Against Fatalism非命

A popular view in Mozi's day held that wealth and poverty, long life and early death, order and chaos in a state, were all fixed by fate (命, ming), and effort changed nothing. Mozi disliked this idea more than any other. Believers in fate, he said, do not work hard: officials at governing, farmers at plowing, weavers at weaving. The result is that "there will not be enough food and clothing," and all of it gets blamed on fate.

He put the claim "fate exists" through the three tests. 本之: did the ancient sage kings ever speak of fate? No. They spoke of striving. 原之: has anyone ever seen fate with their own eyes? No. 用之: if everyone believed in fate, what would happen? "Strive and there is order; do not strive and there is chaos." Those who strive get things done; those who trust fate let things slide. All three tests fail, so: against fatalism.

非命上 is where the three tests come from. Here Mozi says explicitly, for the first time, that a claim is judged by whether it has a basis, evidence, and use. Applied first to fate, the measure showed fatalism to be not only baseless but harmful: it hands the idle their best excuse.

At 墨门 we do not debate whether fate exists. We care about what Mozi cared about: a person who believes effort matters and a person who believes it does not will live two different lives. We choose the first.

In practice at 墨门

• One three-tests goal a year. At the start of the year, each Mohist sets one goal and explains it with the three tests: what precedent shows it can be done? What evidence shows I need it now? What benefit follows if I reach it? The goal is written down and given to your care-pair partner.
• An honest review at year's end. In the yearly three-tests review, you and your partner look at the goal: how much was achieved? What accounts for what was not? "Bad luck" is not an acceptable answer; "I chose the wrong goal" is.
• No harshness, but no excuses. 非命 does not mean "effort guarantees success." Mozi never said that. He said that without effort, failure is certain. So the review focuses not on the outcome but on whether you actually strove.
• The same for chapters. Each chapter sets a yearly three-tests goal too: how many people helped, how many 墨辩 held, how many service turnouts by the 非攻 Corps, and reviews it publicly at year's end. A chapter that fell short does not say "this was an unusual year." It says "here is what changes next year."
• Encouragement, not judgment. Your care-pair partner helps you set a realistic goal, reminds you mid-year, and sits with you over the result. A companion, not a supervisor.

Mozi said, "Strive, and there is order." We translate "strive" into the plainest words we have: get on with it.