Oriental Thought and Unified Science

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

After reading Full Circle, I was so much impressed that it was the beginning moment for both civilizations of the East and the West to start to melt together and remain in harmony themselves. I have only a slight knowledge of the history of natural science, but I understand the historical and fundamental backgrounds of natural science, which is advocated and developed mostly by the western countries, throght my consecutive studying and teaching in physics.
As an oriental, I am sure that up to my father's generation all intellectuals learned such subjects as polities, economics, religion, literature and natural science based on oriental philosophy. Although I am align from my fathers' way of thinking in intellectual fields, naturally my way of living, viewpoint and personality have been brought about under the same philosophical influence as our ancestors. Benefited by the consequence with which oriental thoughts are oblized, I find the similar thoughts hidden in Full Circle; thus, it seems to me, in fact, that the philosophy, civilization, way of life, religion and politics which are enjoyed by the orient are in harmony with the thought of Unified Science.
Oriental thought was not originally divided into scientific culture and literary culture. This consequence is esentially due to the beginning point of oriental thought which unify the whole phenomena of man and nature. It is known that the first legendary Emperor of China, Fu-I, derived the idea of world creation and the Yellow Emperor, Huang-Ti deried the theories of the dual power of Yin and Yang and the five elements. Lao-Tze and Confucius, the famous philosophers six centuries before Christ, arranged and systemized the oriental thoughts up to their time in their books. The book of change, Chou-I, which was originally described by Confucius and lately supplemented by Che-Tze mentions that gentleman is such a man that his virtue is consistent with heaven and earth, his brightness with sun and moon, his order with four seasons, and his fate with spirit.
Moreover this oriental thought has not only reigned over the spiritual power of our ancestors without any remarkable changes in its ruling principles, but also has been very active in our oriental subconsciousnesss.
The original point of our oriental thought started from Taoism, the principle of which is to form a picture of the cosmogony or philosophy of the origin of the world. In other words, the conception of Taoism is similar to the following quotation out of St. John's Gospel,)chap 1, verse 1) "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God." To express it in more familiar terms, the conception of Tao is the Way, and is also subdivied into the other as an indivisible entity. The following is quoted from Lieh-tze, the oldest author who proposed a creation theory. "……starts from chaos, in which the three primary elements of the universe, force, form and sub-stance were still undivided. The first stage is followed by a second, the great inception, when force becomes separated, then by a third, the great beginning, when form appears and a fourth, the great homogeneity, when substance becomes visible. The light and pure substance rise above and form heaven, the heavier and coarser sink down and produce the earth."