유학에서의 즐거움(樂)의 문제에 관하여

Abstract

Today's crisis in humanities is no other than the crisis of humanities in modern universities. This crisis, however, is also related to the current situation in which knowledge is separated from practice, and intellect, from emotion. A harmony between intellect and emotion is necessary for an ideal human life and to understand the nature of joy in Confucianism can be conducive to such a harmony. In a way, Confucianism is about how to realize humanity (jen) through the change and practice of the subject in his earnest efforts to become a sage. On the one hand, Confucianism emphasizes the importance of mindfulness and the resulting hardships; on the other hand, it speaks of the state of true joy that a human can experience through the practice of mindfulness. In other words, while Confucianism puts emphasis on human efforts to lead a moral life even in the middle of economic hardships, it also talks about how a human can experience joy out of encountering the origin of existence or out of his harmonious relationship with nature. Although these two aspects appear different from each other, they are closely interconnected and the Confucian poet-philosopher Toegye is a prime example. While laying much importance on the practice of mindfulness, he also wrote many poems about the true joy a man is to experience when he encounters the origin of existence or has a harmonious relationship with nature.