Human value in the later Mohist texts
Human value in the later Mohist texts
Commentators have spoken of the Mohists as taking humans to be ends or valued for their own sake. This essay argues that the later Mohists grant such noninstrumental value a limited role. While benevolence and inclusive love do involve treating their recipients as ends, not all humans are recipients of benevolence and inclusive love. “The Lesser Choosing” and “The Greater Choosing” suggest that one is to hate inflictors of serious harm and to sometimes even suspend love of innocents for the greater benefit of the world. While being noninstrumentally loved and benefited follows from being shown benevolence and inclusive love, whatever noninstrumental value is involved does not by itself entitle one to be shown benevolence and inclusive love in the first place.
Benevolence, Care, Hate, Love, Mohist, Noninstrumental value
433-457
Kim, Bradford Jean-Hyuk
70cbecb5-ac2b-4a4a-946e-1ef9bf68c81c
September 2025
Kim, Bradford Jean-Hyuk
70cbecb5-ac2b-4a4a-946e-1ef9bf68c81c
Abstract
Commentators have spoken of the Mohists as taking humans to be ends or valued for their own sake. This essay argues that the later Mohists grant such noninstrumental value a limited role. While benevolence and inclusive love do involve treating their recipients as ends, not all humans are recipients of benevolence and inclusive love. “The Lesser Choosing” and “The Greater Choosing” suggest that one is to hate inflictors of serious harm and to sometimes even suspend love of innocents for the greater benefit of the world. While being noninstrumentally loved and benefited follows from being shown benevolence and inclusive love, whatever noninstrumental value is involved does not by itself entitle one to be shown benevolence and inclusive love in the first place.
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kim_latermohists
- Accepted Manuscript
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s11712-025-10001-2
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Accepted/In Press date: 11 July 2024
e-pub ahead of print date: 18 July 2025
Published date: September 2025
Keywords:
Benevolence, Care, Hate, Love, Mohist, Noninstrumental value
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Local EPrints ID: 496850
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/496850
ISSN: 1540-3009
PURE UUID: 12daaac7-a643-4eb4-9084-4ee5a1fffa37
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Date deposited: 08 Jan 2025 08:25
Last modified: 24 Sep 2025 02:14
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Author:
Bradford Jean-Hyuk Kim
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