한중일 인문 전통의 활용과 전망 - 21세기 실학의 모색 -

Abstract

The Practical Learning (sirhak) school of the East Asia three countries is characterized by richness in understanding human beings. The proposals by the sirhak scholars in the fields of norms and institutions, reforms in livelihood matters and legal system, and moral maturity reflect the changes in relations between social members and subjective individuals. Their social reform proposals represent the intellectual growth of subjective individuals living through the Chosŏn dynasty. The sirhak scholars, while humanizing human beings as subjective actors, continued to seek for the answers to what constitutes human beings. Moreover, they tried to observe and define humans in light of their mutual relations rather than as self-entity. The sirhak scholars were toward constructing subjective view of human beings based on the self-awareness to foster spirits of humanism. They illustrated human beings devoted ethical behaviors and social harmony, and had a belief in sociability and reciprocity in human existence. Therefore, their first task was to transform themselves before advancing to bring any innovation to the society and culture of their age. Traditional humanities in the 21 century may look for ways how to achieve harmonious co-existence between human and natural worlds, and how to gain ideologies and ethics needed to preserve human subjectivity. To get inspirations for conducting these tasks, we may turn to the revival and reinterpretation of the humanistic tradition of Korea, China and Japan based on the Practical Learning. Newly oriented tendency of the Practical Learning of Korea aims at seeking ways how to realize fully human dignities and values as well as how to live an aesthetics life. In such study, it may be hoped that a new paradigm of ‘life-centered humanities’ can be created to reconstruct new relations not only among human beings but also between human and nature. The rediscovery of the Practical Learning of these three East Asian countries will prove to be useful in producing new perspectives to understand the humanistic tradition of Korea, and also in creating a practical philosophy required by the future.