The Tao Te Ching draws a contrast between the way of the male and the way of the female, urging us to know the one and practice the other. I argue that the way of the male is the way of the Chinese war lords of the waring states period. In some ways the destructive effects of the war lords on society and nature resembles that of modern capitalism. The female way is the way of the Taoist. Interpreted socially and ecologically, this tells us that we should neither try to dominate other people or nature. That we should instead reduce our desires. In doing so we would create a just social world and a sustainable natural world by managing not nature but ourselves and practicing moderation.

Born in Illinois, raised and educated in California, I have spent most of my career at Oregon State University. My interests include various areas in the history of philosophy including Chinese, ancient Greek philosophy and early modern Western philosophy. Most of my publications are about the Philosophy of John Locke, including several papers on Locke on race. I also do work in Philosophy of Mind and Computing and Information. My interest in ecology comes from teaching a class called "World Views and Environmental Values" in which we try to carry out Baird Callicott's project of creating a multi-cultural, global environmental ethic.