The Philosophy of Mozi: China's First Consequentialist Thinker

“China’s First Consequentialist Thinker.” Now, that’s a loaded phrase. We’re talking about someone who, over two thousand years ago, developed an ethical framework that judges actions based on their outcomes - their consequences - rather than on adherence to tradition or ritual. This is remarkable because in the Western philosophical tradition, we don’t see consequentialism fully articulated until Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill in the 18th and 19th centuries. But here’s Mozi, doing this in ancient China, and he’s doing it while actively challenging the dominant Confucian worldview that shaped Chinese civilization. And get this - the subtitle promises we’re going to explore “the revolutionary ideas of a forgotten sage who challenged the foundations of Chinese thought and championed universal love for all humanity.” Universal love. In the Warring States period. When everyone was literally at war with everyone else. Talk about reading the room, right?