Michael LaFargue is a contemporary scholar of Chinese religion and philosophy, best known for his text-critical and hermeneutical work on the Tao Te Ching. He has also contributed to debates in early Confucian philosophy, particularly on how interpretive frameworks shape readings of Mencius and Xunzi. His approach emphasizes rigorous attention to original textual context and the dangers of anachronistic philosophical projection.
Authored 'Tao and Method: A Reasoned Approach to the Tao Te Ching' (1994), a methodologically sophisticated study of Taoist hermeneutics
Produced a translation and study of the Tao Te Ching emphasizing historical-critical method
Contributed to debates on the proper interpretation of Mencius, particularly regarding the water-metaphor passage and its implications for human nature
Argued for interpretive discipline in reading early Chinese texts against later philosophical overlays