<성호사설>의 생물지식 재편 시도

Abstract

Sŏnghosasŏl (星湖僿說) is a Yusŏl (a compilation of categorized theories) that Sŏngho Yi Ik (李瀷, 1681-1763) collected his academical notes (箚記) about heaven, earth, mankind, and all things. Unlike other Yusŏ (a category book) and Yusŏl in the late Joseon, Sŏnghosasŏl set up ‘All things section (萬物門)’ between ‘Heaven and earth section (天地門)’ and ‘Human affair section (人事門).’ Although Yi Ik did not separated a wordbook for things (物譜) as a publication, it is clear that he had a distinct perception of essence, shape, and function of thins. Yi Ik observed natural organisms and objects in country, associating his observation with knowledge from books to form his own theory. In Sŏnghosasŏl, Yi Ik examined true-false-obscurity of literary knowledge and compared it with his observation, raise knowledge to more evident level. Also, he contemplated creation, essence, and a position in the universe of organisms, however, such theories could not reach a sophisticated level, due to a limitation of observation tools and establishment of fundamentals. His theories reflects understanding of organisms of intellectuals in the 18th century Joseon. Although Yi Ik questioned metamorphosis, wickedness, ominousness, and auspiciousness, he accepted them are partly true. Furthermore, Yi Ik was unable to establish a distinct theory about the origin and species of organisms. Nevertheless, he matched the name and fact of organisms, observed the properties of them in depth, and thoroughly examined the errors and contradictions of existing literary informations. Entries about organisms in the all things section in Sŏnghosasŏl needs to be remembered as a struggle to reach clear understanding of organisms.