양수명과 이돈화의 근대화에 대한 견해 및그 철학적 근거에 대한 비교 연구— 한⋅중 신문화운동 시기의 저작을 중심으로 —

Abstract

This paper aims to compare Liang Shu-Ming and Lee Don-Hwa’s perceptions of modernization and the philosophical grounds of their perceptions during the New Cultural Movement period in Korea and China. Although Liang and Lee had different levels of enthusiasm towards New Cultural Movement, they shared many commonalities in their attitudes to Western modernization and their philosophical justifications for such attitudes. Liang Shu-Ming not only held positive views of Western modernization, but also examined the spiritual dynamics contributing to the development in science and democracy in Western countries. By analyzing the three fundamental questions of life, three kinds of human attitudes toward life, three types of culture derived from human attitudes, and the recapitulation theory, Liang systematically reviewed the spiritual dimension of Western modernization. Liang defined the spirit of Western modernization as a calculative rationality based on egoism and the separation of Self and Other. Such a statement demonstrates Liang’s keen insights towards Western modernization. Meanwhile, although Lee Don-Hwa basically held positive views of Western modernization, from the beginning, he pointed out the problems with Western modernization and attempted to overcome these problems by employing the “human is heaven” doctrine of Cheondogyo. While Lee embraced modern science and the theory of evolution, he also insisted on the legitimacy of mysticism and the compatibility of the creation theory of Cheondogyo and the theory of evolution. Although Lee employed the concepts in Western philosophy of life, he also emphasized the interdependence, reciprocal relationship, and connectedness between Self and Other from the perspective of Cheodogyo doctrine. From the fact that Lee Don-Hwa transcended the modernization theory when he was applying it to answer questions, it seemed that Lee preceded Liang Shu-Ming. Nevertheless, Lee did not demonstrate the keen insight into the spiritual dimension of Western modernization, and his criticism against Western modernization did not touch upon the problem of rationality as Liang did.