Who Is Harming the Earth? The Paradox of Civilization and Destruction Through Taoist Wisdom

“Man follows the earth, the earth follows heaven, heaven follows the Tao, and the Tao follows nature.” Laozi established the principles governing the relationship between humanity and nature in the Tao Te Ching long ago. When we ask, “Who causes greater harm to the Earth—the educated or the uneducated?” Taoist thought provides the key to pierce the fog—the essence of destruction lies not in the abundance of knowledge, but in whether one strays from the original intent of “the Way of Heaven is non-action.”

1. The Essence of Destruction: The Calamity of “Action” Far Exceeds the Fault of ‘Ignorance’

The destruction wrought by the uneducated often stems from the limitations of survival instincts. Examples like fishermen accidentally discarding nets or farmers overusing pesticides arise from insufficient understanding of natural laws. These are unintentional errors, as described in Taoist teachings as “ignoring the constant and recklessly acting brings disaster.” Their impact is typically localized and often reversible.

Destruction by the educated, however, bears the stamp of “rational design.” The 20th-century industrial mass production of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)—developed by top scholars and manufactured at scale by corporations—was widely used in refrigerators, paints, and other industrial products. This deliberate continuation of production despite known toxicity, driven by profit, embodies the “reckless and unnatural actions” condemned by Daoism. In just fifty years, over one million tons of PCBs entered the environment. This led to toxins in the body of Scotland’s killer whale “Lulu” exceeding safe levels by 80 times, ultimately causing her to drown under the burden. For over two decades, no calves were born within the entire population. This “knowledge-driven destruction” proved far more devastating than harm caused by ignorance.

2. Dimensions of Impact: “Systemic” Destruction Overwhelms “Fragmented” Disturbances

Environmental impacts from the uneducated tend to be fragmented disturbances. Among the 15 tons of debris washed ashore in Shanghai after Typhoon “Yanyan,” plastic bottles discarded by ordinary citizens were present. Yet such scattered pollution can be mitigated through volunteer cleanup efforts. As Taoism states, “The Tao gives birth to One, and One gives birth to Two.” Nature possesses its own self-regulating rhythms, and scattered disturbances rarely disrupt the overall equilibrium.

The industrial systems constructed by the educated, however, systematically dismantle these natural rhythms. For profit, aquariums confined the orca “Lolita” for 53 years, stripping her of her wild survival skills until she died before release; Companies developed PFAS as a PCB substitute, deploying it on a massive scale without thorough toxicity testing, creating new environmental hazards. This full-chain destruction—from technological development and industrial planning to commercial operations—forms the “defiance of heaven” warned against by Taoism. The “garbage island” in the Pacific, spanning an area larger than one-sixth of China, epitomizes this systemic devastation.

3. Deviation at the Root: “Knowing but Not Acting” Is More Unethical Than “Acting in Ignorance”

Daoism emphasizes “observing the Way of Heaven and adhering to its course.” True education should cultivate reverence for and practice of natural laws. While the ‘ignorance’ of the uneducated leaves room for enlightenment, the “knowing but not acting” of the educated is the root of the disease.

In Japan’s Minamata disease incident, corporations knowingly discharged mercury-contaminated wastewater for 21 years—until over 1,200 lives were lost—before the truth emerged. These chemically literate executives blatantly violated Taoism’s principle of “assisting all things in their natural course without daring to act.” Ironically, when PCBs were banned, researchers swiftly introduced alternative chemicals, plunging into a vicious cycle of “pollution—substitution—new pollution.” This perfectly illustrates the civilizational paradox of “knowing the constant yet acting recklessly.”

Conclusion: Breaking the Cycle Lies in “Following the Tao,” Not “Accumulating Knowledge”

Taoist wisdom of “unity between heaven and humanity” has long revealed: Earth’s greatest threat has never been the unintended mistakes of the uneducated, but the “rational evil” committed by the educated when driven by desire. As killer whales perish in chemical toxins and oceans degenerate into “dirty water,” we must awaken: true education should not be a tool for conquering nature, but a practice of “cleansing the mystical mirror.” Every educated soul must remember Laozi’s admonition: “Knowing when to be content avoids disgrace; knowing when to stop avoids danger.” This is the fundamental path to safeguarding our planet.