• Journal of Korean Philosophical Society
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• no.121
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• pp.1-24
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• 2018

The aim of this paper is to expound upon the concept of mental health and disease in Plato. In ancient Greece, philosophy was to care for the health of the soul and to pursue the happiness of the life, while medicine was to care for the health of the body. It is the role of philosophy that defines what the mental disease is, rather than the realm of medicine, and the practical function of philosophy is the life of caring for our souls. In order to take care of the soul, it is important to diagnose what the mental disease is and where it comes from. In ancient Greek, medicine disease was initially regarded as a divine punishment and healing as, quite literally, a gift from the gods. Plato, however, insists that mental illness is not just brain problem but a human whole problem, (2) it is caused by imbalance and discord, and (3) ignorance is also a mental disease, (4) and furthermore, injustice and vice are mental diseases as well. Therefore Plato argues that the aim of philosophy is to practice a virtue as the mental health and further to achieve political justice to maintain the health of the soul.

• Journal of Korean Philosophical Society
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• v.130
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• pp.219-246
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• 2014

Do the particular good and the common good stand in relation of opposition or superiority each other? With regard to this question, some argue that the relevant Thomas texts reveal the superiority of the common good over the particular good, while others argue for the superiority of the particular good. The argument of this articles is, however, that closer examination of texts shows that Thomas Aquinas seeks to the unity of the common good and the particular good instead of seeing the conflict between them. It is true that Thomist moral and political theory emphasizes the value of the individual, but it should be noted that for Thomas the individual as individual does not exist, but shares specific formal determination with other members of the same species and, therefore, is the individualized, concrete universal. Good, meanwhile, means perfection which each being pursues and a thing is called good in the absolute sense when it actualizes its potentialities as a whole. An individual person is said to pursue only partial good, if it only seeks its perfection as an individual. The nature of individual person should be fully realized only in and through the community pursuing the common good. But the aim of living together which is rooted in the nature of human being as a rational being is for its members to live virtuously. The political community is said to try to bring its individual members to perfection, since the virtues are what renders human beings and their acts good. In this sense the particular good of the individual person is achieved through the pursuit of the common good and the common good is realized through the pursuit of the particular good so that they coincide each other. But this unity remains imperfect, when it would not be rightly ordered to its due end which is non other than the highest good, that is God. Accordingly the goodness of the human being in an absolute sense lies in the unity of the particular good and the common good rightly oriented towards the highest good, which is also called common good which every being pursues.

• The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
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• no.43
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• pp.107-139
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• 2014

Tasan Chong Yak-yong has criticized Zhu Xi's metaphysical viewpoints of human being. Therefore he revealed his viewpoint of human being and the theory of moral practice through his thoughts about the Lord of Heaven and human nature with spiritual inclination toward goodness. He has drawn the Lord of Heaven into Confucianism again. Heaven as the Lord endows human being with a nature that enjoys virtues and detests vices. It watches human being's good and evil. Here we can say Heaven is a outer efficient cause of moral behavior. According to Tasan, human being has its own 'self directed weight'自主之權 so that he can make a judgment and decision about what to do. Therefore we have to do manifest this moral inclination which is a inner efficient cause of moral behavior. That is to say, we must follow the order of daoxin道心 inside our mind. If we did go against it, our mind would be uncomfortable. Now through the method of so-called shu恕 we need to put filial piety孝 fraternal respect弟 compassion慈 into practice. These three moral practices represent the spirit of reciprocity in Confucianism. These lead us to make an achievement of ren仁, representative virtue in the theory of moral practice. Our moral practice means the fulfillment of humanity. This is the way to serve Heaven. Tasan insists that theses are the core thoughts of Confucius and Mencius.