Work · East Asian Philosophy
Mozi
Against war, luxury and Confucian partiality: care for all.
Introduction
The book collects the teachings of Mozi and his school; of an original 71 chapters, 53 survive. Its core consists of ten doctrines, mostly preserved in three versions each, perhaps from different branches of the school – among them “Impartial Caring”, “Against Offensive Warfare”, “Moderation in Funerals” and “Against Fatalism”. Each doctrine is tested by standards of argument, above all its benefit to the people. Later chapters, known as the Mohist Canons, deal with logic, geometry and optics, and others with the defence of cities. Neglected for centuries, the text was rediscovered in the Qing dynasty and is now read as an early form of consequentialist ethics.
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Connections
Criticizes
- Analects (Lunyu)c. 450 BCE · Confucius
Taken up in
- Mohist Canonsc. 300 BCE · Mozi
Criticized in
- Mengzic. 300 BCE · Mengzi (Mencius)
More works by Mozi
- c. 300 BCEMohist Canons
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