『맹자(孟子)』에 나타난 ‘인(人)’ 개념의 이해

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the understanding of ‘Ren’ in Mencius. In Mencius, a Ren is a concept that deals with the Min, and refers to a ruler and a brain worker. Mencius argued that all humans have Four Clues (四端), the basis for Good Nature. However, it is a matter to reconsider whether the “people” referred to by Mencius when talking about Good Nature means “people” that we currently accept and understand. Mencius hoped that by giving moral obligations to these Ren, they would take responsibility for the chaos of the Warring States Period, save the Min livelihoods in distress, and restore the order of the central plain. Mencius introduced the concept of human nature is good under the premise that a moral monarch should be promoted to the status of a son of heaven, laying the theoretical basis for a Ren to rise to the status of a saint and a son of heaven beyond the limits of his blood. In addition, he introduced the concept of Tao-line (道統) to lay the theoretical basis for humans to rise to the status of saints and heavenly beings beyond the limits of their blood. It is said that a person has provided an internal basis for becoming a saint, but that alone cannot be a saint. It is to expand the division by preserving and cultivating good mind. Only in this way can you become a saint monarch who can own the world. This process of establishing Mencius’s Good Nature Theory can be said to be the crystal of complex thinking developed in consideration of social (classification of the status of Ren and Min), historical (blood limitations and ruler responsibility ethics), ethical (Ren's constant work and constant mind), and ontological factors (Good Nature, Four Clues). These attempts have led to the effect of expanding the qualifications and possibilities of being a saint from royal class to the emperor. This is not just an extension of the path of Ren to saints, but also the first step toward modern ethical human beings.