The Joker and the Daodejing

Have you seen The Dark Knight? This post wouldn't make much sense if you haven't seen Christopher Nolan's second installment in the fantastic trilogy. The Joker in this series is, to make a huge understatement, interesting.

But before we go there, here are some selected fundamental teachings of a legendary Chinese philosopher, Lao-Tzu, from the 6th century BC as presented in his primary text, the Daodejing.

From the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (you can just go over the bold text, emphasis mine):

What is the image of the ideal person, the sage (sheng ren), the real person (zhen ren) in the Daodejing (DDJ)? Well, sages wu wei (chs. 2, 63). In this respect, they are like newborn infants, who move naturally, without planning and reliance on the structures given to them by others (ch. 15). The DDJ tells us that sages empty themselves, becoming void of pretense. Sages concentrate their internal energies (qi). They clean their vision (ch. 10). They manifest plainness and become like uncarved wood (pu) (ch. 19). They live naturally and free from desires given by men (ch. 37) They settle themselves and know how to be content (ch. 46). The DDJ makes use of some very famous analogies to drive home its point. Sages know the value of emptiness as illustrated by how emptiness is used in a bowl, door, window, valley or canyon (ch. 11). They preserve the female (yin), meaning that they know how to be receptive and are not unbalanced favoring assertion and action (yang) (ch. 28). They shoulder yin and embrace yang, blend internal energies (qi) and thereby attain harmony (he) (ch. 42). Those following the dao do not strive, tamper, or seek control (ch. 64). They do not endeavor to help life along (ch. 55), or use their heart-mind (xin) to “solve” or “figure out” life’s apparent knots and entanglements (ch. 55). Indeed, the DDJ cautions that those who would try to do something with the world will fail, they will actually ruin it (ch. 29). Sages do not engage in disputes and arguing, or try to prove their point (chs. 22, 81). They are pliable and supple, not rigid and resistive (chs. 76, 78). They are like water (ch. 8), finding their own place, overcoming the hard and strong by suppleness (ch. 36). Sages act with no expectation of reward (chs. 2, 51). They put themselves last and yet come first (ch. 7). They never make a display of themselves, (chs. 72, 22). They do not brag or boast, (chs. 22, 24) and they do not linger after their work is done (ch. 77). They leave no trace (ch. 27). Because they embody dao in practice, they have longevity...

Now, the Joker is shown doing the following in the movie:

• He, self-admittedly, doesn't have a plan. He just does things.
• He doesn't pretend (void of pretense) to be something he isn't. In fact, one of the things he wants to do is to bring out what he believes is the hypocrisy of those around him (by putting them in the worst possible scenarios). He thinks the code and morals talked about by so-called civilized people are merely pretenses, dropped at the first sign of trouble.
• He doesn't do things for money (in one scene he actually burns a truckload of cash). When he is arrested, there is nothing in his pockets but knives and lint. No name, no other alias. No material possessions, no money (free from desires).
• He wants anarchy and chaos, does not want to control the system. Definitely does not want to help life along.
• He believes that the plans and schemes of people to control their little worlds are pathetic. They will fail.(those who would try to do something with the world will fail, they will actually ruin it )
• He goes about outsmarting the police, the Mob and Batman with his apparent flexibility and few if any constraints. He doesn't want to be subservient to the Mob and makes his own place ("This city deserves a better class of criminal. And I'm gonna give it to them.")
• He doesn't seem to want any reward. In one memorable scene, Alfred describes people like the Joker thus : "some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn."
• Obviously, he doesn't linger after his work is done.

Lots of similarities. Just saying.