『孟子』에서 자연과 도덕본성 사이의 일관성과 모순성 문제

The Consistency and Contradiction between Heaven and Human Nature in Mencius

This essay tried to examine the relativity between several multiple concepts of nature and moral human nature while concentrating upon a consistency and contradiction between Heaven and Human Nature in Mencius. Even if several meanings of heaven[nature] exist in Mencius' philosophy, moral heaven and fatal heaven have a very meaningful relativity each other in that they are given as clue and moment of moral cultivation. In Mencius, fatal heaven is represented as not only outer human relation such as blood-relation, official relation, friends, and socio-cultural circumstances no connecting man's autonomous intention, but disposition given fataly or desire according to the organ of sensation. In Mencius' philosophy, it is the moment in which fatal heaven hinder a person from accomplishing human moral nature that heaven(nature) and morality have opposite and contradict meaning. Thus, in Mencius cultivation is accomplished from practicing human nature and realizing political ideal by making fatal heaven adapt to human moral nature. Here the stage that heaven and morality achieve in the consistency and harmony just means that human nature consolidates with moral heaven harmoniously through realizing moral human nature, which overcomes negative influences of fatal heaven in the sociocultural context. In conclusion, accomplishment of cultivation and realization of political ideal mean that man unifies moral human nature and fatal heaven harmoniously by being free human nature commanded from moral heaven from obstacles of fatal heaven and the organ of sensation and recovering original consistency.