맹자의 ‘적자지심(赤子之心)’에 대한 도덕형이상학적 해명

Abstract

This paper is the study of the moral metaphysical implications of Mencius' 'the Pure Heart of a Newborn Babe'. Looking at the contents of the overall Mencius, the 'Pure Heart of a Newborn Babe' of the baby's heart is a metaphorical expression of the mind of an adult. It is the 'True Intention of Morality(道德本心)' that has the innate and a priori moral intuition and the ability of moral practice. And this mind becomes the moral subject that autonomously obeys the moral law while creating a moral law by itself as a conscience, that is, the true intention of morality itself. This can be explained in the meaning of moral metaphysics through the argument of 'Four clues of virtue (四端之心)', Liang-Zhi(良知)', 'Prima Praecepta(良能)' and 'Rational Attitude(大體)', 'Emotional Desire(小體)' claimed by Mencius. In other words, the 'Pure Heart of a Newborn Babe' has the moral metaphysical position as a proposition about morality essence of human.