osophy of the essential unity of the universe (monism), of reversion, polarization (yin and yang), and eternal cycles, of the leveling of all differences, the relativity of all standards, and the return of all to the Primeval One, the divine intelligence, the source of all things (Yutang, 14).
It should be noted that Yutang's main emphasis is in showing ethical and moral parallels between Laotse's thought and that of the highest Western ethical thought. The basic unitary explanation of the cosmos is directly relevant, for the cosmology of Taoism fuses moral with material philosophy. Indeed, in Taoism, science and mysticism nearly converge. As the sayings of Laotse show, Taoism is a way of contemplating the physical that is not necessarily separate from the spiritual. On the other hand, in Taoism there is evidence of an acknowledgment of the difference between the spiritual and the material, and the implication is that the spiritual realm is far more important than the material one: "The Tao that can be told of / Is not the Absolute Tao; / The Names that can be given / Are not Absolute Names" (Laotse 41).
It seems impossible to sort out the conflicts between an all-embracing mystical conception of the universe and material experience. But as a matter of fact, opposition is not what Taoism is about. Interplay or interpenetration more exactly describes the character of relationships among forces in Taoism. To see how this can be observed, it is necessary to consider how the Chinese cosmology, divided between Confucianism and Taoism, fuses moral (spiritual) and material philosophy. This cosmology is identified with the I Ching (translated "changes"), and there is overlap or interplay of the two systems of thought. Absent is the mode of the direct opposition that is seen in Western cosmology between light and dark.
In the Confucian system, there appears to be more of a continuum of intersecting principles. Thus for example, light = ...