The Four–Seven Debate of Korean Neo-Confucianism and the Moral Psychological and Theistic Turn in Korean Philosophy

Abstract

This paper discusses how Korean Neo-Confucian philosophers in the Joseon dynasty explained the moral nature of the mind and its emotions. Among the philosophical debates of Korean Neo-Confucianism, the author of the paper focuses on the Four-Seven Debate (a philosophical debate about the moral psychological nature of the four moral emotions and the seven morally indiscrete emotions) to analyze its li-qi metaphysics (a philosophical explanation of the universe through the intricate and interactive relation between the two cosmic processes, li and qi) and its conflicting viewpoints on the moral psychological nature of emotion. Because of the ambiguities and inconsistencies in the Neo-Confucian explanation, specifically those of the Cheng-Zhu schools of Neo-Confucianism on the nature and functions of the mind, Korean Neo-Confucians struggled to bring Neo-Confucian li-qi metaphysics to the moral and practical issues of the human mind and moral cultivation. Later in the Joseon dynasty, some Korean Neo-Confucians discussed the fundamental limitations of li-qi metaphysics and developed their explanations for the goodness of the moral mind and the world from an alternative (i.e., theistic) viewpoint.

Yi Yulgok on the Role of Emotions in Self-cultivation and Ethics: A Korean Confucian and Comparative Interpretation

“…It established a major intellectual agenda for many scholars until the late nineteenth century (Chung 1995). Current scholarship on this topic includes: Kalton et al (1994;a complete translation of the Four-Seven letters), Ching (1985), Tu (1985b), Ivanhoe (2015Ivanhoe ( , 2016, Seok (2018), Kim (2015), Chung (1995: a comparative study of Toegye and Yulgok) Chung (1998), Chung (2019b: on the history, philosophy, and spirituality of the Four-Seven debate), Chung (2021: chapter 4). 7 For the locus classicus listing of the Four and the Seven, see nn.…”

“…1 For current scholarship focusing on Yulgok and Korean Neo-Confucianism, consult Ro (1989) and (2019) (a new anthology including two articles on Yulgok), Kalton et al (1994) (includes Yulgok's Four-Seven debate letters), Lee (2006), H. Kim (2018), Chung (1995; (chapters on Yulgok's Four-Seven debate and self-cultivation), 1998, 2019a). The current literature on Korean Neo-Confucianism, Yi Toegye (李退溪, 1501-1570, and Yi Yulgok includes Kalton (1988Kalton ( , 2019aKalton ( , 2019b, Kalton et al (1994), Ro (2019), H. Kim (2015), Ivanhoe (2015Ivanhoe ( , 2016, Seok (2018), de Bary and Kim Haboush (1985), Keum (1998), Chan (1985), Ching (1985), Tu (1982Tu ( , 1985b, and Chung (1995Chung ( , 2010aChung ( , 2010bChung ( , 2011aChung ( , 2011bChung ( , 2015Chung ( , 2016Chung ( , 2019aChung ( , 2019c, Chung (2020; on Korean Yangming Neo-Confucianism), Chung (2021; a new book on Yi Toegye's moral-religious thought). For works in East Asian languages, see Abe (1977), Song (1987), Hwang (1987), Geum (1980, Yi (1986), and so on.…”

Introduction: Emotions (Jeong/Qing 情) in Korean Philosophy and Religion

“…38 For current scholarship on the Korean Four-Seven debate, see Kalton et al 1994;Chung 1995(Introduction), 2019b(in Ro 2019, 2021. For various articles, see Ching 1985;Ivanhoe 2015Ivanhoe , 2016Hyoungchan Kim 2015;Seok 2018;Tu 1985b. Chung (1995 is a full-length comparative discussion of Toegye and Yulgok in terms of the Four-Seven thesis.…”

“…See Chung 1995Chung , 2019b; for a full translation of Toegye's and Yulgok's Four-Seven letters, see Kalton et al 1994. 59 YJ 10: 5a; I, 198. For articles on the Korean Four-Seven debates, see Ching 1985 (on Yulgok); Ivanhoe 2015Ivanhoe , 2016Hyoungchan Kim 2015;Seok 2018;Tu 1985b (on Toegye). For Chung's comprehensive discussion, see Chung 1995 (both Toegye andYulgok), 1998 (on Yulgok), 2019b (updated on Toegye, Yulgok, and their schools of thought), and 2021 (Toegye's religious thought).…”

“…1.2), 2019b, 2021 (a new book on Toegye's ethics and spirituality). For various articles, see Ching 1985; de Bary and Haboush 1985;Ivanhoe 2015Ivanhoe , 2016Hyoungchan Kim 2015;Seok 2018;Tu 1985b. Furthermore, Toegye's Four-Seven letters are included in Yi Toegye (1985), Toegye jeonseo (hereafter abbrevi-Their unique common goal was how to understand and explain the self rationally, psychologically, morally, and spiritually.…”