• Studies in Philosophy East-West
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• no.95
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• pp.95-120
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• 2020

This study compares Nishi Amane and Choi Han-gi's designs of modern learning in 19th century. Nishi and Choi had a strong belief that human learning had advanced in history. Nishi had gained such an idea of academic progress through Comte's empirical philosophy and Western natural science, on the other hand Choi Han-gi came to the idea of such academic progress through studying Western natural science which was translated to Chinese. However, Nishi and Choi were very different in their acceptance of Western natural science into their academic systems and in designing new modern learning. Two goals of Nishi's modern learning were the division of academic disciplines, and the design of integrated academics by an interconnection of academic disciplines. Nishi divided all disciplines into three larger frameworks of Intellectual Science, Physical Science, and Common Science, and placed detailed subjects within them. In particular, Intellectual Science and Physical Science correspond to today's Humanities and Natural Science. Nishi could effectively achieve the classification of such learning by dividing ri(principle) of Confucianism to the laws of the human world and the laws of the physical world. Nishi tried to pursuit Philosophy by again linking these divided disciplines together. In Nishi's academic methodology, the influence of Comte's philosophy of revealing sociology through the study of the natural sciences was well represented. Choi Han-gi also paid attention to the establishment of integrated learning through the distinction of academic studies and reunion of such disciplines. Choi was not as elaborate as Nishi in terms of division of studies. Whereas Nishi divided the learning into Intellectual Science and Physical Science by the distinction of the law of the physical world and the law of human world, Choi Han-Gi thought that all subjects shared the so-called law of ki(vital force). Nishi thought that the reunification of all learning could be achieved by reconnecting the law of the physical world and the law of the human world. As a result, howerer, Nishi's academic chain, and his philosophy was not successful. After Nishi's thinking, Japanese academic society was dominated by Dualistic concepts such as natural sciences and humanities, subjectivity and objectivity, and Nature and humans. Choi's view of dividing all disciplines with the universal law of ki was more vague than Nishi's one. However, Choi's ki-science, although lacking concreteness, was able to escape the dual cognitive structure that East Asians had since Nishi. It is worth noting that Choe's philosophy leaves possibilities for new modern study.