현실과 소통하는 한국학의 정립을 위한 예비적 시론 ― 한국유학을 중심으로

Abstract

Research of Korean Confucianism is confronted with some new demands of self-transformation. Not to drop behind remaining old-fashioned, our academic society should, first of all, adapt to the new academic trend of consilience: the unity of knowledge. Hitherto, most treatises on traditional Confucian Philosophy tended to give weight to or put focus on logical analysis of its theories, apart from socio-economic interest and political orientation of the pertaining philosophers of past historical periods. In the traditional era, however, Confucianism had rather been sort of Unified Science, and a Confucian Scholar had been regarded as the Whole Men or a well-rounded person. Now we should succeed such spirit for restoration of our academic works into Praxis Learning. In order to restore the vigor and critical power of traditional thinkers and their ideas, we should give attention to Cultural Studies. Reseachers of traditional Confucianism, especially of Neo-confucianism in Chosun Dynasty, are required to introduce the methodology and rationale of Cultural Studies. Getting out from semantic analysis and syntactical meta-analysis, our study of traditional thoughts needs to come forward to multi-directional and integrative ways of approach. We have to cross over the present compartmental system of closed specialties. Multilateral communications are needed among wide realms of learning, as well as mutual understanding is demanded on the level of branch fields of some particular academic discipline. Confucianism is a constituent part of the Korean History of Ideas. In other words, the Korean tradition of culture encompass still wider range of theories and practices than Confucianism. Buddhism has also exerted a strong influence in the Korean traditional culture from ancient times; Spirit Worship or Spiritism(神明思想, 神仙思想), the unique stream of Korean religious thinking, had had a great deal of influence on life and death of Korean people, with a wider range and longer time-span. Here arises the demand of reassessing the main streams of traditional schools of thought. In short, research of Korean Confucianism is to be integrated, as a sub-unit, into Korean Studies that makes the whole body of investigating and expounding various issues. My point here is that Confucianism definitely comes under the major schools of traditional thought, yet nevertheless it may not be the most powerful branch of thinking in Korean History of Culture. Fusion of researches of Korean Confucianism with Cultural Studies will contribute to bring forth a firmly founded academic discipline of Korea Studies. To expound the complicated body of society and history both on the levels of comprehensiveness and concreteness, I suggest that we make up a common foundation of various fields of academic investigation. What part of learning you may belong as a scholar, you had better have some basic understanding of the whole academic arena, especially in respect of methodological principle and macro history of paradigmatic theories. Humanities and aesthetics, social and natural sciences ─ in short, all parts of knowledge production, should meet and communicate to make up consilience, the unity of knowledge. Today we live in an age of collective intellect that makes traditional classification of science hardly valid, and that is building up (within some sphere) a sterical body of knowledge concrete and comprehensive.