Orgilmaa Munkhbaatar Munjed Murad Mozi and the Utility of Ghosts and Spirits A significant figure in the classical period of Chinese Philosophy, Mozi held strong considerations for the livelihood of the common people and presented a system he strongly believed would lead to a paradigm of utopia. His beliefs and exchanges are recorded by successive disciples in Mozi, which narrates his solution to restore the world to order. The central arguments in Mozi focus around the theme of impartial care, where the “business of a benevolent person is to promote what is beneficial to the world and eliminate what is harmful” (Ivanhoe 68). To give a reason for the necessity of individuals to act right in this utilitarian society he establishes a system of …show more content…
He then establishes that this why impartial care, despite being Heaven’s will, has not been strongly implemented because “there are no superiors who delight in them” (76). Thus he highlights the existence of moral-spiritual authorities that can evaluate behaviors of all including superiors, as they provide an almost tangible persuasion that just may convince the top ranks of society to practice impartial care for the benefit of all. In fact the primary examples Mozi depicts to manifest the existence of ghosts all centralize around high positioned figures of the past, like King Xuan Zhou and Duke Jian of Yan who were killed by the ghosts of the innocent men they had killed or Duke Mu of Qin who was rewarded longevity for his shining virtue (96-98). Here he directly presents the rewards and punishment received by specifically by rulers who adopted or did not adopt impartial care. Further support for his spotlight in convincing the lords of his society are shown through his consistent appeals to the authority of the revered sage kings as he confirms that “sage-kings were devoted to spirits and ghosts” (101) and sites several textual sources from the books of the former kings and among the teachings of the sages to support his claims (103). The existence of ghosts can also serve to motivate individuals who are not …show more content…
And to do so he paints a picture that the world is understandable and strictly monitored, covering much of its complexities to leave no room for doubt so that rulers to dedicate to his view of social justice and consequently direct their followers to adapt in turn. Persuading rulers align with his mission of creating an ideal state that is highly centralized and ordered. It provides the mechanism for its implementation as the common people will practice impartial care if their rulers practice impartial care, who are strongly impelled to do so because of fear of punishment by the higher authority of spiritual beings. As such it is clear why Mozi expends effort in proving the actuality of ghosts and spirits because he saw “ideological differences and factionalism they spawned as the primary source of human suffering” and the provided the checks and balances that could unify the rulers of his time under a deeply enriched system devoted to everyone livelihood