데카르트 철학에 대한 교육학적 해석

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to present a new interpretation of Descartes’ philosophy as one of the educational theories. The main reason for this approach is that if we reveal the educational aspects of Descartes’ philosophy, we can answer the following question: ‘How can we solve the problem of the modern split self?’ In this regard, there are two problems of dualism. The first is ‘The distinction between mind and body’ on the inner-side of the self, and the second is ‘The discrepancy between subjectivity of mind and objectivity of world’ on the outer-side of the self. What this study says is that two problems of disharmony on Descartes’ philosophy could be solved by interpreting his philosophy from the perspective of education. Therefore, an effort to try to read Descartes’ philosophy as an educational theory is required. As mentioned above, educational implications could be found in Descartes’ Philosophy. They are as follows. First, the First philosophy, which provides the foundation of philosophy, can be considered as the principle of education. The First philosophy is on the basis of both ‘The method and doubt’ and ‘Proofs of God's existence’, which respectively establish ‘The principle of cognition’ and ‘The principle of being’. The first philosophy sets up ‘The transcendental self’ which indicates an educated person and lets that person accept ‘The passions of the souls’ positively, so the educated person is able to enjoy freedom. Second, ‘Natural philosophy’ and ‘Moral philosophy’ can be understood as ‘the content of education’. With regard to the metaphor of a tree in Descartes’ philosophical system, trunks and branches each refer to Natural philosophy and Moral philosophy. The object of ‘Natural philosophy’ is Nature, and ‘Natural philosophy’ enables us to acquire self-knowledge by theoretical activities. Also, the object of ‘Moral philosophy’ is Passions, and Moral philosophy enables us to acquire self-knowledge by practical activities. Third, the ultimate goal of education should be identified as self-knowledge, and the aspect of self-knowledge can be found on Descartes’ philosophy. Self-knowledge is able to make people contemplate their lives comprehensively and thoroughly, and it will provide clues to interpret Descartes’ philosophy as an educational theory.