[맹자]의 자득(自得)과 약여(躍如)의 개념을 통해 본 교육의 본질과 방법 = The Essence and Method of Education through Mencius’ Concepts of Self- appropriation (自得) and Lively Realization (躍如)

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper explores the essence and method of education found in Mencius’s thought, focusing on Chapters 40 and 41 of the Mencius. In Chapter 40, Mencius presents five types of teaching (五敎), each designed for learners of different levels and circumstances. Despite their diversity, these types share one central educational aim: to enable the learner’s self-appropriation (自得) and inner cultivation and transformation (自化).
Chapter 41 further explains how such genuine understanding becomes possible through what Mencius calls lively realization (躍如). In this process, the teacher neither oversimplifies nor imposes the truth on students but fosters conditions that enable them to realize it for themselves. Within this view, the teacher is not a one-way transmitter of knowledge but a guide who nurtures the learner’s intrinsic potential for intellectual and moral growth. The teacher illuminates the essential principles of learning so that students can achieve self-appropriation, but the final moment of realization must arise within the learner.
Through a close analysis of the original text and the interpretations of Song and Yuan Neo-Confucians, this paper argues that Mencius's view of teaching is based on the idea that human nature can change and grow through reflective inquiry, offering enduring insights into the meaning of education and the roles of teachers and learners today.