THE PRESENT BOOK IS very similar in content to a recent publication by Günter Wohlfart, a longtime colleague and friend. The title of Günter’s book is Die Kunst des Lebens und andere Künste: Skurrile Skizzen zu einem eurodaoistischen Ethos ohne Moral (The Art of Living and Other Arts: Ludicrous Sketches of a Euro-Daoist Ethos without Morality) (Berlin: Parerga, 2005). He is currently working on another manuscript discussing similar issues. Its tentative title is “Moralphilosophische Splitter.” In the notes I referred to Günter’s work only a couple of times, but my whole approach toward Daoism, ethics, and philosophy in general has been shaped to a great extent by exchanges with and cooperation from Günter during the past fifteen years.
I am deeply indebted to Ryan O’Neill for agreeing to help me out again with my English. Ryan not only corrected many linguistic errors but also relentlessly cut what was mere repetition, what was not really necessary to say, and what was better left unsaid.
The following friends and colleagues read the manuscript in whole or in part and provided detailed criticisms and suggestions for changes: Hannes Bergthaller, Paul D’Ambrosio, Jay Goulding, John Maraldo, Franklin Perkins, Rolf Trauzettel, and Günter Wohlfart. I am also grateful to a number of students at Brock University who discussed with me the ideas presented in this book.
Many thanks to Anne R. Gibbons for her careful editorial work and her encouragement, and to Wendy Lochner and Christine Mortlock at Columbia University Press for their support and advice.
Finally, I thank Brock University for providing generous research funds.
This time, I asked my wife if, as is often seen in other books, she would like to be thanked in the acknowledgments. She said she did not really know what she should be thanked for and, instead, would rather have me give her my royalties.