Lu Cheng i

Abstract

Concerning the 18^th century Korean Confucians’ “Ho-Rak Debate,” “the difference of mind and physical matter” as the sub-topic of “whether there is physical nature before issuance (未發氣質之性有無)” was issued, and it derived the question “the difference of saint’s and commoner’s minds.” Regarding these issues, Yi Gan quoted and interpreted Zhu Xi’s note of “luminous virtue (明德)” in The Commentary on The Great Learning (大學章句) to illustrate the significance of “original mind (本然之心)” in moral practice. However, it was criticized by Han Won-jin.

This article, under the premise that mind is material force (氣), studies Yi-Han’s debates to point out two possible moral problems of Zhu Xi’s theory, which are (1) the explanation of the heterogeneity of the good, (2) the explanation of “moral universalism.” This article also clarifies that Han’s statement was in accordance with Zhu Xi’s theory in the issue of “difference of mind and physical matter,” however his inclination will make Zhu Xi’s theory fall into the predicament of “determinism.”

Keywords: Zhu Xi, luminous virtue, original mind, the heterogeneity of the good, moral universalism