불교정치사상의 ‘일 - 변화 메타이론’에 관한 검토

Abstract

Problems in regards to Job-unemployment, ecosystem-degradation, currency- finance, and knowledge-technology are currently undergoing rapid dispersion at a global scale, and are increasing in severity as they become progressively more vicious to the human population. The current state of the human world and its ecosystem is caught in a destructive and unproductive circulation, leading to a crisis in terms of overall quality, despite the apparent increase in material quantity. Nevertheless, modern and contemporary humanities, sociology and politics, as well as natural science in the west, have not yet properly diagnosed this circulation and crisis that has unrelentingly captivated humanity. In fact, the likelihood of the increase in severity of said events is rising. This is due to defects in the substance-motion metatheory commonly underlying these events. The Substance-Motion Metatheory primarily focuses on understanding the active-dominant and passive-dominant movements related to the quantitative changes of a presumed “substantial” entity. However, this approach lacks a theoretical framework to explain qualitative transformations. Hence, this article aims to explore the Work-Change Metatheory as an alternative, which can address both qualitative changes and quantitative movements simultaneously. The Work-Change Metatheory finds common ground in East Asian Buddhist, Confucian, and Christian political thoughts. In this article, we specifically examine the Work-Change Metatheory in East Asian Buddhist political thought. By reviewing this metatheory, our objective is to present contemporary implications and evaluate its suitability as a meta-theoretical foundation for Korean politics and the unification constitution.