The Review of Korean Studies
- P-ISSN1229-0076
- E-ISSN2773-9351
- SCOPUS, ESCI
ISSN : 1229-0076
From Nature to Morality in Emerson and Yi Hwang's Literature
Abstract
This paper examines Yi Hwang’s and Emerson’s ideas of nature and morality in their poems and essays, points of intersection in their respective ideas and their similar attitudes towards nature, how they combined nature with human morality, the basis of their reasoning, and finally, the social implications of their thought. Emerson, in the newly rising America of the 19th century, claimed that every individual could become a subject of universal morality by realizing the holistic harmony of nature in himself. This was to become the basis of early American constitutionalism, which tended to function as an external regulator of moral behavior. Yi Hwang insisted that we could become moral subjects by internalizing the fundamental harmony of nature, as he was critical of the corruption of the 16th century Joseon government officials. Both scholars believed that the harmony and order found in nature was the root of human society; and that we could take part in the harmony and order as members of the universe. Both of these authors have insight about how the individual gains his own reason for being, how he endows himself with the meaning of life. It is the only way to comprehend the meaning of life in a world that appears meaningless.
- keywords
- nature, morality, Emerson, Yi Hwang, fundamental harmony
Reference
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Universal Pattern,
Psycho-physical energy,
Great Absolute,
Neo-Confucianism,
Yi Hwang,
Tosan JeonSeo,
12 Songs of Mt. Tosan,
Flying falcon, vaulting fish,
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