Prov Mozi's Ancient Chinese Philosophy

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Are external appearance and materialistic value important? What does Heaven want from the people? Why do people not get what they desire most? From Mozi’s understanding and reasoning of ancient Chinese philosophy he would answer, to not live a lifestyle beyond necessity, have “universal love”, and have high moral standards. His values and concepts of philosophy are much different than those of modern day philosophies. Mozi believed in everyone living a life of moderation, compared to be divided into the rich and the poor. He said that temperance and economy bring prosperity while indulgence and excess lead to destruction (mohism,book1). His reasoning was if everyone was frugal, then no one would be deprived of their needs and everyone as a whole could be happier. However, when people start to embellish on appearance then there will be people that will have to go without certain necessities. This concept is pretty much nonexistent in the western culture. Our society today is very materialistic and focused on individual success rather than the success of the country. If Mozi were alive in this time he could very easily …show more content…

He even says that the will of Heaven is to love all people in the world universally. He reasons this by saying because Heaven accepts sacrifices from all, then Heaven must love all, therefore we should love all (book7). The achievement of universal love, according to Mozi, is the responsibility of the people and their ruler. If one becomes disobedient, it is the obligation of the people to remind them they must obey and warn them of the consequences. Our world today is too inconsiderate and ruthless to even come close to achieving universal love. Mozi would be disappointed to know that many in the twenty-first century believe, if a fellow man is down, you push him down farther so you can succeed

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