Introduction: Language and Logic in Later Mohism

In the current version of Mozi (墨子), there are six special chapters on knowledge, language, logic, ethics, politics and science. They include “Canon I (or A)” (Jing-shang 經上) and “Canon Explanation I (or A)” (Jing-shuo-shang 經說上), “Canon II (or B)” (jing-xia 經下) and “Canon Explanation II (or B)” (Jing-shuo-xia 經說下), and “Major Illustrations” (Da-qu 大取) and “Minor Illustrations” (Xiao-qu 小取). Later scholars give the names “Mohist Canons ” (墨經) for the first four chapters (in a wide sense, it also includes the last two.) and “Mohist Dialectical Chapters” (墨辯) for all the six. The content of these six chapters indicates that the later Mohists follow Mozi’s cognitive spirit in dealing with ethical and socio-political issues and,most importantly, apply an analytic approach to investigate philosophical problems, especially, in knowledge, language and logic