Mohism

“The believer in partiality says, ‘How could I possibly regard my friend the same as myself, or my friend’s father the same as my own?’ Because he views his friend this way, he will not feed him when he is hungry, clothe him when he is cold, nourish him when he is sick, or bury him when he dies. Such are the words of the partial man, and such his actions. But the words and actions of the universal-minded man are not like these. He will say, ‘I have heard the truly superior man of the world regards his friend the same as himself, and his friend’s father the same as his won. Only if he does this can he be considered a truly superior man.’ Because he views his friend in this way, he will feed him when he is hungry, clothe him when he is cold, nourish him when he is sick, and bury him when he dies. Such are the words and actions of the universal-minded man.” (Mozi: Utility, Uniformity, and Universal Love, 70-1).

Mohism arose during the warring states period. It is one of the 100 Schools of Philosophy, which also include Taoism, Legalism and Confucianism. These systems of belief are all responses to the chaos taking place throughout China during the warring states period. Each different belief system was used to promote change and structure in society in order to improve the people in China. Mo-Tzu, the founder of Mohism, did not believe in Confucius’ teachings and therefore took Confucianism in a new direction, creating Mohism. The primary concern of Mo-Tzu was to end the chaos that occurred due to the warring states period.

This passage is talking about universality verses partiality. Mozi says that universality is right, but yet it is still criticized by many people. Someone who is a believer in partiality says, “[h] ow could I possibly regard my friend the same as myself, or my friend’s father the same as my own?” Because of his views, the believer’s actions will be partial too, they are selfish and discriminatory. Partiality is half love; this does not produce an ideal society. He is not treating his friend as an equal to himself, which is against Mohist beliefs. In Mohism everyone should be treated the way one would treat his or her family. Additionally, he will not regard his friend with universal love, which is a philosophical concept of Mohism. Universal love is about care and consideration, it is practical love. Mohist beliefs are practical and Mohists therefore employ universal love in practical ways. The point of universal love is to get rid of partiality and to treat everyone the same. The universal-minded man would say, “I have heard that the truly superior man of the world regards his friend the same as himself, and his friend’s father the same as his own…” His views will then carry out into his actions, making them in discriminatory, which is how the actions of a universal-minded man should be. Therefore his actions will be done with love and be sincere. Universal love is equal affection for all, and this is what makes a man good in Mo-Tzu’s eyes. The believer is regarding his friend and his friend’s father as he would treat someone of his own family. By practicing universal love and universality rather than partiality, it creates an orderly society, the ultimate goal of Mohism. As a result of universal love there is equality throughout society so that there is less emphasis on the aristocratic class. Instead there is an equal focus dispersed throughout all classes, including the middle and lower classes.

Mohists do not agree with Confucian beliefs. Confucianism is all about partial love, the exact opposite of Mohist values. Mohists refrain from any activity that would hurt anyone as well as any activity that does not benefit or help another person. They do not perform rituals or pursue the arts like a Confucian would. Mohists view the Confucians as snobby, selfish and as having missed the point of life. The Mohists also believe that the Confucians focus on things in life that are not worthwhile. Mohists believed that when everyone loves one another then the government would operate efficiently, thus creating an ideal society. Although Mo-Tzu’s ideas were ideal, Mohism did not become a lasting belief system, unlike Confucianism. There was no room for individuality or success because everyone always had to worry about not hurting others and treating others equally. Consequently this was not good for government and therefore society was not able to function ideally.