School of thought

Mohism

School

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Classification

Period
c. 470-221 BCE
Regions
east asia
Domains
Aesthetics , Ethics , Logic , Political Philosophy

Overview

Mohism, founded by Mozi, challenged Confucianism with the radical doctrine of universal, impartial love (jian'ai) — caring for all people equally, not favoring family or state. Mozi developed proto-utilitarian arguments that policies should be judged by whether they benefit the people, and his followers became renowned for defensive military engineering and logical argumentation.

Key ideas

  • Universal Love: Mozi argued that partiality — loving one's own family or state more than others — is the root of conflict. Impartial concern for all would create a harmonious world.
  • Consequentialism: Actions and policies should be judged by their outcomes: do they benefit the people, enrich the state, and increase the population? This is a remarkably early form of utilitarian reasoning.
  • Anti-Fatalism: Mozi rejected the Confucian notion of fate (ming), arguing that human effort determines outcomes and that fatalism leads to moral laziness.

Key figures

Mozi (Mo Di)

Reacts to

  • Confucianism

    Mozi trained in the Confucian tradition but rejected its partiality, elaborate ritual, and fatalism in favor of impartial care and consequentialist reasoning.

References