  Aside from their ethical and  political doctrines  — the aspects of their philosophy they themselves see as central — the Mohists’ explicit theories and implicit assumptions about language,  knowledge,  reasoning,  and moral psychology are of great philosophical interest. Many aspects of their views in these areas are probably not distinctively Mohist, but instead reflect background assumptions widely shared by other classical Chinese thinkers. Thus a greater understanding of Mohist thought advances our understanding of early Confucianism, Daoism, and other schools as well.