성(性)·리(理)의 세계관과 공부론(工夫論)* - 그 정당화 문제를 중심으로 -

The Xing(性)-li(理) Worldview and Neo-Confucian theory of Learning - focusing on the issue of its justification -

The neo-Confucian theory of learning is premised upon the xing-li worldview. As such, what the xing-li worldview is, how it is justified, and what influence it actually has on concepts of learning are essential problems in understanding the neo-Confucian theory of learning. This article first describes the meaning of xing and li, and the characteristics of the human condition and cosmology derived thereof. Next, it is argued that experience is the primary mechanism for justifying the xing-li worldview. It is contended that in the Western academic tradition the primary mechanism for justifying truth is linguistic-logical Reason, whereas in neo-Confucianism this role is fulfilled by experience, which is understood to broadly encompass knowledge and conduct, emotion, intellect, and spirituality. Additionally, the existence of sages as exemplars of the paramount of experience also functions as a basis for justifying the xing-li worldview. This article continues on to discuss how the theory of learning construed in this worldview has satisfied and deviated from the ideal of xing-li throughout the history of its practical application. In the process of discussion, it is also examined how the worldview of xing-li could be understood, supplemented, and critiqued from the point of view of both Reason in the Western philosophical tradition and the Daoist perspective of Laozi.