PRACTICAL ETHICS AND PRACTICAL LEARNING: TASAN’S APPROACH TO MORAL CULTIVATION

Abstract

The emergence of sirhak (practical learning] thought is often portrayed as one of the more significant features of the intellectual history of the second half of the Chosŏn dynasty. Yet there is no consensus on exactly what “sirhak” means. Moreover, many of the criteria used to determine whether someone is a sirhak thinker or not appear to be too vague to actually tell us anything about the actual thought of the thinker under examination. Since Tasan Chŏng Yagyong is generally considered one of the most prominent sirhak thinkers, I analyzed his ethical writings to see if I can identify any distinctive elements in this thinking that we can label “practical.” I found a distinctive pragmatic bent in his definitions of virtue and human nature and in his suggestions for how we can become better human beings. I conclude that we need to include ethical philosophy when we examine a Chosŏn dynasty philosopher’s writings to see if he merits the title of a sirhak thinker.