The ancient Mohists are often said to be the world’s first consequentialists — the first on record to propose that we should consistently live by an ethical standard that asks us to bring about as much good as possible for the world. In this episode, we put Mohist consequentialism under a microscope. On the Mohist view, the best action is always the one that maximizes benefit and minimizes harm. How did the Mohists justify this approach? What sorts of things count as “benefit”? Is the theory too demanding to be viable or useful for most people? Join us as we try really hard to set aside our biases and explore what’s good and admirable about a central feature of both Mohist ethics and many ethical theories today. Continue reading →
Category Archives: Later Mohists
June, 2014 ISCWP Beijing Roundtable
The 2014 Term of the ISCWP’s “Beijing Roundtable on Contemporary Philosophy” workshop /symposium series is a small-size, half-day workshop on the theme “Mohist Logical Thought and Development of Contemporary Philosophy”, which will be held at Peking University, Beijing, China, 27th June 2014. For more information, click here. Please note that for those interested in possibly presenting at the Roundtable, the deadline for contacting the organizers is June 1, 2014.
Loving Brothers and Handsome Men
Anybody want to talk about ai 愛? It seems like this might be the day for it.
The natural topic (for me, anyway) is the Mohist doctrine of jian ai 兼愛, or inclusive care. But, awkwardly enough, it’s perfectly clear that this doctrine isn’t about love, much less romantic love. So that won’t do.
But what about the statement in the “Lesser Selection 小取” that though Huo does ai her younger brother, who is a handsome man, she does not ai a handsome man. That second ai maybe looks a bit Valentine-y. Does anyone think they know what’s going on? Continue reading →
