45%
Confidence
Belief overview
De and effective virtue
De designates potency, virtue, or efficacy that springs from conformity with the Dao.
1
Supportive
0
Contrary
0
Neutral
What it is: De can be translated as virtue, potency, effective power, or quality that expresses the Dao in beings and actions.
How the tradition understands it: It is not simple abstract moralism, but the force of integrity, authenticity, and adequacy. The ruler, the sage, and the practitioner should cultivate de instead of empty coercion.
Textual basis and context: The Tao Te Ching strongly associates Dao and De, showing how true efficacy springs from non-imposition and simplicity.
Debates and variations: The term receives moral, political, and cosmological readings depending on the commentary and the school.
Documentary evidence
Supportive
Tao Te Ching 51
The relationship between Dao and De.
Reference: Tao Te Ching, chapter 51.
Content: The text relates the Dao that gives origin and the De that nourishes and brings to fulfillment.
Use in debate: It is central for the concept of De as efficacy and virtue.