Abstract
Yi Hwang 李滉 (1501–1570), also known as Yi T’oegye 李退溪, was a prominent Korean scholar of Confucian philosophy during the Chosŏn 朝鮮 dynasty. He reinterpreted the Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130–1200) school of neo-Confucianism, taking reverent seriousness (kyŏng 敬) as the core principle of his philosophy. He studied various symptoms observed in the human mind and suggested the notion of reverent seriousness as a primary therapeutic method. His theory of kyŏng proposed the stages of philosophical therapy, which are uniquely found in Eastern philosophy and are clearly distinct from Western theories of philosophical therapy. As the methodology for such a therapy, he examined the study of “not-yet-aroused and already-aroused” (weifa yifa 未發已發) while seeking unification with the Way of Heaven. The study of quiet-sitting (jingzuo 靜坐) and reading (dushu 讀書), which he applied to his therapy, is included in the general category of holistic therapy based on “abiding by kyŏng” (kŏkyŏng 居敬), translating into wide-ranging therapeutic effects.
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Kang, J. Yi T’oegye’s Reverent Seriousness (Kyŏng) and Philosophical Therapy. Dao 14, 107–128 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11712-014-9419-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11712-014-9419-5