A Relation between the Mind and the Body in Confucianism

Eom Yeonseok

This essay tries to illuminate which character and meaning lie in the relation between mind and body in Confucianism, when compared with the theory of mind-body relation being summed up the philosophical conversayion about a body lately. Confucianism values more the meaning of as that of moral act than as the subject of perception. In Confucianism during pre-Ch’in dynasty, it could be said that the mind and the body were dichotomously divided according as they respectively correspond to the moral will and the subject of desire. But when mind becomes a subject which awakens the internal and moral narure, body can be a positive masetr who observes a law such as li禮 and actualizes the morality. On the other hand in Neo-Cofucianism the original mind and the material body, which respectively rely on the concept of li理 and chi氣, have the mutual opposed meaning by being interpreted evaluatively. Therefore according as whichever the mind observes between the li of the nature and the material desire, which are distinguished as the opposed twin moraly, mind and body are united monistically or divided dichotmously. Now then, the Neo-Confucianism新儒學 theory of mind-body relation can be discussed more meaningfully in viewpoint of the moral cultivation of mind and nature in preference to the ontological or metaphysical meaning. In sum, Confucianism begins with the cultivation of one's mind and body, and finishs with the practice of his bodily organization for the purpose of the realization of the moral nature. This eventually means that the body has been interpreted more positively in that the moral nature must be realized in connection with the body. That Confucianism has interpreted the body affirmatively and positively with relation to the moral practice would offer the new evaluative insight to the contemporary philosophical conversation of the body.

Citation status

KCI Citation Counts (8)
열림/닫힘 버튼
REFERENCES (22)
열림/닫힘 버튼
* 2022년 이후 발행 논문의 참고문헌은 현재 구축 중입니다.

[book] / 1994 / 論語, 孟子, 中庸, 大學 (漢文大系) / 新文豐出版公司

[book] 李滉 / 1987 / 增補退溪全書 / 成均館大大東文化硏究院

[book] 李珥 / 1989 / 栗谷全書 (한국문집총간) / 民族文化推進會

[book] 程顥 / 1988 / 二程遺書 (文淵閣四庫全書) / 麗江出版社

[book] 朱熹 / 1988 / 朱子語類 (文淵閣四庫全書) / 麗江出版社

[book] 周敦頤 / 太極圖說

[book] 張載 / 正蒙

[book] 라일, 길버트 / 1994 / 마음의 개념 / 문예출판사

[book] 퍼트남, 힐러리 / 2002 / 이성․진리․역사 / 민음사

[book] Churchland, P.M / 2003 / 물질과 의식 / 서광사

[book] 힐쉬베르거, 요하네스 / 2003 / 서양철학사 (상) / 이문출판사

[book] 아리스토텔레스 / 2002 / 영혼에 관하여 / 궁리

[journal] 노양진 / 2001 / 몸의 철학적 담론 / 용봉논총

[book] 임헌규 / 2001 / 유가의 심성론과 현대 심리철학 / 철학과 현실사

[journal] 박삼열 / 2001 / 스피노자의 심신론-심신동일론과 평행론- / 철학연구

[journal] 이재경 / 2002 / Thomas Aquinas and the Mind-Body Dualism / 철학연구 / 철학연구회 59 : 5~24

[journal] 이재경 / 2001 / 토마스 아퀴나스 심신이론 다시 읽기 / 철학

[journal] 정대현 / 2000 / 몸과 마음으로 생각한다 / 철학

[journal] 홍경실 / 2004 / 데카르트의 이원론적 실체관에 대한 베르그손의 비판과 극복 / 철학

[book] 張立文 / 1993 / 心 / 中國人民大學出版社

[book] Munro, Donald J / 1969 / The Concept of Man in Early China / Stanford University Press

[book] Kim, Jaegwon / 1998 / Mind in a Phtsical World / The MIT Press Cambridge

KJC Korea
Journal Central

Statistics

Tools

Sharing

Issue List

Citation status