『노자』 38장의 덕 개념에 대한 시론 - 유가의 덕 개념과의 비교를 중심으로 -

Abstract

In examining the usage of de (德) in ancient works of literature, including Zuozhuan, Guoyu, and The Book of Documents, we can find that most of the ways to practice de are through humility and concession. These features of de are found in Laozi, as well. In spite of these common features, Laozi criticized the Confucian de like ren, yi, and li. Especially in Laozi's Chapter 38, these conflicting aspects are examined individually. In the first part, he used de as the Confucians did in The Book of Documents, but in the following part, he separated ren, yi, and li from de and criticized each concept. The reason for the separation and criticism is as follows. According to Laozi, to have de, or to be virtuous, requires a lack of selfishness as a prerequisite, but the men who have ren, yi or li do not empty themselves of their selfishness and they consciously or unconsciously make themselves look better than others. In the worst case, yi anticipates reciprocity from others, while li may employ violence to illicit a response from others. Thus, the men who have and practice ren, yi or li have no de. Although Laozi seems to misunderstand the concept of de or to manipulate it, it will be fair to regard Laozi's de as the development of this concept, as the importance of being empty had been emphasized since the early literature.