idea of Taoism vs. Confucianism, the author talks more about Confucianist scholars and generalizes them with a negative connotation. “But that is the sort of thing we can expect from the Abstract Owl, the dried-up Western descendent of the Confucianist Dedicated Scholar, who, unlike his Noble but rather Unimaginative ancestor, thinks he has some sort of monopoly on––– ‘What’s that?’ Pooh interrupted. ‘What’s what?’ I asked. ‘What you just said––the Confusionist, Desiccated Scholar.’ ‘Well, let’s see. The Confusionist, Desiccated Scholar is one who studies Knowledge for the sake of Knowledge, and who keeps what he learns to himself or to his own small group, writing pompous and pretentious papers that no one else can understand, rather than working for the enlightenment of others. How’s that?’”

The author talks about the Confucianist scholars and talks about how the scholars just memorize knowledge to be smart, and not help enlighten others. The Confucianist scholar would be one who writes papers that cannot be understood to seem intelligent, and keeps all knowledge to himself because he does not want to share it with the rest of the world.

Furthermore, towards the end of this short chapter, education is criticized by the idea of Eeyore. He lays a bundle of sticks into an A shape, and says that only the educated can recognize the letter. However, when the rabbit comes, he knows that it’s an A, but says it’s a bundle of sticks. Therefore, this teaches us that you can’t just generalize or judge based on a characteristic. Another conclusion we can draw is that knowledge isn’t everything in life.

Discussion Questions--Ask questions that will stimulate class discussion and help us clarify any unclear passages. 1. In this chapter, the owl is criticized for focusing too much on information,or knowledge. Which do you think which has a greater value between the two: knowledge or wisdom(experience)?

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2. In this chapter, the author is negative about the scholars. Do you think that scholars deserve this kind of viewpoint?

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3. What are ways that allow you to gain more knowledge or more wisdom?

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">4. How do you think a person can obtain both knowledge and wisdom at the same time?

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">summary james p colin james huh

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">analysis <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">colin (italicized) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">james huh