Motif
usefulness of uselessness
usefulness_of_uselessness
A motif of the Sacred Knowledge and Wisdom family, within the sub-family Wisdom Teaching and Moral Instruction. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
2 occurrences
2 traditions
daoist
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Chuang Tzu: Mystic, Moralist, and Social Reformer CHAPTER I--TRANSCENDENTAL BLISS 1 / INDEX 455 / ERRATA AND ADDENDA 466 / HERBERT A. GILES.; lines 816-909 confidence: high
The parable of the trees is described as reversing outside judgments: the good-for-nothing survives, teaching the usefulness of being useless.
The parable of the trees is summarized as showing survival of the good-for-nothing and the usefulness of being useless.
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taoist
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The Sacred Books of China: The Texts of Taoism, Part I (Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 39) BK.1. BRIEF NOTICES OF THE DIFFERENT BOOKS, 129 / Book III. YANG SHANG KAU. / BK.IV, BRIEF NOTICES OF THE DIFFERENT BOOKS, I31 / Book IV. ZAN KIEN SHIH.; lines 7335-7392 confidence: high
The notice says other paragraphs concern two immense and wonderful trees, a poor deformed cripple, and the madman of Ki; their theme is the usefulness of being of no use.
The notice explicitly identifies a theme in later paragraphs as the usefulness, to the party himself at least, of being of no use.
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