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March 8, 2014
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
Mohism

Wikipedia

 
Founded by Mo Zi (whose actual surname was Di, and whose given name was Mo), Mohism (墨家), or Moism, is a Chinese philosophy that evolved at the same time as Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism (philosophy)|Legalism (Hundred Schools of Thought). It disappeared during the Qin dynasty. Mo Di's philosophy was described in the book Mo Zi, compiled by his students from lecture notes.




In Mohism, morality is not defined by tradition, but rather by a constant moral guide that parallels utilitarianism. Traditionalism is inconsistent, and man-kind need an extra-traditional guide to identify which traditions are acceptable. The moral guide must then promote and encourage social behaviors that maximise general utility.




Mohism promotes a philosophy of universal love, i.e. an equal affection for all individuals. This universal love is what makes man 'Good'. The advocacy of universal love was a target of attack by other schools, most notably the
Confucians, who believed, for example, that children should hold a greater love for their parents than for random strangers.




The existence of society as an organized organism reduces the wastes and inefficiencies found in the natural state. Conflicts are born from the absence of moral uniformity in man in his natural state, i.e. the absence of the definition of what is right (是 shi4) and what is wrong (非 fei1). We must then choose leaders, who will surround themselves with righteous followers, who will then create the hierarchy that harmonizes Shi / Fei. In that sense, the government becomes an authoritative and automated tool. Mohism opposes itself to any form of aggression, especially in the form of war between states. It is however permitted for a state to use force in legitimate defense. They have inspired some modern pacifism|pacifists.

Mohists developed the sciences of fortification, and were hired by the many warring kingdoms as fortification advisors.




Belief in the heavens as a divine force (Tian) who know the immoral acts of man, who can punish and is then a force to encourage moral righteousness. Belief in spirits is at best vague; against elaborate funeral ceremonies, defined as a waste of resources.




Mohists held that music and dance were forms of extravagance and flamboyance that wasted resources that could have been used to feed, house and protect the people.




One of the schools of Mohism that has received some attention is the
Logicians school, which was interested in resolving logical puzzles.
Some historians, such as Joseph Needham, have seen this group as developing a precursor philosophy of science that never went anywhere. Others claim that seeing the Logicians as proto-scientists reads too much of a modern bias
into them. See also: history of logic.

Category:Chinese thought

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Mohism".


Last Modified:   2005-04-13


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