Related Research Articles
In moral philosophy, consequentialism is a class of normative, teleological ethical theories that holds that the consequences of one's conduct are the ultimate basis for judgement about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct. Thus, from a consequentialist standpoint, a morally right act is one that will produce a good outcome. Consequentialism, along with eudaimonism, falls under the broader category of teleological ethics, a group of views which claim that the moral value of any act consists in its tendency to produce things of intrinsic value. Consequentialists hold in general that an act is right if and only if the act will produce, will probably produce, or is intended to produce, a greater balance of good over evil than any available alternative. Different consequentialist theories differ in how they define moral goods, with chief candidates including pleasure, the absence of pain, the satisfaction of one's preferences, and broader notions of the "general good".
Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States period, during a period known as the "Hundred Schools of Thought", which was characterized by significant intellectual and cultural developments. Although much of Chinese philosophy begun in the Warring States period, elements of Chinese philosophy have existed for several thousand years. Some can be found in the I Ching, an ancient compendium of divination, which dates back to at least 672 BCE.
Mohism or Moism was an ancient Chinese philosophy of ethics and logic, rational thought, and scientific technology developed by the scholars who studied under the ancient Chinese philosopher Mozi, embodied in an eponymous book: the Mozi. Among its major ethical tenets were altruism and a universal, unbiased respect and concern for all people regardless of relations or affiliations. The ideology also stressed the virtues of austerity and utilitarianism.
Mozi, personal name Mo Di, was a Chinese philosopher, logician, and founder of the Mohist school of thought, making him one of the most important figures of the Warring States period. Alongside Confucianism, Mohism became the most prominent, organized schools of the Hundred Schools of Thought throughout the period. The Mozi is an anthology of writings traditionally attributed to Mozi and to his followers.
The School of Names, or School of Forms and Names, is a school of thought in Chinese philosophy that grew out of Mohist logic. Sometimes termed Logicians or Sophists modernly, Han scholars used it in reference to figures earlier termed Disputers in the Zhuangzi, as a view seemingly dating back to the Warring States period. Rather than a unified movement like the Mohists, it represents a social category of early linguistic debaters. Some arguments in later Mohist texts would appear directed at their kind of debates. Figures associated with it include Deng Xi, Yin Wen, Hui Shi, and Gongsun Long. A Three Kingdoms era figure, Xu Gan, is relevant for discussions of names and realities, but was more Confucian and less relativist.
Fajia, or the School of fa, often translated as Legalism, is a school of mainly Warring States period classical Chinese philosophy. Often interpreted in the West along realist lines, its members variously contributed to the formation of the bureaucratic Chinese empire, and early elements of Daoism. The later Han takes Guan Zhong as forefather of the Fajia. Its more Legalistic figures include ministers Li Kui and Shang Yang, and more Daoistic figures Shen Buhai and Shen Dao, with the late Han Feizi drawing on both. Later centuries took Xun Kuang as a teacher of Han Fei and Li Si. Succeeding emperors and reformers often followed the templates set by Han Fei, Shen Buhai and Shang Yang, but the Qin to Tang were more characterized by their traditions.
The Hundred Schools of Thought were philosophies and schools that flourished during the late Spring and Autumn period and Warring States period. The term was not used to describe these different philosophies until Confucianism, Mohism, and Legalism were created. The era in which they flourished was one of turbulence in China, fraught with chaos and mass militarization, but where Chinese philosophy was developed and patronized by competing bureaucracies. This phenomenon has been called the Contention of a Hundred Schools of Thought.
Shen Dao was an early to mid Warring states period Chinese philosopher and writer. Noteworthy as a predecessor to both Han Fei and Daoism, his remaining fragments are the most substantial of any Jixia Academy scholar, and may have been well known. Early remembered modernly for his influence on the Han Feizi with regards the concept of shi, most of his work would appear to have concerned the concept of fa commonly shared by others that the Han Confucian archivists classified as Legalist.
Xunzi, born Xun Kuang, was a Chinese philosopher of Confucianism during the late Warring States period. After his predecessors Confucius and Mencius, Xunzi is often ranked as the third great Confucian philosopher of antiquity. By his time, Confucianism had suffered considerable criticism from Taoist and Mohist thinkers, and Xunzi is traditionally regarded as a synthesizer of these traditions with earlier Confucian thought. The result was a thorough and cohesive revision of Confucianism, which was crucial to the philosophy's ability to flourish in the Han dynasty and throughout the later history of East Asia. His works were compiled in the eponymous Xunzi, and survive in excellent condition. Unlike other ancient compilations, his authorship of these texts is generally secure, though it is likely that Western Han dynasty historian Liu Xiang organized them into their present form centuries after Xunzi's death.
Han Fei, also known as Han Feizi, was a Chinese Legalist philosopher and statesman during the Warring States period. He was a prince of the state of Han.
The Han Feizi is an ancient Chinese text attributed to the Legalist political philosopher Han Fei. It comprises a selection of essays in the Legalist tradition, elucidating theories of state power, and synthesizing the methodologies of his predecessors. Its 55 chapters, most of which date to the Warring States period mid-3rd century BCE, are the only such text to survive fully intact. The Han Feizi is believed to contain the first commentaries on the Dao De Jing. Traditionally associated with the Qin dynasty, succeeding emperors and reformers were still influenced by Shen Buhai and the Han Feizi, with Shang Yang's current again coming to prominence in the time of Emperor Wu.
Wu wei is a polymorphic, ancient Chinese concept expressing an ideal practice of "inaction", "inexertion" or "effortless action", as a state of personal harmony and free-flowing, spontaneous creative manifestation. Connected with the idea of the Heart or Spirit in Traditional Chinese medicine, it often relates to the behavior of the emperor, most commonly referring to an ideal form of governance or government.
The Huainanzi is an ancient Chinese text made up of essays from scholarly debates held at the court of Liu An, Prince of Huainan, before 139 BCE. Compiled as a handbook for an enlightened sovereign and his court, the work attempts to define the conditions for a perfect socio-political order, derived mainly from a perfect ruler. Including Chinese folk theories of yin and yang and Wu Xing, the Huainanzi draws on Taoist, Legalist, Confucian, and Mohist concepts, but subverts the latter three in favor of a less active ruler, as prominent in the early Han dynasty before the Emperor Wu. The work is notable as a primary evidence of Zhuangzi influence in the Han.
The Guanzi is an anonymously written, foundational Chinese political and philosophical text originally comprising 86 chapters, of which 76 survive. Compiled in the early Han dynasty, earlier versions potentially date back to the late Warring states period. At over 135,000 characters, it is one of the longest early Chinese philosophical texts. It covers broad subject matter, notably including price regulation of commodities via the concept of "light and heavy" (轻重). Despite its later dating, it is arguably one of the most representative texts of the concepts of political economy that developed during the Spring and Autumn period. Ming dynasty agricultural scientist Xu Guangqi still frequently cited the Guanzi and the Xunzi.
Sima Tan was a Chinese astrologist, astronomer, and historian during the Western Han dynasty. His work Records of the Grand Historian was completed by his son Sima Qian, who is considered the founder of Chinese historiography.
The rectification of names is originally a doctrine of feudal Confucian designations and relationships, behaving accordingly to ensure social harmony. Without such accordance society would essentially crumble and "undertakings would not be completed." Mencius extended the doctrine to include questions of political legitimacy.
Huang–Lao was the most influential Chinese school of thought in the early Han dynasty, having its origins in a broader political-philosophical drive looking for solutions to strengthen the feudal order as depicted in Zhou politics. Not systematically explained by historiographer Sima Qian, it is generally interpreted as a school of Syncretism, developing into a major religion, the beginnings of religious Taoism.
Fa is a concept in Chinese philosophy that concerns aspects of ethics, logic, and law. It can be accurately translated as 'law' in some contexts, but as a 'model' or 'standard' for behavior in most ancient texts, namely the Mozi, with prominent examples including the performance of carpentry. Although theoretically earlier, Fa comes to prominence in the Mohist school of thought. An administrative use of fa standards is prominently elaborated in Legalism, but figures in the school of names also used fa (models) for litigation. Given it's broadness, use of the term fa even included medical models (theories).
The Mozi, also called the Mojing or the Mohist canon, is an ancient Chinese text from the Warring States period (476–221 BC) that expounds the philosophy of Mohism. It propounds such Mohist ideals as impartiality, meritocratic governance, economic growth and aversion to ostentation, and is known for its plain and simple language.
References
- 1 2 Ivanhoe, P.J.; Van Norden, Bryan William (2005). Readings in classical Chinese philosophy. Hackett Publishing. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-87220-780-6.
"he advocated a form of state consequentialism, which sought to maximize three basic goods: the wealth, order, and population of the state
- ↑ Fraser, Chris, "Mohism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Edward N. Zalta.
- ↑ Deen K. Chatterjee (6 October 2011). Encyclopedia of Global Justice. Springer. p. 1170. ISBN 978-1-4020-9159-9.
in this sense, one can interpret Xunzi's political philosophy as a form of state utilitarianism or state consequentialism
- ↑ Fraser, Chris (2016). The Philosophy of the Mozi: The First Consequentialists. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 17, 249.
- ↑ Di Mo; Xunzi; Di Mo Xunzi Fei Han; Professor Burton Watson (1967). Basic Writings of Mo Tzu, Hsün Tzu, and Han Fei Tzu. Columbia University Press. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-231-02515-7.
- 1 2 Loewe, Michael; Shaughnessy, Edward L. (2011). The Cambridge History of Ancient China . Cambridge University Press. p. 761. ISBN 978-0-521-47030-8.
- ↑ Van Norden, Bryan W. (2011). Introduction to Classical Chinese Philosophy. Hackett Publishing. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-60384-468-0.
- ↑ Jay L. Garfield; William Edelglass (9 June 2011). The Oxford Handbook of World Philosophy. Oxford University Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-19-532899-8.
The goods that serve as criteria of morality are collective or public, in contrast, for instance, to individual happiness or well-being
- ↑ Pines 2024, p. 94.
 | This Chinese philosophy-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |