Semiotic Analysis of Zhu Xi’s Moral Psychology

Abstract

This paper aims to clarify the theoretic scheme of Zhu Xi's moral psychology from a semiological point of view. According to the author's analysis, Zhu Xi's moral psychology is composed of two different semiotic frames: the horizontal arrangement of li and qi, and the vertical arrangement of li and qi. In Zhu Xi's theoretic scheme, the horizontal frame is applied to describe the ambivalent relationship between li (i.e. moral dispositions) and qi (i.e. non-moral dispositions), while the vertical frame is applied to explain the ontological relationship in which li (i.e. metaphysical principle) supervenes on qi (i.e. constitutive matter). While Toegye, by adopting the horizontal frame, tried to depict the ambivalent relationship between li (i.e. moral dispositions) and qi (i.e. non-moral dispositions); Kobong and Yulgok, by adopting the vertical frame, tried to explain the ontological relationship in which li (i.e. metaphysical principle) supervenes on qi (i.e. constitutive matter). The seeming discord of two semiotic frames made Chosŏn Neo-Confucian scholars split into two antagonistic groups. In this paper, the author, by explicating the two frames that Zhu Xi adopted, tries to lay a cornerstone to understand the reason why Toegye School and Yulgok School couldn't help but fall into never-ending controversy.