Taoist Philosophy in Fight Club
StrykerX0
Asian-American Satellite Class
Professor Lee
The purpose of this paper is to study the Taoist thought present in the recent movie and book Fight Club. In the paper we will detail the basic premise and concept of the book and compare and contrast its teachings with those of Taoism. It should be noted that the book Fight Club came first and then the movie was based upon it. The movie does not follow the book closely, and parts of the book including the ending have been rewritten. The changes presumably make the movie more pleasing and understandable to its target audience, however the book holds the author’s true meaning and thus it will be followed instead of the movie when they differ.
Fight Club can be viewed with many interpretations, all of them true. It is a great love story. It is an anti-consumerism rant. It is a spiritual piece against materialism. It is anarchist literature. It is a commentary on our ‘lost’ generation. At first viewing of the movie, very little of this can be seen and it appears violent and chaotic. However much thought was put into providing the movie with depth and development that only become apparent after multiple screenings. Those who can see this deeper meaning and are interested in learning more should read the book. It is recommended that the reader first view the movie before reading this paper due to the surprise ending.
It is most simply the story of a man who mentally splits himself in two. His newly sprung half is called Tyler Durden, and is everything the hero wishes he were. The irony is that he is physically the same man and therefore is what he wants to be, but cannot realize this and uses his alter ego to accomplish his goals. In the end Tyler gets out of control and his tamer half cannot get rid of him even though he no longer wants him. In the process of Tyler’s development of his anarchist plans he gathers others to himself who are seeking someone to believe in. His teachings to them contain much Taoist thought and start a cult-like terrorist group. This paper will detail each aspect of these Taoist ideas present in Tyler’s teachings.
The Yin Yang is one of the primary principles of Taoist teachings. The concept of two forces present everywhere, completely opposite to each other yet balancing and enhancing each other. They cannot be separated because they exist together in comparison, and splitting one apart will only create the other anew. Although one force can take prevalence over the other for a short time, anything that is in a state of imbalance for long will cease to exist. The universe is composed of and held together by the tension of these two forces, and this concept is in Taoist writings on Abstraction. (A2)
The obvious instance of the concept of Yin Yang is the split between the two parts of the main character. Our hero (who is unnamed) and his created other half Tyler Durden are complete opposites, and Tyler is created on purpose to be everything our hero is not. The Yin is supposed to be "describable with words like feminine, flexible, yielding, flowing, poised, compromising, soft, weak, and patience."(1) This describes our hero perfectly. He is the fabled ‘sensitive man’ and hates himself because of it. Tyler is the Yang, "described as masculine, decisive, rigid, piercing, reversing, hard, strong, and overcoming."(2)
The story of Fight Club begins with our hero’s dissatisfaction with himself and his pathetic life. The Yin and Yang sides of him are both present, but he has been raised to repress his Yang side. This was caused by his family life, expressed several times in the book as "Tyler never knew his father." (3) This is also the problem for other men who join fight club; "what you see at Fight Club is a generation of men raised by women" (4) and his observance "I’m a thirty year old boy, and I’m wondering if another woman is really the answer I need." (5)
He is lost and does not know what he needs at this point in his life. It is at this point that he creates Tyler Durden, the Yang side of himself. Created is not the correct term, because Tyler is not "something from nothing" as most people think of Creation. Tyler is the emergence of the expression of everything our hero has learned to suppress; "Tyler had been around a long time before we met."(6) The entire movie can be generalized as the main character’s unbalanced Yin Yang forces. His Yin has been dominant in his life for too long and as a result, his Yang breaks free.
Tyler takes control whenever our hero goes to sleep, and as he becomes more unbalanced he realizes "Tyler Durden is a separate personality I’ve created, and now he’s threatening to take over my real life." (7) Unfortunately Taoism predicts what will happen in the end; "No one object can embody a single force for a remarkable period of time-- the farther it strays from being balanced, the sooner it will have to ‘change its way’ (or else destruct)." (8)
Another central Taoist concept is Wu-Wei, which can be translated as "the action that comes from not doing". Though there are multiple interpretations of the Chinese character symbolizing this concept, the general idea seems to be another paradox; to accomplish something by doing nothing. The foundational writings on this concept can be seen in the Taoist text on Abstraction (A2) and Inaction. (A48)
The idea in this text seems to be to let go of life and stop trying to accomplish things. In a similar vein, the teachings of Fight Club encourage people to let go of their lives and possessions and stop seeking completion in order to realize their hopes. He observes of all his material possessions and his lack of happiness, that "the things you used to own, now they own you." (9) "Deliver me, Tyler, from being perfect and complete"(10) he begs as he splits himself into what he wishes to be. "I’m breaking my attachment to physical power and possessions, because only through destroying myself can I discover the greater power of my spirit"(11) he says as he destroys his belongings.
Wu-Chi is the Taoist concept of ‘ultimate nothingness’ and refers to where we begin and where we die. The Taoist teachings on Decay and Renewal (A16) imply an acceptance of death as an unavoidable, ever-present event that approaches constantly. Tyler also demands this realization; "Someday you will die, and until you know that, you’re useless to me." (12) His teachings imply no fear in impending death; "You are the same organic matter as everyone else, and we are all part of the same compost pile." (13) Fight Club does not view death as something terrible, it is viewed as a relief from the world. It is even darkly described as "the amazing miracle of death, when one second you’re walking and talking, and the next second, you’re an object." (14)
Although Fight Club and Taoism may share similar views of death and the resulting nothingness, or Wu-Chi, the reasons behind these views are different. Taoism is merely a philosophy, and does not concern God. Therefore there is no controlling deity, and we only go to nothingness and come from nothingness. In Fight Club, a rejection of Christian beliefs has occurred. This is modern America, a nation founded on Christian beliefs which are rapidly deteriorating in our generation.
Fight Club provides its own explanation for this loss of religious beliefs. "If you’re male and you’re Christian and living in America, your father is your model for God. And if you never knew your father, if your father bails out or dies or is never at home, what do you believe about God?" (15) Therefore the author observes that "what you end up doing is you spend your life searching for a father and God." (16) But because God has not sought them, they question Him; "what you have to consider is the possibility that God doesn’t like you. Could be, God hates us. This is not the worst thing that could happen." (17) Our generation feels lost and feels that "we are God’s middle children, according to Tyler Durden, with no special place in history and no special attention." (18)
In the book, the Fight Club has an incredible appeal to the lost generation thus described. The main character with the aid of Tyler Durden, founded Fight Club as a way of venting aggression physically through fighting other men. It begins with our hero fighting Tyler (actually he’s fighting himself) but soon other men want to join and have fights of their own. The men of our generation have been raised to avoid fighting, but suddenly they realize along with the main character, "I just don’t want to die without a few scars." (19)
To recruit new men, one of their assignments is to get into a fight and lose it. Tyler says "what we have to do, people, is remind these guys what kind of power they still have." (20) They are not gaining followers through force, but through the Taoist idea of Subtlety. (A65) They are allowing men to revert to their Dark Virtue, as the Taoist writing suggests, not forcing them.
The main reason for Fight Club is the disgruntlement of the generation. Tyler states it clearly saying "we are the middle children of history, raised by television to believe that someday we’ll be millionaires and movie stars and rock stars, but we won’t. And we’re just learning that fact." (21) The men who join Fight Club feel that their lives have no meaning or value. "We don’t have a Great War in our generation, or a great depression, but we do, we have a Great War of the spirit. We have a great revolution against the culture. The great depression is our lives. We have a spiritual depression." (22) What they propose to do is stated plainly; "This was the goal of Project Mayhem… the complete and right-away destruction of civilization." (23)
Two parts of Taoist teaching deal with the same principles that cause Fight Club. Taoist writings on Revolution (A72) and Rebellion (A75) sum up the reason these problems occur. Due to disillusionment with their current way of life, people decide that they have nothing to lose in attempting to cause change.
The end goal of Fight club is to destroy modern society in order to recreate it. They believe that the men of their society are going to waste; "I see the strongest and the smartest men who have ever lived, and these men are pumping gas and waiting tables." (24) They envision a new world where technology is greatly reduced; "imagine hunting elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center." (25)
Taoist texts on Utopia (A80) and Simplify (A19) convey these same values. People are to function in small groups caring for themselves without aid of others. They should keep small tools (limited technology), but not be dependent upon them. The hope is that they will no longer need knowledge and learning, but revert to their natural form and live a simpler life. Thus the main goals and ideas prevailing in Fight Club are Taoist in philosophy, though you must view the movie or read the book in order to find out if their goals are realized and the world created anew.
Appendix A: Excerpts from the Taoteching
2. Abstraction
All the world knows beauty
But if that becomes beautiful
This becomes ugly
All the world knows good
But if that becomes good
This becomes bad
The coexistence of have and have not
The co-production of hard and easy
The correlation of long and short
The codependence of high and low
The correspondence of note and noise
The coordination of first and last
Is endless
Thus the sage performs effortless deeds
And teaches wordless lessons
He doesn’t start all the things he begins
He doesn’t presume on what he does
He doesn’t claim what he achieves
And because he makes no claim
He suffers no loss
48. Inaction
Those who seek learning gain ever day
Those who seek the Way lose every day
They lose and they lose
Until they find nothing to do
Nothing to do means nothing not done
Who rules the world isn’t busy
If someone is busy
He can’t rule the world
16. Decay and Renewal
Let limits be empty
The center be still
Ten thousand things rise
We watch them return
Creatures without number
All return to their roots
Return to their roots to be still
To be still to revive
To revive to endure
Knowing how to endure is wisdom
Not knowing is to suffer in vain
Knowing how to endure is to be All embracing
All embracing means impartial
Impartial means the king
The king means Heaven
Heaven means the Way
And the Way means long life
Life without trouble
65. Subtlety
The ancient masters of the Way
Tried not to enlighten
But to keep men in the dark
What makes the people hard to rule
Is knowledge
Who rules the realm with knowledge
Spreads evil in the realm
Who rules without knowledge
Spreads virtue in the realm
Who understands these two
Understands the universal key
Understanding the universal key
This is called the Dark Virtue
Dark Virtue goes deep
Goes far
Goes the other way
Until it reaches perfect harmony
72. Revolution
When people no longer fear authority
A greater authority will appear
Don’t restrict where people dwell
Don’t repress how people live
If they aren’t repressed
They won’t protest
Thus the sage knows himself
But doesn’t reveal himself
He loves himself
But doesn’t exalt himself
Thus he picks this over that
75. Rebellion
The reason the people are hungry
Is because those above levy so many taxes
Thus the people are hungry
The reason the people are hard to rule
Is because those above are so forceful
Thus the people are hard to rule
The reason the people think little of death
Is because those above think so much of life
Thus the people think little of death
Meanwhile those who do nothing to live
Are more esteemed than those who love life
80. Utopia
Imagine a small state with a small population
Let there be labor-saving tools
That aren’t used
Let people consider death
And not move far
Let there be boats and carts
But no reason to ride them
Let there be armor and weapons
But no reason to employ them
Let people return to the use of knots
And be satisfied with their food
And pleased with their clothing
And content with their homes
And happy with their customs
Let there be a state so near
People hear its dogs and chickens
And live out their lives
Without making a visit
19. Simplify
Get rid of wisdom and reason
And people will live a hundred times better
Get rid of kindness and justice
And people once ore will love and obey
Get rid of cleverness and profit
And thieves will cease to exist
But these three sayings are not enough
Hence let this be added
Wear the un-dyed and hold the un-carved
Reduce self-interest and limit desires
Get rid of learning and problems will vanish
Notes:
Bibliography of Sources
Lao-tzu. Taoteching. Circa 600BC. Translated by: Red Pine. San Francisco, California: Mercury House
Palahniuk, Chuck. 1996. Fight Club. 115 West 18th Street, New York, New York 10011: Henry Holt and Company, LLC
Editor: Steven Ericsson Zenith. "Tao Frequently Asked Questions", http://www.thetemple.com/alt.philosophy.taoism/taofaq.htm. The Temple of the Immortal Spirit. Accessed on: Jan, 06, 2001.
© 2002 Robert H. Harrison