無我의 행위자가 지니는 실천윤리학적 의의 -초기 유가행 유식학파의 공성 인식을 중심으로-

Abstract

This paper aims to explore the implications of 'the moral agent', one of the key concepts in Western ethics, through the 'sugṛhitā śūnyatā', or perception of the anātman which is inherited from the 「Bodhisattvabhūmi」, a comprehensive treatise by the Buddhist Yogācāra school. 「Bodhisattvabhūmi」 is the earliest documentation of the bodhisattva concept, which is predicated on the understanding and value of śūnyatā. Therefore, the main goal of the discussion is to examine the moral usefulness of the Buddhist tradition through the embodiment of the concept of the agent through the embodiment of śūnyatā, as well as the retention of the concept of the agent within the scope of consequentialist ethics, and to examine the compatibility of the Buddhist tradition with practical ethical discussions of various contemporary issues. First, I compared and analyzed the concepts of the Impartial Spectator and the Agent of anātman based on consequentialism. The concept of the 'Impartial Spectator' as a consequentialist realizer of an agent-neutrality line, who does not take the individual actor's domain as the basis for evaluation when assessing the context of the situation as a whole, is presented as a moral agent concept that embodies the ethics of practice debate. Second, I explored the possibility of establishing the concept of the ‘Buddhist Ethical Agent’ implicit in the concept of the agent of anātman. The main purpose of this paper is to recall the ethical identity of Buddhist anātman theory and to attempt to establish the concept of the Buddhist ethical agent within contemporary ethical discussions. In conclusion, the content of Buddhist ethical practice, which is possible at the boundary of anātman-awareness, and the concept of agent required by consequentialist ethics, can be seen as quite similar in terms of the structure of thought that they aim at, if compared from the perspective of the agentic subject. The bodhisattva as a Buddhist ethical agent can be defined as an agent who has stepped into the world while remaining aware of the tathātā, and as a consequentialist realizer who aims to maximize the value of considering the whole being.