• The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
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• no.41
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• pp.71-92
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• 2014

A series of the tragic 16th-century Sahwas sent Toegye into the depths of despair. In the face of the ensuing social disruption in which any criterion or direction is utterly lost, he could not but to reexamine the problem of human nature and good and evil. For Toegye, criterion or direction is connected with Principle, and human nature and the problem of good and evil are related with Mind. In other words, these problems are none other than the question: "As the subject of history and society, how a human being can set principle in a real world and realize it? How one can successfully control his wants and feelings with his rationality?" Toegye proposes that while laws and regulations should be reformed when they are outdated, good laws and regulations are not necessarily to be discarded. He also warns that ideal governance is not likely to be realized if only too conservatives take the lead while radicals, depended upon exclusively, would create too many problems.