유교문화 전통 연구에 관한 통합학문의 전망

Abstract

This paper, for a purpose to explain features and virtue of Confucianism with the methodologies of kinds of integrated studies, introduces fields and methods of integrated studies and inquire what perspective the integrated studies can give to studies of Confucianism. Three models of integrated studies were chosen and their viewpoints, methodologies and theoretical hypotheses were observed. The first is Edward Wilson's socio-biology which has been trying to make a consilience of natural sciences and humane studies, the second radical constructivism which originated from a kind of cognitive sciences, and the third a kind of integrated paradigm insisted by Ken Wilber. Inquisition about Wilson's consilience revealed as follow: the ultimate head of his consilience for unification of all kinds of knowledge based on the natural scientific knowledge is real nature of consilience. His conception of consilience has confidence in human intellectual capacity in the same way with Enlightenment. It gives the main role of the unification to natural science rather than to the Humanities and it takes a matter of course that guiding ethical principles must be abstracted from biology or other natural sciences. However such a way of consilience could be thought negative to the contemporary interpretation of Confucianism. Things about radical constructivism were studied as follow. Scholars who have joined the discourse of radical constructivism and their fields of research were mentioned. According to their conclusion, human cognition must be a process and expression of its self construction, and knowledge of knowledge is just knowledge of limits of human being itself and becomes basis of ethics. The members of the constructivism have suggested ethics of coexistence based on the realization of biological and social construction, and also insisted that the essence of ethical practice was not know-what but know-how of ethics. Their discourses ranging from about self-construction of cognitive system to construction of social system have been produced as a result of developing thoroughly the context of constructive thinking rooted in thinking of Kant and Vico rather than many context of seeking knowledge methods in the Western modern era. In addition they developed a new and positive viewpoint to estimate the East Asian cultural traditions, and therefore radical constructivism can be anticipated to establish a new viewpoint to recognize the real features of Confucianism that have not been explained well from the viewpoints of modern humanities of the West. About Ken Wilber's integrated paradigm, the structure of the paradigm was researched. Three dimensions of cognition and three eyes correspondent to the dimensions, his points ranging from holon to system of holarchy he devised, four quadrants of truth, the totality, etc., are details of his paradigm. It is sure that his ideas can give some positive perspective to study Confucianism. First, the system of holarchy is very inclusive because it gives a proper place of knowledge not only to natural science but also to humanities or religion. So we must discuss how to decide proper places of Confucian knowledge and culture. At the same time he insisted that objectification of religious truth is necessarily pursued as strict as the objectification of natural scientific knowledge. His insist as like this must be applied to research of Confucianism. Both of the latter two, even though each opinion is not the same, seem to suggest radical solution of problems especially about mankind occurred in the modern civilization. Even though they are not the same in attitudes or methods of acknowledgement of intellectual traditions, for example philosophy, ethics and religions on the both sides of the globe, they are the same that they established directions and styles that mankind have to adopt as their desirable lives in the future just from the traditions. Their ideas must be a new creation of traditions. Faced to these new currents of integrated studies, research of Confucian cultural tradition has to be joined to these currents and therefore they will become methods to make Confucian wisdom more affluent in the context of contemporary haman lives. If there is no reason why we have to stick to Confucianism itself, then construction of new wisdoms that fuses wisdom of Confucianism and other great wisdoms in a context will be allowed.