총체적 지식의 관점에서 본 중용의 의미

A Reconceptualization of Aristotles’ means in the light of whole knowledge

본 연구의 목적은 아리스토텔레스의 중용이론이 지니고 있는 문제점을 밝히고, 나아가 총체적 지식관에 비추어 중용의 의미를 새롭게 규정하는 것이다. 아리스토텔레스의 중용이론은 실천적 이성의 판단작용을 중심으로 규정되어 있다. 중용은 ①행위의 상황에서 ②실천적 이성의 판단작용에 의해 ③하나의 덕성에 대한 최적의 상태를 가리킨다. 그런데 아리스토텔레스가 주장하는 것처럼 실천적 이성의 계산에 의해 하나의 덕목에 대한 적절한 상태를 찾는다는 것은 결코 쉽지 않으며, 나아가 다양한 덕목들 사이에 최적의 상태를 계산한다는 것은 거의 불가능하다. 이 이론이 지니고 있는 근본적인 문제는 명목상으로 행위의 상황이 강조되기는 하지만, 실제로 아리스토텔레스의 철학체계에서 ‘상황’에 대한 철학적 검토가 없다는 데에 있다. 상황은 총체성을 특징으로 하며, 상황의 총체성을 포착하는 데에는 실천적 이성이 아닌 질성적 사고의 능력이 전제되어야 한다. 인간의 앎은 상황에 대한 것이며, 상황에 대한 이해는 총체적 지식을 이루고 있다. 이러한 관점에 의하면, 중용은 ①총체성을 기본적인 특성으로 하는 행위의 상황에서 ②질성적 이성의 판단 작용에 의해서 ③총체성 속에서 긴밀한 관련을 맺고 있는 전체 덕성들 사이의 최적의 상태를 의미한다. 그러므로 엄격히 말하면 도덕적으로 의미있는 중용은 아리스토텔레스적인 중용이 아니라, 총체적 지식 속에서의 중용 즉 ‘총체적 중용’이다.

The purpose of this study is to inquire into the practical and logical problems which are involved in Aristotles’ theory of the means and to reconceptualize and redefine its meaning in the light of the view of whole knowledge. The means is the core concept of his ethics. It refers to an intermediate state between two vices: one of excess and one of deficiency. It is negatively defined as what is intermediate conditions between the excessive and the deficient. Positively it is the best and proper conditions which are at the right times, about the right things, towards the right people, for the right ends, and in the right way. This means is characterized into three traits. 1) It is dependent upon the circumstances with which a person is confronted and in which he makes a moral judgement. 2) It is decided by the computation of practical reason. 3) It pursues basically the intermediate and best conditions of ‛a single’ virtue. In my opinion, Aristotles’ concept of means is based upon the dualism of the traditional philosophy. And so reason can be the decisive instrument to inquire into and find out the means, and a single and separate virtue can be an object to be considered in order to determine a means. But this conception of the means is not efficient in and effective to explaining and describing the moral practice which searches for a moral means. Above all, the dualism disregards and neglects a philosophical consideration of the staple concept, “situation”. It is by Dewey that the concept, situation is systematically looked into and scrutinized as a main object of philosophy. For Dewey, situation can be set up as the basic element of philosophical inquiry and analysis. It is equivalent to essence or substance in the traditional philosophy. Situation is implied with two concepts: totality an qualitative thought. “Totality” indicates a whole and integrated thing which a multitude of transactions put together inseparably as and integrated into a whole. “Qualitative thought” is required to perceive a situation as a whole. It has the power to catch the qualities of a situation immediately and holistically. It makes us be able to apprehend a whole knowledge, which is to be the basic form of human knowing in Dewey s philosophy. Now, the means can be taken to be completely different from Aristoltles’ view. From the standpoint of whole knowledge, 1) it is in a situation that the means can be meaningfully inquired into; 2) The means is apprehended not by computation of practical reason, but by qualitative thought and qualitative reasoning; 3) It is concerned not with a single virtue, but with all virtues simultaneously which consist of a total and whole knowledge. Thus, the means working in a pratical life is a “whole means”.