• Journal of Korean Philosophical Society
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• no.115
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• pp.1-29
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• 2016

I will critically argue the Mencian idea of sharing pleasure with the people in the light of happiness as emotion. Happiness as a subjective mental state can make troubles with good life in being at odds with real lives. Thus, what pursues genuine happiness goes back to a classical question of how one ought to live for good life over the subjective mental state. For this, I will focus on concepts of 'pleasure alone (tongnak)' and 'sharing pleasure with the people(yeomin-dongnak)', which can be seen in the dialogue between Mencius and King Xuan of Qi. I will show that king Xuan's pleasure as subjective happiness has discord with his good life because of the hierarchy of his desire. I will explain how to unify good life with pleasant one by the idea of sharing pleasure with the people provided by Mencius and examine certain dynamics of sympathy and mutual understanding under solidarity. Moreover, I will investigate how such power of sympathy as compassion can be connected with sharing pleasure with the people. Compassion and yeomin-dongnak can be captured by the golden rule of a measure to gauge others(shu). I will delve into how to differ from one another and summarize Confucian idea of yeomin-dongnak as happiness in terms of the theoretical frame related to good life(welfare). I briefly conclude how subjective happiness can contribute to making our lives better.

• Nuclear industry
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.12-15
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• 2016

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.281-287
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• 2020

Dasan(茶山) Jeong Yak-yong wrote many works in various fields. His ideas and philosophy formed a mountain range. First, his aesthetic ideas improved from Dam(淡) to Dam(澹;light), and further to Dam (膽;courage). Because Dasan had the courage to make changes, this was possible. Second, Dasan has the aesthetic idea of Yun(韻). This can be seen in his life pursuing the quaint. Because Dasan was unable to participate in reality due to exile, so he was able to create our culture through many writings. First, Un-Rim-San-Bang(雲林山房) in Sochi Heoyu is the origin of our Namjong Literary Painting, and its origin is Dasan. Second, Dasan pursued Silhak(實學), and applies it to reality. It is Silsagusi(實事求是). Thirdly, Dasan pursued Enjoying Together with People(與民同樂). Aesthetics ideas of Dasan showed the Korean characteristics.

• Sijohaknonchong
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• v.22
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• pp.143-171
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• 2005

Sip and Byul-Gok (New tunes), as folks musics, are musical concepts opposite to that of the Court musics. They have the tunes. typical and universal. and Byul-Gok for singing. has the words in which the properties of melodies in the structures of compositions are reflected harmoniously. The Song. or Shiga. in Koryo-Sa, History of Koryo. Acjee and Acjanggasa. named ByulGok. is divided into two types. according to the characteries of the forms.: Koryo Sokyo. or the folk songs in Koryo. such as Chengsanbylulgok. and Segyoungbyulgok. and Kyonggichega, or nobility songs in Koryo and Chosen Dynasty. such as Hallimbyulgok. Kwandongbyulgok. and Jucgyebyulgok. In addition. Gasa. or the nobility and folk songs in Chosen Dynasty. such as K wandongbyulgok. also has the title. Byul-Gok. Even though these types of the songs have the same tittle. Byul-Gok, it is not appropriate that Byul-Gok is used as a term described as a branch of the literature: in light of music. they have the properties in common in the sense that they are opposite to the Court music. but. in light of literature. their forms are very different from one another. Therefore, it is appropriate that they are classified according to the characteristics of the forms, winters, the ideology of people who enjoy them, and periods: Sokyo, Kyonggichega, and Gasa. Byul-gok means not only the folks songs opposite to the court musics, but also the songs by setting words to the melodies present. Orignal tunes and their new tunes are not different musical compositions, but the same ones with the melodies which Korean acquired transcendentally. It is general tendency, at those times, that after compositions were made, words are set to them. Such words represent the politic thought in which courtesy and music are considered important. and the spirit with which the ruler and the people enjoy together.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.38
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• pp.126-152
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• 1999

The social welfare system in modern world is generally recognized as the most effective measure against the social problems in capitalist societies. When a social welfare program is introduced to solve a social problem, however, it used to cause another new problem at the same time. In order to overcome this circularity, we need to consider not only quantitative but also the qualitative aspect of social welfare. In line with this problematic, this thesis tries to examine the social welfare thoughts in Confucianism in order to rethink the meaning of social welfare. In contrast to the modern social welfare as a social right, the social welfare in Confucianism was basically regarded as the grace of a king whose purpose was to legitimate his domination. But it was also based upon Confucian humanism and institutionalized into the Confucian govern mentality. It was practiced through the Confucian communality whose basic concept lies in the traditional family system. The social welfare in this society was to be fulfilled automatically by promoting the production and by consolidating the solidarity of the community. The social intervention, therefore, was principal1y indirect and preventive rather than direct and postfactum. The social welfare supports in Confucian societies included not only the material but also the psychological. In these senses, it sounds like that the Confucian welfare system reached the very high standard. Although the real practice should be cautiously differentiated from its ideal state, we may find interesting implications from the social welfare thoughts in Confucianism.

• The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
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• no.27
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• pp.167-196
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• 2009

The king-vassal-subject relation in neo-confucianism can be elucidated in their status context as well as in their communicative context. In their status context, there are two aspects of power such as sovereignty and rule. Chu-zhi thinks that subjects are nobler than king in the aspect of sovereignty, but the relation is reversed in the aspect of ruling power. These two relaitions are not contradictory, but compatible. When ruling power operates, he thinks, king, vassals and word-watching officials(諫官) must check each other. In their communicative context, there are theories of sympathy and public discourse. Sympathy consists of moral sympathy through virtue politics and emotional sympathy through enjoying together. Chu-zhi finds a theoretical basis of public discourse in the place where heavenly principle meets with human mind. Public discourse is to search for common good. Institutional arrangements for public discourse are the official's rights to open and free speech. He thinks that word-watching officials must be speech leaders.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.37
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• pp.441-471
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• 2009

Both in the East and the West, the most classical question in political philosophy was 'what is truly a good life?' 'Good life' and 'good politics' are thus essentially tied together. Mencius (孟子, B.C385-303/302) was not exception to this belief. It is not an exaggeration that his Mencius, the treatise that encapsulates his whole views, begins and ends with good life and good politics. He began with new definitions of good life and politics and the rest elaborates why they are so. This paper attempts to systematically approach to what Mencius thinks as a good life in terms of political thoughts. Confucius, his intellectual mentor, asserted that the most humane human life is a civilized life and it means to realize the value of 'Yin (仁: Grace)' and thus set his good life from previous ones. Mencius concurred that Confucius's explication of the good life was right. Moreover, he argued that to realize this, political practice should follow. The 'good life' for Mencius consists of 1) the life in which the ruler does not monopolize joy but shares it with people, that is '$Y{\breve{o}}mindongrak$(與民同樂)' or '$Y{\breve{o}}minhaerak$(與民偕樂)' and 2) the life, based on this political foundation, that pursues the life of 'Five Ethics (五倫)' in which each individual member of society has its share in it. Mencius discussed about 'Four Virtues (四德)', the essential goodness of human, confirmed by 'Four Clues (四端)' to talk about the possibility of realizing the good life. On the other hand, he devised the political device of '$YinJ{\breve{o}}ng$ (仁政: Gracious Politics)' as a practical tool for it. Furthermore, he asserted 'Good people theory (養民論)' as the first condition for the good politics, '$YinJ{\breve{o}}ng$' and 'Education of people theory (敎民論)' as the final one. As Mencius inherited Confucius effort for a good life with the theory of '$YinJ{\breve{o}}ng$', the so-called Zhuxi scholars inherited his as 'Sugichiin (修己治人: cultivate yourself and then order society)' after 1500.

• The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
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• no.57
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• pp.91-125
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• 2018

This study aims at attempting to make a new interpretation of Mencius from the point of social welfare. The thoughts of social welfare, found from Mencius, are temporal and humanistic and near to those in nowadays. Social welfare began under the name of philanthropic work, relief work, charitable work or social work from the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century on. Welfare means the whole social activities such as satisfying the fundamental desires of the social members, ensuring the conditions of their lives, and ultimately achieving social integration and stability. It means the conditions of their lives and wellbeing. Wellbeing means the minimal physical desires and psychological stability. The realization of the economic system through concept of steady livelihood and steady mind, tax system and well-field system, proposed by Mencius, can be ensured by the whole social activities such as ensuring the stable lives of the social members, enriching and satisfying their happiness and ultimately achieving social integration and stability. The thoughts of Mencius include people-as-root idea, which regards people as most important and tries to solve the instability and inequality that are the structural vulnerabilities in modern capitalist society. His concept of Way of the king means promoting people's sense of happiness through education of morality, based upon the people-as-root idea and filial and fraternal responsibilities. The main ideas of social welfare include living like a human being, ensuring minimal physical and psychological stabilities through social welfare system and welfare policy, enriching human dignity and freedom and enhancing the quality of lives. The thoughts of Mencius include all the above ideas. In particular, he desired to establish ethically and morally stable society by economically implementing the well-field system in Zhou dynasty, based upon politically benevolent governance of the politicians. That society was the people-as-root society, the realization of which was the ideal society Mencius desired to establish, and the goal of his thoughts on social welfare. This study, among the thoughts of Mencius, investigated his ideas on social welfare and the practical ethics for applying them to real society. In addition, to understand his ideas on social welfare, not only the social and economic backgrounds and conditions but also the political ideas at that time were also investigated. This will provide the opportunity to make more in-depth research of the elements of social welfare intrinsically contained in his thoughts.