“Bisy Backson” representing Western Society Essay

In the novel, The Tao of Pooh we are introduced to â€Å"Bisy Backson† who represents the most misguided of Western Society, as well, we are shown that Western societal thinkers/philosophers/writers represent, in their own way, the Tao. â€Å"Bisy Backson† confuses exercise with work and activity with creativity. â€Å"The Bisy Backson is almost desperately active,† (p. 93) says Benjamin Hoff. He adds, â€Å"Let’s put it this way: if you want to be healthy, relaxed, and contented, just watch what a Bisy Backson does and then do the opposite.† Often, in Western Society, we focus on the final product before we have begun the journey. When Pooh considers what he likes best in the world, he decides the â€Å"†¦moment just before you begin to eat [honey]† was what he enjoys most. In effect, it is the journey, or the process, that we most enjoy. This, of course, goes against the typical person’s attitude toward a task, in Western Society. The goal is to get the task done (much like this journal assignment). The process is often seen as punitive. Pooh would say to enjoy the process – to see it as an opportunity to create, to develop, and, above all, to understand the central role of change and growth in life. Western societal thinkers/philosophers/writers represent, in their own way, the Tao, because†¦ actually, I do not think they represent Taoism, at all. Taoism, I think, is basically just to enjoy life in its simplest form, and not to worry too much – take life as a gift and just enjoy it. Again, I think. After reading this book, (I still have two or three more chapters to go†¦), I still cannot manage to understand a simple meaning of Taoism. I have looked on the internet, and it is nothing like P’u, because everything I have come across is all so complex. Anyway, if Taoism is that, Western societal thinkers/philosophers/writers do not represent it, at all! They question everything, want to know answers, and usually they question their own existence. Would someone who is†¦ someone like, Pooh, question their existence? I don’t think so. In addition, Western societal thinkers/philosophers/writers do not learn how they should question, they do not learn these theories, they do not learn about Taoism, they just merrily think and their answers of their questions may just so happen to fall under Taoism. They do not study Taoism to think like a Taoist. They do not read The Tao of Pooh, to learn about how they should think†¦ though many  philosophy courses, such as Theory of Knowledge, may be text based, which I find, is ironic. For direct reference to the text, â€Å"What does Christopher Robin do in the mornings? He learns. He becomes educated. He integrates†¦knowledge† Of course, all this said with some words capitalized for no reason, and other random words to get to the point. Philosophers do not learn, they teach themselves.