The article discusses Mozi's 'state of nature argument', where Mozi illustrates a chaotic human existence prior to governance, marked by individual moral norms, resulting in conflict. This reflects the Mohists' consequentialist philosophy and their significant role in classical thought. The exploration of moral disagreements and self-interest underscores how these elements fuel political order, suggesting the necessity of governance to unify conflicting human behaviors and beliefs, transforming chaos into an organized society.
In ancient times, when people first came into being and before there were governments or laws, each person followed their own norm for deciding what was right and wrong. And so where there was one person there was one norm, where there were two people there were two norms, where there were ten people there were ten different norms.
People used water, fire, and poison to harm and injure one another, to the point where if they had strength to spare, they would not use it to help each other.
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