도덕적 차원에서 바라본 공정성— 『맹자』를 중심으로 —

Abstract

In our society, fairness is a very important discourse and one of the important factors causing social conflict. Fairness mainly begins with discourses such as exclusion and equality of privilege, proportional compensation according to contribution, and correction of inequality of starting points, and includes the meaning of fairness and justice. However, if you look at some cases related to fairness, you can see that only fairness is emphasized and there is no discussion about correctness (justice) in that consideration for the socially disadvantaged is omitted. Accordingly, this paper looks at the justice aspect of fairness from a moral perspective and discusses the moral foundation of fairness through Mencius' philosophy. Mencius' philosophy begins with the human moral emotion of an unbearable heart(不忍之心). This moral emotion is socially embodied as the virtue of the generous(仁), rightous(義), virtue(禮), wisdom(智) of benevolence, into moral action through the voluntary choice of the heart. In addition, Mencius' philosophy extends from Qin(親) to the principle of Benevolence (Benevolence), which considers others. Despite concerns that Mencius's philosophy, in which the principle of pro-kinship takes precedence, may fall into traps such as kinship or exclusion of out-groups, Mencius's philosophy includes the ability to distinguish between right and wrong and the ability to think. We examine how we can move toward existential, rational, and practical judgment and action through the power of the mind. In this way, we show that Mencius' philosophy can be a moral foundation for fairness in that it is based on a warm heart that loves family and expands to a heart that is considerate of others.