Philosophy East and West

Abstract:

Here are examined the later Mohist Dialectical Chapters, particularly the "Greater Selection" ("Daqu" 大取), which illuminate the terms 'jian' and 'ai'. These texts present a less demanding ethical ideal than some interpreters find in the earlier parts of the Mohist corpus, requiring that we benefit those to whom we stand in relationship, in conformity to rightness (yi 義). They also accept that concern (ai 愛) and benefit may be different in degree.