William S. Gilbert is doing PhD research on Korean Taoism's syncretic qualities at Sogang University in Seoul, South Korea. He completed his Master's in Korean Philosophy at Sungkyunkwan University in 2024 and was a graduate research assistant for the Korean Academic Expansion Project.

This is a conversation about Taoism, "Eastern" religions and ways of thought, life, death, god, and the poetry of the Korean scholar Yi Gyu-bo (李奎報).

Discussion Outline 

0:00 What is Taoism (도교)?

9:10 What is the Yin Yang (음양)?

22:09 What is Wu-wei (무의)?

32:50 Zen Buddhism (선불교) and Taoism

43:05 The Tao Te Ching (도덕경)

53:20 The Zhuangzi (정자)

1:03:11 Is there such thing as Asian thought?

1:15:52 Does Taoism feature in modern life?

1:29:40 Yi Gyu-bo (이규보)’s poem “In Sickness”

1:45:14 The “Creator” in Taoist thought

2:08:40 Closing thoughts

Will's Website: https://sites.google.com/view/williamgilbert/home

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