심학화의 의미와 윤리적 자연주의: 주희와 이황을 중심으로

Abstract

The term “Becoming the Learning of the Mind (心學化)” refers to an intellectual trend that conceptualizes, internalizes, and subjectifies all things by interpreting the world through the mind. In this paper, I examine the concept of “Becoming the Learning of the Mind” through two case studies and explore its significance with a focus on moral motivation within the framework of ethical naturalism. The first case examines the debate between Honoring the Virtuous Disposition (尊德性) and ‘do-mun-hak’ Maintaining Constant Inquiry and Study (道問學). Wang Yangming’s claim that Zhu Xi exhibited a tendency toward “Xinsue (心學)” as he shifted from constant inquiry and study to honoring the virtuous disposition served as a strategy to assert that “Xinsue” is central to Confucianism. The second case addresses the relationship between Yi Hwang’s “Becoming the Learning of the Mind” and Yangmingism. It is necessary to investigate the argument that Yi Hwang’s philosophy, despite his critique of Yangmingism, itself developed into a form of “Becoming the Learning of the Mind.” By analyzing Yi Hwang’s thought, which is categorized as “Xinsue” despite his opposition to Yangmingism, I explore the theoretical landscape that Yi Hwang’s “Becoming the Learning of the Mind” delineates. In particular, through an examination of the concept of “Li-Dao (理到)”—often interpreted as epistemological internalization—I investigate what “Thinking of the Learning of the Mind” concretely signifies in Yi Hwang’s philosophy. Unlike Yangmingism, Yi Hwang’s theoretical efforts emphasized the establishment of a moral subject and autonomous moral will without internalizing all things into the self or separating the principles of the world from the mind. This theoretical pursuit laid the foundation for moral practice. These aspects become clearer when examined within the context of ethical naturalism, particularly in relation to moral motivation and moral judgment. In conclusion, this paper demonstrates that “Becoming the Learning of the Mind” is not merely a form of subjective conceptualization but is closely tied to the issue of establishing a moral-epistemological subject.