MORAL DISPUTE IN EARLY CHINESE THOUGHT: ON A THREE WAY CONVERSATION BETWEEN THE MOHIST, MENCIUS AND ZHUANGZI

Abstract

The thesis reconstructs the moral dispute among major thinkers in early China, i.e. the Mohists, Mencius, and Zhuangzi’s critical thinking in the Qiwulun. Driven by metaethical concerns, I lay bare moral presuppositions and commitments in the Mohists' and Mencius' moral discourses, and accordingly, to interrogate the nature and status of their moral claims in light of Zhuangzi’s critical thinking. I first establish the Mohist and Mencius as two distinct styles of principled moral reasoning, having their own conceptions of morality with different foundations, and then move on to conduct a second-order reading of the Qiwulun, employing a pragmatic conception of language and treating key terminology as mention instead of use. My account of the moral dispute is hence a confrontation between moral reasons and justifications and metaethical reflection in light of Zhuangzi's perspective. I also contributes to the assessment of the two major moral discourses and metaethical reflection in Zhua