“位虛理實”의 관점에서 분석한 蘆沙 奇正鎭의 리기론

초록

This paper aims to accurately analyze Nosa Gi Jeong-jin’s theory of li and qi(理氣論) and evaluate its philosophical meaning and significance. The core principle of Nosa’s Neo-Confucian thought is based on his cosmological view that “though the position is empty, principle is full”, which stems from his unique interpretation of the relationship between li(principle) and qi(material force). While he accepts the Zhu Xi orthodoxy that li and qi are conceptually distinguishable but ontologically inseparable, Nosa places particular emphasis on the dominance of li. Concerned that the doctrine of the non-action(無爲) of li might be misunderstood as passivity or powerlessness, he asserts li’s governing role through various analogies. He compares li to a master and qi to a servant, and further likens li to a kind of “productive principle(生理)”, akin to a seed that gives rise to all things. Because of these interpretations, some scholars have classified him as an advocate of “li-only theory(唯理論)” or “li-monism(理一元論)”. However, Nosa never denies the independent reality of qi, and he also acknowledges that the rule of li is a matter of metaphysical necessity, not one of actualized efficacy. Though he claims that li gives birth to qi and the myriad things, this does not imply that li physically produces them. Rather, he means that li serves as their ultimate ontological basis. In conclusion, although Nosa appears to present a novel interpretation of li and qi through new concepts and expressions, the content of his theory does not deviate from the orthodox Zhu Xi tradition. His metaphysics, therefore, cannot be properly characterized as a “li-only” or “li-monist” theory, but should be most appropriate to interpret it as a particular development within the orthodox Zhu Xi framework of li–qi metaphysics.

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