• The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
• /
• no.31
• /
• pp.241-262
• /
• 2011

In this paper we show how the perception of heavenly principle(天理) and definition of individual desires(私慾) in the five commentaries on Daodejing(道德經) was changed over time. The five commentaries on Daodejing(道德經) composed during $Chos{\breve{o}}n$ are 'Sooneon(醇言) by Lee, Yul-gock (李珥,1536~1584), 'SinJoo-DoDuckKyung (新註道德經) - or New Commentary on Daodejing(道德經) - by Park, Se-dang(朴世堂,1629~1703), 'Dodukjigi(道德指歸)' by Suh, Myoung-euing(徐命膺,1716~1787), 'Chowondamro (椒園談老)' by Lee, Chung-ik(李忠翊,1744~1816), and 'Jungro(訂老)' by Hong, Suk-joo (洪奭周,1774~1842). The course of history in understanding the book, "Daodejing(道德經)," demonstrated that by the late of $Chos{\breve{o}}n$ Dynasty in the 18th century, the notion of 'the moral law for the community' has changed. Neither Suh, Myoung-euing nor Lee, Chung-ik emphasized 'the necessity for the truth of the heavens.'Instead, they focused more on the 'individuals' who followed the moral law than the moral law itself. They did not see the individual desire as the object that had to be discarded. Within the context of this framework, the individual's role had changed from the person who had to be obedient to the law to the subject who judged the moral law all by him/herself. This process of breaking up 'the goodness of the community' led the $Chos{\breve{o}}n$ Dynasty of the 18th century in the transition period to the modern era. In other words, it was the time when the introspection of the 'moral law' prevailed in the $Chos{\breve{o}}n$ Dynasty occurred naturally and spontaneously among the Confucian scholars, which implied the reconceptualization of the 'self-awareness' or 'the point of view on the individual's self-desire' was occurred in the context of academic development during the late $Chos{\breve{o}}n$ Dynasty.