Toegye’s Philosophy as Practical Ethics: A System of Learning, Cultivation, and Practice for Being Human

Yi Hwang was a Korean scholar who further developed Neo- Confucianism on the foundation of Zhu Xi's philosophy. However, when some of the Neo-Confucian concepts and logic found in Zhu Xi's philosophy are applied to Yi Hwang's theoretical framework, the following problems arise: (1) his emphasis on Xinjing fuzhu (Selected Scriptures on the Mind-Heart with Notes) and personality cultivation is rather inclined towards Yangming's philosophy; (2) the concept of the issuance of i defies the very definition of i; (3) and the interpretation of Heaven as a transcendental being is highly controversial. Yi Hwang suggested that the ultimate Neo-Confucian goal is to practice its ideology in everyday life. This affected the formation of his theory and thus causes these problems. Consequently, one cannot discuss the merits of Yi Hwang's simseong theory without examining his cultivation theory. Toegye's Philosophy was produced in the course of dynamic theoretical interaction where one's learning is combined with cultivation and culminates in practice. Therefore, pursuit of practice is the main constituent, not an obstacle, to the completion of Toegye's philosophy. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]