후쿠자와 유키치(福澤諭吉)의 ‘궁리(窮理)’ 인식과 과학제국주의

Abstract

This article studies Fukuzawa Yukichi's scientific thought and the theory of civilization, centering on his understanding of physics, which he called Kyuri(窮理). Kyuri was one of the most important concepts of Neo-confucianism, along with a concept of Kakubutsu(格物). However, Fukuzawa redefined the concept of kyuri in the meaning of the research against the physical world. He used the term kyuri as the same meaning with natural philosophy or natural science, and illustrated that kyuri was the most useful knowledge to advance human life and environment. In his books, Gakumon no Susume(1872-) and Bunmeiron no Kairyaku(1875), however, Fukuzawa insisted that kyuri was the main knowledge for the development of human civilization. He also insisted that civilization could be developed through three steps, which were the uncivilized stage(野蠻), the semicivilized stage(半開), and the civilized stage(文明). Moreover, he illustrated that the reason why Western countries were highly civilized at that time was because they had studied kyuri. After he published jijishogen(1881), however, Fukuzawa's theory of civilization was obsessed by nationalistic thinking because he felt the crisis of independence of Japan. According to Fukuzawa, civilization of a nation could not develop unless the nation became independent first. This idea of civilizaion=nation supported Fukuzawa’s aggressive thinking that Meiji Japanese had to civilize China and Choseon to get over their national crisis, and if it was impossible, Japanese military power could be considered to those countries. Having a nationalistic understanding of the theory of civilization, Fukuzawa thought newly that kyuri should be not only the knowledge for advancing human life and environment, but also for the national increase of production. When Fukuzawa thought that the development of civilization was just a tool for national independence, butsuri was defined as the tool for national independence. Fukuzawa's understanding of butsuri showed the properties of Meiji thinkers' philosophy of enlightenment, and would also predict in advance Japan's national science which was connected with Japanese imperialism in the early 20th century.