This thesis is an attempt to understand Yulgok's Hsin-lon, which is the foundation of Yulgok's philosophical thought. The significance of this attempt lies in the fact that his Hsin-lon paves the way for the full comprehension of the ultimate aim of Y...
This thesis is an attempt to understand Yulgok's Hsin-lon, which is the foundation of Yulgok's philosophical thought. The significance of this attempt lies in the fact that his Hsin-lon paves the way for the full comprehension of the ultimate aim of Yulgok's philosophy, that is the completion of sheng-hs.eh(聖學). Such aim is after all achieved by suyang(修養) and theory of moral education(工夫論).
In an effort to achieve this purpose, the first chapter of this thesis focuses on Ikilon(理氣論), which is the metaphysical and theoretical ground of Yulgok's Hsin-lon. The second chapter provides a discussions of the main theme of Yulgok's Hsin-lon, such as 'how shall we overcome the limitation of kijil(氣質), which is the origin of our desire?' The final chapter deals with Yulgok's theory of suyang-theory of moral education(修養工夫論), the core of which consists in kyokijilgek Sugilon(矯氣質的修己論).
Above all, Yulgok teachs us through his theory of suyang-theory of moral education(修養工夫論) that 'we should recognize the principle of our moral nature given to us, improve that nature, and cultivate our mind so that our mind should act according to that principle.' This thesis is concluded with suggestions for the study of Yulgok's Hsin-lon to be significant and useful in this age of materialism, rather than anachronistic.