소춘 김기전의 유학 전통 비판과 사유의 모순적 분열 －20세기초 한국사상사 및 철학사의 견지에서－

Abstract

Sochoon Kim Ki-jeon's thoughts epitomize the agitation or instability of Korean history of philosophy and thought in the early 20th century. He criticized the Confucian tradition more fiercely than anyone else, even though he was a person who received traditional Confucian education. This seems to be linked at first sight to the contradiction between intellectual tradition and new theory and ideas, but in fact it emerges between the Confucian tradition and foundation, and the practical orientation toward the new world and a new human being. This contradiction is expressed in his thoughts in relation to tradition in a divisive way that criticizes Confucianism based on Confucianism. This is a clear indication of the division of thought in which the most critical target of criticism returns to the basis for that criticism. Furthermore, when accepting foreign ideas and theories, he judged on the basis of Confucianism above all else, and his understanding and evaluation of them are also made on a Confucian basis to a certain degree. In other words, his understanding and acceptance of alternatives to intellectual tradition also depended on tradition again. The divisive movement that Kim Ki-jeon's thoughts reveal clearly shows the special tendency that the “acceptance” in the history of thoughts presents in a place where the existing intellectual tradition is powerful. As his case clearly shows, the movement of thought’s contradictory division becomes stronger and deeper when the existing intellectual traditions are strong, and when historical changes support new theories. This is an important clue to the proper view of Korean history of philosophy and thought in the early 20th century.