心是理，还是气? - 以心说论辩为主 -

Abstract

The issue of whether “the heart is principle” or “the heart is vital force” represents a critical dividing line between Zhu Xi’s philosophy(Zhuzi Xue) and Wang Yangming’s school of thought(Yangming Xue). According to Zhu Xi’s axioms, human nature(性) is equal to principle(理), implying that the heart(心) and principle are one through cultivation, but not that the heart is equivalent to principle. In contrast, Wang Yangming asserts that human nature indeed equals principle and particularly emphasizes that the heart is principle. During the last great debate on the nature of principle(性理) in Joseon, a distinctive characteristic emerged: Korean Confucian scholars advocated for the idea that “the heart is principle”(心即理). It is well known that the ruling ideology of the Joseon Dynasty(1392-1910) was Confucianism, especially Zhu Xi’s philosophy (Zhuzi Xue), which rejected Daoism and denigrated Lu Wang’s heart-centered philosophy, labeling the idea that the heart is principle as an aberrant or heretical thought. Thus, the fact that Confucian scholars engaged in the debate by promoting the notion of the heart being principle(心主理) is indeed puzzling. Of course, figures like Yi Hangro(1792-1868) and YI Jinshang(1818-1886), who advocated for the concept that the heart is principle(心主理), were still firmly opposed to Yangming’s philosophy. In summary, Yi Hangro and YI Jinshang emphasized the idea that the mind-heart is principle, interpreting it as principle having form and function, as well as motion and stillness, allowing for the idea that principle engenders vital force. This line of thought conflicts with the belief that principle dominates vital force and is devoid of action or knowledge. Ultimately, it could develop into an acknowledgment of a personal deity, suggesting a potential for transcending Zhu Xi’s philosophy.