Hong Won-Sik  Michael Bujold  Young-ki You

10.18399/acta.2011.14.2.002

Confucianism environmental ecology anthropocentric view of nature view of nature rooted in the unity of heaven and man Yi Hwang Yi Yi Hong Taeyong Ch’oe Han’gi

Many scholars have sought to find the fundamental causes of the current environmental and ecological crisis in the anthropocentric view of nature and the mechanical view of the world. In this regard, there has been a gradual increase in the number of scholars who, during the process of searching for alternative views of nature and the world, have paid attention to Asian philosophies. In particular, attention has been paid to the view of nature rooted in the unity of heaven and man, organic view of nature, and life-ismbased view of the world. Certain studies have dealt with the philosophies of Korean Confucian scholars such as Yi Hwang, Yi Yi, Hong Taeyong, and Ch’oe Han’gi from the standpoint of environmental ecology. However, the number of such studies remains limited, and the approach employed in such studies has been restricted to the general characteristics of Confucian thought. However, the claim that Confucian thought is fundamentally limited as an anthropocentric ethical philosophy is one that is difficult to refute. The analysis of the ecological discourses within Confucianism and Korean Confucianism should not be limited to the development of alternative ecological thought, but also focus on practical applications such as the establishment of ecological politics and economics, as well as the abstinence of desire.