이미지의 본질에 대한 새로운 고찰 — 유식철학의 ‘현량’과 이미지 개념의 성찰

Abstract

Why has image been referred to as the other of concept in poem? This paper examines the epistemological concepts of the East and the West to newly explain the essence of image and investigate the ontological status and essence of the image through it. In the first place, it is necessary to understand the epistemological process for the appropriate knowledge of the features of image and then examine the ontological status of perception which is related to the image. As a result, the perception as a concept underlying in the middle between a sense and a conceptual recognition in epistemological process has been confirmed to be an ambiguous one which is neither pure sense nor intellectual concept. This ambiguous characteristics means that the perception has a mutually conflicting duality i,e the objective aspects directly linked to outside world and the subjective aspects of consciousness inner self–awareness. Therefore It ensures the devaluation of perception in western philosophy emphasizing the conceptual recognition. The duality of perception defines the essence of the image coming from the perception. This paper classified the essence of image into two; one is semi–matterness and the other is fluidity i.e fluctuation or oscillation. The one points to the nature of semi–matterness which is ready to go into epistemological process to some extent while maintaining to the utmost the nature of a sense matterness. The latter points to the tense phase of the image which maintains the incessant fluid state to get out of the conceptual categorization while not failing to catch out the vivid state of sense matterness. The concept 'pratyakṣa(現量)' from the Yogācāra philosophy makes it clear what the essence of the image is. ‘Pratyakṣa’ is one of the two major ways of recognition in contrast with ‘anumāna(比量)’ in the Yogācāra philosophy. ‘Pratyakṣa’ points to the way of recognition grasping the essence of object without the conceptual thinking, whereas ‘anumāna’ points to the way of recognition grasping the meaning of object through the conceptual discernment. According to buddhist tradition being afraid of the misleading of conceptual thinking, ‘pratyakṣa’ was highly appraised as the right way of recognition that can grasp the essence of object in itself.