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This article investigates two levels of society. The first is the contemporary, contingent, de facto condition of society, as evident especially in the American version of free-market capitalism. The second is a deeper structural condition that is both real (because that is the nature of the structure) and unreal because the contingent state of reality may reflect it poorly. This two-fold approach is inspired by the Neo-Confucian handling of this systemic tension between contingent conditions and deep structure in terms of a "physical nature," and an "original nature." I find the model a rich source of insight for considering virtually any level of living systems, including the entire social-environmental system. Thus I frame this paper as an inquiry into the Original Nature of Contemporary Society. In the end my objective is similar to the heritage of thought surrounding the "original nature": to clarify what is distorted and the sources of the distortion, and to consider strategies of rectification. In contemporary terms, this is a Neo-Confucian reflection on the systemic tensions at the core of the contemporary sustainability crisis and on directions towards their remedy.

Yi T'oegye ($~¥:l 1501-1570) was an eminent Neo-Confucian thinker who established an influential school of philosophy and scholarship in Korea'! T' oegye was also a great spiritual master, although he basically followed a Confucian lifestyle of public service, teaching disciples, and compiling volumes of work. We need to pay more attention to the spiritual depth of Korean Confucianism by discussing T'oegye's religious thought. This article presents T'oegye's interpretation of Confucian self-transcendence, as well as its modern implication for comparative religion. By focusing on his practice of spiritual cultivation, the article discusses how he developed what I consider to be a religious system of ethics and spirituality in light of the Zhu Xi tradition. I include several key examples, such as Heaven's Principle, moral evil, and transcending oneself. I shall interpret T'oegye's major works by using a textual approach, while considering some modern sources. The second section explores the topic in the context of interreligious dialogue. Since today's pluralistic world of religions naturally encourages cooperation and innovation, I propose a Confucian-based mode of interreligious thinking by assimilating T' oegye's experience and insights. This will allow us to discuss the key ongoing issues regarding "the ultimate reality" or "the transcendent." I conclude that the Neo-Confucian vision which I see through my dialogue with T'oegye and modern scholars engages a self-transcending way of wisdom, i.e., a transforming relationship among the world's spiritual traditions. A dialogue between T'oegye's spirituality and the converging core of world religions can enhance the global enterprise of comparative religion. I hope to shed some light on Confucian studies and interreligious dialogue through this article, which is based on a paper I presented at the conference, "Korean Confucianism in the Global Context: In Honor of Tu Weiming's Contributions."

The emergence of sirhak (practical learning] thought is often portrayed as one of the more significant features of the intellectual history of the second half of the Choson dynasty. Yet there is no consensus on exactly what "sirhak" means. Moreover, many of the criteria used to determine whether someone is a sirhak thinker or not appear to be too vague to actually tell us anything about the actual thought of the thinker under examination. Since Tasan Chong Yagyong is generally considered one of the most prominent sirhak thinkers, I analyzed his ethical writings to see if I can identify any distinctive elements in this thinking that we can label "practical." I found a distinctive pragmatic bent in his definitions of virtue and human nature and in his suggestions for how we can become better human beings. I conclude that we need to include ethical philosophy when we examine a Choson dynasty philosopher's writings to see if he merits the title of a sirhak thinker.

I begin by investigating some general characteristics of the ki-worldview, namely, the notions of continuity, wholeness, and dynamism. I argue that these interrelated concepts can serve as an interpretive framework in understanding the Korean Neo-Confucian philosopher So Kyongdok's philosophy of ki. Next, I discuss So's philosophy of ki, and its practical implications focusing on these themes. In concluding, I show via recorded images of So that the notions of continuity, wholeness and dynamism within his philosophy of ki were not mere concepts for him, but rather were an intimate and concrete way of life.

This study analyzes the philosophical aporia which was exposed during the debates that developed amongst Neo-Confucianists during the Choson era, whose positions were based on the philosophical theory of the Zhu Xi School of Thought. Of these various debates, the present study focuses on the discussion amongst the four scholars on the topic of 5 adan eh'ilehiing ([lj flffij-t'tfi, four beginnings and seven emotions )-which includes the debate over the notion of insim tosim (J\A;'i~>L.', human mind and moral mind)-and the arguments over 1m Songju's theory ofyugiron (PfE~~~, ki-holistic Cosmology). The debates between Yi Hwang, whose penname was T'oegye, and 1(1 Taesung, whose penname was Kobong, saw Yi Hwang establish a moral theory while 1(1 Taesung argued about the structural facts around the functions of the heart or mind (JL.', sim). To this end, Yi Hwang introduced a moral argument, or axiological statement, in the form of the theory of saeh'il hobal ([lj-t1L~~~, the mutual arising of the four beginnings and seven emotions), a theory which was in turn based on notions such as those of sad an ibal ([ljilffij=:EI~~, the four beginnings arise from principle (It)) and eh'ilchong kibal (-t'tfi=~~~, the seven emotions arise from material force [kz]). On the other hand, Ki Taesung opposed Yi's theory, arguing that Yi's dualistic presentation could lead to further misunderstanding. For his part, Yi Yi, whose pen name was Yulgok, inherited I(1's perspective in his own debates with Song Hon (penname Ugye). In this regard, Yi Yi argued that Yi Hwang's theory of saeh'il hobal was wrong in that while the seven emotions (eh'ilehoniJ represented the totality of human emotions, the four beginnings (sad an) were special emotions that nevertheless fell under the category of human emotions. On the other hand, Yi Yi asserted that the human mind (insim) and moral mind (tosim) were in fact interconnected, and could be mutually interchanged with one another (~~i1, ehongsz). However, the theory of the mutual interchange between insim-tosim (~~i1~, ehongsiron) presented as a counter-argument to the theory of the mutual arising of the four beginnings and seven emotions (saeh'il hoba~ can be likened to a value-based argumentation, or moral argumentation. This was certainly contradictory, and also represented a case of philosophical aporia. This situation originated from the fact that Zhu Xi's Thought was perceived as a thought based on natural law formed in the medieval period without a proper division of values and facts. In his discussions about the role of human nature (inmulsoni) in Zhu Xi's cosmological theory of Ii-qi (Il.j~U~, principle and material force),l 1m Songju whose penname was Nongmun, emphasized the fact that Zhu Xi's notion of Ijyi fenshu (~~7t7*, universality and particularity) was representative of the universality and particularity that existed in all the myriad of things found in the cosmos. 1m possessed a perspective of cosmology (nature) which regarded the universe as being filled with ki (holistic ki of the cosmos). 1m believed that while the ki (material force) of the universe moves naturally by itself, the power of life (j:~, saenguz), or what could also be referred to as the vitality of life (j:ifp't1, saengmyongsoni), was involved within ki itself. As a result, 1m believed that Zhu Xi's notion of Ii (11., principle) was in effect unnecessary. Meanwhile, based on the original condition of material force or energy, 1m identified ki (material force) as the clearness of original ki (v!~¥flJm:, tamil ch'ongho). However, as ki is not static, what we are in fact seeing is the clearness vs. unclearness of ki (¥flJ1J.jn,~, ch'ongt'ak subak). Therefore, the original condition of ki can be perceived as little more than a form of philosophical demand. Furthermore, 1m argued that i'i/ punsu (Il.~7t7*, one principle and its manifoldness) was the same as ki'il punsu (~--7t7*, one energy and different shapes), and that as such the possibility could not be ruled out that Zhu Xi's Ijyi fenshu (Il.~7t7*) was in fact based on the premise of qjyi fenshu (~~7t7*). As the concept of Ii (11.) indicates principle and ki (~) originally indicates material force, i'il punsu (Il.--7t7*, one principle and its manifoldness), which under the religious-philosophy of the medieval period meant sharing in the divine, is more correctly perceived as Ii. However, as a close relationship exists between Ii and ki within the metaphysical category, one cannot fully deny the veracity of the notion of ki'il punsu (~~-7t7*, one energy different shapes). This is the philosophical aporia of Zhu Xi's li-qi theory that served as the religious philosophy (metaphysics) of the Medieval Era.

During the last century, domestic and foreign scholars alike engaged in diverse discourses on Korean aesthetics. However, the majority of these discussions did not take place as part of specialized academic research, but rather consisted solely of authors' renderings of their intuitive judgment or individual impressions. Furthermore, even when attempts were made to discuss theories relating to Korean aesthetics, the majority of these merely focused on the characteristics of Korean arts, and in particular craft items. As these discussions have been carried out within limited frameworks such as those of the uniqueness or identity of Korean aesthetics, these have to some extent become esoteric in nature. As a result, the theory of Korean aesthetics could not overcome the existing framework in which it emerged as a simple by-product in the study of Korean art history. In this regard, there is a need to expand the sphere of the study of Korean aesthetics by examining it from the standpoint of the wider culture known as humanitarianism. Few examinations of Korean aesthetics as part of studies of ideological and religious notions such as those found in Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, or Shamanism, or even in everyday life, have been undertaken. To this end, this study intends to conduct a reanalysis from the standpoint of Daoist philosophy, or more specifically, of the religious perspectives contained in Daoism, so as to be able to relativize and generalize Korean aesthetics.