Young-Chan Ro - The Korean Neo-Confucianism of Yi Yulgok

This book explores the philosophical and religious dimensions of Korean Neo-Confuciansim as expounded by one of the foremost Korean Neo-Confucian thinkers, Yi Yulgok (1536-1584). Yulgoks creative interpretations reformulate some fundamental issues of Confucian philosophy. This book explores the significance of the fundamental assumption which underlies the entire system of Yulgoks Confucian thought. That philosophical assumption is characterized by the author as non-dualistic and anthropocosmic. It is a unique aspect of Korean Neo-Confucianism which leads to a new way of understanding the Confucian world view and spirituality. This non-dualistic vision sheds a new and critical light on the dialectical framework of thinking at work in Western formulations of understanding the ultimate reality, nature, the universe, and human being. The anthropocosmic vision in this respect will challenge fundamental assumptions of Western theological formulation and suggest a new understanding of human nature and the universe. A non-dualistic and anthropocosmic interpretation of Yulgoks thought is a fruitful way of approaching the Korean way of thinking and of coming to grips with one Neo-Confucian mode of attaining human self-understanding.