• The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
• /
• no.58
• /
• pp.65-96
• /
• 2018

Modern and contemporary humanities and social sciences supported the freedom and abundance of people. Today, however, freedom and abundance do not support human dignity, and are not sustainable. Therefore, we must reflect again on the direction of today's life and civilization. As part of this project, this essay analyzes the modern and contemporary humanities and social sciences and examines the meaning of Korean traditional thoughts. The lines presented to us by Korean traditional thought can be summed up 'the Three Elements of the Universe(Heaven, Earth and Man)' and 'Perfect Harmony between the Soul and the Body' and 'true humanitarianism.' These lines can be a starting point to overcome the problems posed by the lines of freedom and abundance in two contexts : First, while the lines of freedom and abundance today were biased toward the elements of the Earth or the Body, the traditional Korean thoughts have been both elements of the Heaven and the Soul since the beginning, which can therefore serve as a true humanitarian. Second, the true humanitarian line is as much sustainable as it criticizes the uncontrolled freedom and abundance, and seeks the right moderation to become a man of dignity.