伊藤仁齋의 유교 개념 정의에 나타나는 古義學의 체계와 이념 - 『論語古義』의 개념 분석과 송유 비판을 중심으로

Abstract

Ito-Jinsai' Kogigaku[古義學] was one of the first attempts to organize universal Confucian ethics in Japanese Confucianism. Jinsai criticized the dichotomous outlook of neo-Confucianism which divided the state of heart[心] into the motionless[未發] and the active[已發] and focused more on training when they are in the state of the motionless rather than practicing virtues[德] of the great teachers[聖人]. Jinsai thought that neo-Confucianists’ distorted teachings of Confucius resulted from the influence of their nihilistic point of view of Buddhism and Taoism, so he tried to restore the original meaning of Confucianism. Jinsai distinguished 'Tao of human[人道]' from 'Tao of nature[天道]' and asserted that the meaning of the Tao of Confucius should be limited to Tao of human. And he also argued that everyone can practice Tao since the four clues of good nature[四端之心] are inherent in everyone's heart. However the four clues of good nature are only the starting point for practicing the virtues, therefore education for cultivating people's will which allows people to focus on practicing the virtues is indispensable. Furthermore, practicing the virtues and training for completion of virtues should be continued until the entire world benefits from the virtues. Politics are a national system for realizing that goal. Therefore, the completeness of benevolence[仁], the best virtue, and decorum[禮], the appropriate forms for action or practice, should be the criteria distinguishing between the civilized country[華] which is the center of culture and politics and the barbarians[夷]. Though Jinsai's original aim of study was a restoration of the original meaning of Confucianism, he constructed his own creative thought. Through his study, he suggested realistic and feasible ethics for a real monistic world which can be practiced based on people's ability, will and education by eliminating noumenon[本體] which cannot be proved.