This is a comparative study between Toegye(1501-1570) and Wang
Yang-ming(1472-1529) from the viewpoint of modern educational
philosophy. We see in both thinker's life and thoughts a
problem-historical developmental process which can be then well
compared and are very fruitful for our contemporary ethical and
educational situation.
In our view, the core message of Yang-ming's thoughts lies in his
emphasis on the unity of knowledge and action with his strong belief on
humanbeing's mind as principle. For him, the intention(意) of human
mind must be the main object of Confucian learning, because it is the
starting point and the origin of the world with its willing power. This
means that his thinking runs the risk of egocentrism and
world-alienation, and Toegye criticized this idea of Yang-ming sharply
from his Li(理)-emphasizing understanding of humanbeing. Because he
saw the danger of human selfish desires and feelings, he wanted to get
a controling criterion of human hsin from its knowing and thinking
power.
It is our conviction that they finally arrived at similar conclusions
of their thoughts, although its starting points were different. Namely,
their Weltanschauung is very comprehensive and synthesizes both spirit
(理) and body(氣), thinking(思) and willing(意), willing and feelings(情)
etc., in one word, transcendence and immanence. Secondly, they both
recognized the intentional dimension of human hsin(心), in Rudolf's
Steiner's concept, the sympathy as the starting power of action. So they
agreed in that our education must be begun with empowering of willing
mind. Thirdly, they acknowledged that the happiness(喜) and joy(樂) as
the ideal condition of hsin can be attained by caring and recognition of
emotional aspect of human hsin. Human mind's feeling can be also
understood as knowing ability, in Steiner's idea, as antipathy,
objectifying power of hsin and intuition and imagination.
The meaning of Toegye's hsin-hak(心學) of piety(敬) and
Yang-ming's hsin-hak of chih liang-chih(致良知) is multidimensional for
our postmodern world, especially for our educational innovation in
developing human ability of acting(行) and being joyful and humane(喜
樂).