심성론(心性論)을 중심으로 본 정약용과 마테오 리치 사이의 관계

Abstract

The relationship between Chong Yagyong and Matteo Ricci vis-a-vis their theories on the nature of the mind This study examines the way in which Jeong Yagyong's theory of human nature was influenced by Matteo Ricci. First, although his famous doctrine of seonggiho(性嗜好) could be seen to have been influenced by Matteo Ricci's concept of ‘final cause' this is not the case if seen from the dimension of ‘formal cause.’ For Matteo Ricci, seong(性) or ‘nature' was determined by human nature or formal cause of man. However, Jeong Yagyong regarded seong(性) as an indication of a mental faculty, or a spontaneous ethical tendency. Alhtough Jeong Yagyong's concept of kweonhyeong(權衡) was affected by Matteo Ricci's concept of Aristotelian free will and reason, Matteo Ricci's influence on him not comprehensive but limited insofar as the structure of Jeong Yagyong's theory of human nature originated from traditional Confucian concepts as well as from a Neo-Confucian theory of human nature. In this regard we need pay attention to Chong Yagyong's admiration and reception of Zhu Xi's theory of insim·dosim(人心·道心). In conclusion, Jeong Yagyong's theory of human nature was an examplary case of the creative fusion between the Western and Eastern thought.