Mohism or Moism (Chinese: 墨家; pinyin: Mòjiā; literally "School of Mo") was a Chinese philosophy developed by the followers of Mozi (also referred to as Mo Di; 470–c. Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use Chinese philosophy is Philosophy written in the Chinese tradition of thought Mozi ( Lat as Micius, ca 470 BCE&ndashca 391 BCE was a Philosopher who lived in China during the Hundred Schools of Thought Events By Place Greece Suspected of plotting to seize power in Sparta by instigating a Helot uprising Pausanias takes 391 BC). Events By place Persian Empire The Persian Satrap, Struthas, pursues an anti-Spartan policy prompting the Spartans It evolved at about the same time as Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism and was one of the four main philosophic schools during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period (from 770 to 221 BC). Confucianism ( is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the fifth century B Taoism (pronounced /ˈdaʊɪzəm/ or /ˈtaʊɪzəm/ also spelled '''Daoism''') refers to a variety of related Philosophical and Religious traditions In Chinese history, Legalism ( was one of the four main philosophic schools during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period (the other The Hundred Schools of Thought ( were philosophers and schools that had flourished from 770 to 221 BC an era of great cultural and intellectual expansion in China. The Spring and Autumn Period ( was a period in Chinese history which roughly corresponds to the first half of the Eastern Zhou dynasty (from the second half of the 8th century BC The Warring States Period ( also known as the Era of Warring States covers the period from some time in the 5th century BC to the unification of China by the Events and trends 778 BC — Agamestor King of Athens, dies after a reign of 17 years and is succeeded by his son Aeschylus Events By place Carthage The Carthaginian general Hasdrubal is murdered by a Celtic assassin while campaigning to increase During that time, Mohism was seen as a major rival to Confucianism. The Qin dynasty which united China in 221 BC, adopted Legalism as the official government philosophy, and suppressed all other philosophic schools. Not to be confused with the Qing Dynasty, the last dynasty of China China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Events By place Carthage The Carthaginian general Hasdrubal is murdered by a Celtic assassin while campaigning to increase In Chinese history, Legalism ( was one of the four main philosophic schools during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period (the other Burning of the books and burial of the scholars ( is a phrase that refers to a policy and a sequence of events in the Qin Dynasty of China, between the period of In the modern era, Mohism has all but disappeared as a school of philosophy, although some Asian secret societies consider themselves to be the modern followers of Mohist thought.
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Important beliefs
Mohism rested on the concept of "impartial care" or "universal love" (Chinese: 兼愛; pinyin: Jian Ai; literally "inclusive love"). Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use Mozi believed that "everyone is equal before heaven", and that people should seek to imitate heaven by engaging in the practice of impartial and collective love. His epistemology can be regarded as a form of empiricism; he believed that our cognition ought to be based on our perceptions – our sensory experiences, such as sight and hearing – instead of imagination or internal logic, elements founded on our capacity for abstraction. In Philosophy, empiricism is a theory of Knowledge which asserts that knowledge arises from Experience. Mozi's philosophy was described in the book Mozi, compiled by his students from his lecture notes. The word student is etymologically derived through Middle English from the Latin second-type conjugation Verb "studēre"
Morality
Mozi is best known for his insistence that all people are equally deserving of receiving material benefit and being protected from physical harm. In Mohism, morality is defined not by tradition, but rather by a constant moral guide that parallels utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is the idea that the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its contribution to overall Utility, that is its contribution to happiness Tradition is inconsistent, and human beings need an extra-traditional guide to identify which traditions are acceptable. The moral guide must then promote and encourage social behaviors that maximize general utility.
Impartiality
Mohism promotes a philosophy of impartial care - equal care for all individuals. [1] This impartial care is what makes man good according to him. This advocacy of impartiality was a target of attack by other schools, most notably the Confucians who believed that while love should be unconditional it should not be indiscriminate. For example, children should hold a greater love for their parents than for random strangers.
Society
Mozi posited that 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 found in man in his natural state, i. e. the absence of the definition of what is right (是 shì) and what is wrong (非 fēi). We must therefore 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 is opposed to any form of aggression, especially war between states. War is an international relations Dispute, characterized by organized Violence between National Military units It is, however, permissible for a state to use force in legitimate defense. Mohist ideology has inspired some modern pacifists.
Politics
In addition to creating a school of philosophy, the Mohists formed a highly structured political organization that tried to realize the ideas they preached. This political structure consisted of a network of local units in all the major kingdoms of China at the time, made up of elements from both the scholarly and working classes. Each unit was led by a juzi (literally, "chisel"—an image from craft making). Within the unit, a frugal and ascetic lifestyle was enforced. Each juzi would appoint his own successor. However, there was no central authority beyond the writings of Mozi. Mohists developed the sciences of fortification and statecraft, and wrote treatises on government, ranging in topic from efficient agricultural production to the laws of inheritance. Fortifications are Military Constructions and Buildings designed for defense in Warfare Humans have constructed defensive works for They were often hired by the many warring kingdoms as advisors to the state. In this way they were similar to the other wandering philosophers and knights-errants of the period. They were distinguished from others, however, in that they hired out their services not only for gain, but also in order to realize their own ethical ideals.
Supernatural forces
Mohists believed in the heavens as a divine force (Tian), which knew the immoral acts of man and punished them, encouraging moral righteousness. Tian ( is one of the oldest Chinese terms for the Cosmos and a key concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy, and religion. Their belief in spirits was at best vague, but they were wary of some of the more atheistic thinkers of the time, such as Han Fei. Han Fei (also Han Feizi) ( (ca 280&ndash233 BC was a Philosopher who along with Li Si, developed Xun Zi 's mutualism into the doctrine embodied They polemicized against elaborate funeral ceremonies and other wasteful rituals, and called for austerity in life and in governance. A funeral is a Ceremony marking a person's Death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of Beliefs and practices used by a Culture to remember Mohists also saw music and dance as forms of extravagance, which wasted resources that could be used to feed, house and protect the people.
Epistemology
According to Mozi, three criteria ("San Biao") should be used when assessing the correctness of views. These were:[1]
- Assessing them basing on history
- Assessing them basing on the experiences of common, average people
- Assessing their usefulness by applying them in law or politics [1]
The Logicians
One of the schools of Mohism that has received some attention is the Logicians school, which was interested in resolving logical puzzles. The Logicians or School of Names (名家 Míngjiā; "School of names" was a Chinese philosophical school that grew out of Mohism The main philosopher of this school was a late Mohist, Gongsun Long. Gongsun Long ( ca 325–250 BC was a member of the Logicians school of ancient Chinese philosophy. Not much survives from the writings of this school, since problems of logic were deemed trivial by most subsequent Chinese philosophers. Historians such as Joseph Needham have seen this group as developing a precursor philosophy of science that was never fully developed, but others believe that recognizing the Logicians as proto-scientists reveals too much of a modern bias. Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, CH, FRS, FBA ( December 9, 1900 – March 24 1995) was a British Philosophy of science is the study of assumptions foundations and implications of Science.
Mathematics
The Mohist canon of the Mo Jing described various aspects of many fields associated with physical science, and provided a small wealth of information on mathematics as well. It provided an 'atomic' definition of the geometric point, stating that a line is separated into parts, and the part which has no remaining parts (i. e. cannot be divided into smaller parts) and thus forms the extreme end of a line is a point. [2] Much like Euclid's first and third definitions and Plato's 'beginning of a line', the Mo Jing stated that "a point may stand at the end (of a line) or at its beginning like a head-presentation in childbirth. Euclid ( Greek:.) fl 300 BC also known as Euclid of Alexandria, is often referred to as the Father of Geometry Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece (As to its invisibility) there is nothing similar to it. "[3] Similar to the atomists of Democritus, the Mo Jing stated that a point is the smallest unit, and cannot be cut in half, since 'nothing' cannot be halved. In Natural philosophy, atomism is the theory that all the objects in the universe are composed of very small indestructible building blocks - Atoms Or stated in Democritus ( Greek:) was a pre-Socratic Greek Materialist Philosopher (born at Abdera in Thrace ca [3] It stated that two lines of equal length will always finish at the same place,[3] while providing definitions for the comparison of lengths and for parallels,[4] along with principles of space and bounded space. [5] It also described the fact that planes without the quality of thickness cannot be piled up since they cannot mutually touch. [6] The book provided definitions for circumference, diameter, and radius, along with the definition of volume. [7]
Further reading
- Graham, A. C. , Disputers of the TAO: Philosophical Argument in Ancient China (Open Court 1993). ISBN 0-8126-9087-7
Notes
References
- Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd.
- Ivanhoe, Philip J. , and Brian W. Van Norden, Eds. Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2001.
See also
- A Battle of Wits, a historical film themed around Mohism
- Agape
- Ascetism
- Logic
- Logic in China
External links
- Mohism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry
- Mohist Canons, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry
- The Ethical and Political Works of Motse (Mozi)
- Full text of the Mozi
- Explication on the Mozi
Dictionary
Mohism
-noun
- (philosophy) A Chinese philosophy based on the doctrines of Mozi and his followers, especially the concept of universal love.
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