The three tests

Every discussion question in the weekly study is a three-tests question, so before we begin, here is what the three tests are.

They come from 非命上, chapter 35. Mozi says that for a claim to stand it must have "three standards" (三表), the way a carpenter needs a rule to measure. The three are:

1. 本之, ground it. Ground it in the deeds of the sage kings of old. Is there a precedent? Has anyone done this before, and how did it turn out? Today we would say: look at history, at data, at other people's experience.
2. 原之, trace it. Trace it in what the ears and eyes of the common people have actually taken in. Has anyone seen it? Can ordinary people confirm it with their own senses? Today we would say: look at the evidence, and at whether it can be observed again, instead of taking an authority's word.
3. 用之, apply it. Put it into law and policy and see whether it benefits the state and the people. Does it help or harm in practice? Today we would say: look at the consequences.

Mozi applies the three tests to fatalism: no sage king ever governed by fate, no one has ever seen fate, and believing in fate makes people idle. It fails all three, so he rejects it.

The three tests are not a perfect method. The first can be hijacked by "the ancients"; the second by a crowd's illusions; the third has to define "benefit" first. Mozi seems to know this. He gives the third test the most weight and defines benefit plainly: more people, a richer state, orderly and just government. In today's terms, people can live, society has some slack, and order is fair.

In the Community, the three tests are our working method, not a creed. The last ten minutes of every chapter meeting, the three-tests review, runs the week's conclusion through these three questions. Precedent? Evidence? Net benefit in practice? A conclusion that passes all three can stand. One that fails any of them goes back for repair.

This is also why we say the Mozi can be tested: it hands us the tools to test it with.