A related variant adds a human radical to wei . Typical translations of this character include artificial or false . It corresponds to the pivotal contrast between tian and ren . This variant is particularly central in the Confucian text, The Xun Tzu, which contrasts the conventional dao handed down through tradition with natural behavior. Little in The Laozi suggests any theory of voluntary, deliberate, or purposive action that could motivate objecting to it.
Emotions disrupt rational processing.
Thus, in Indo-European thought privileging mind and ideas over heart and feelings normally implies a favorable attitude toward intellect and knowledge. Laozi, by contrast, opposes desires precisely because of their link to language. The key to understanding the slogan, then, may be to study the suggestive links between wei, knowledge, desires and names. The Zhuangzi , portrays Laozi as following Shen Dao in opposing knowledge. Shen Dao, however, does so on what look like Stoic or fatalistic grounds.