A Daoist Orientation to Qualitative Inquiry: (Re)Considerations of Silence

Qualitative researchers explore silence using different approaches and theories to think, make visible, interrogate, or deconstruct it in their inquiry. This paper draws on Daoist philosophy to explore silence as an ontological and epistemological entry point in qualitative methodology. We engage with two verses from Dao De Jing to reapproach and reconceptualize silence and silent moments in qualitative inquiries in Daoist theoretical underpinnings, offering entry points beyond the European philosophical canon for qualitative researchers to move beyond and trouble the European canon of theory. Daoism views silence as a reflection of knowledge of the world and surroundings. Attuning to silence offers a way to express knowing and being in relation to others, beyond language, and with connections to more-than-human wisdom.