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Finding God in the Classics: The Theistic Confucianism of Dasan Jeong Yagyong

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Abstract

Dasan Jeong Yagyong (1762–1836) is regarded in South Korea today as one of pre-modern Korea’s best philosophers. This article examines one of the reasons he is so respected. He modified traditional Korean Confucian moral philosophy to include notions of human nature as desires rather than innate virtue, the importance of free will rather than mere determination, and the existence of a Lord Above as a necessary incentive to proper behavior. Though he supported these changes to traditional Korean Confucian philosophy with references to the Classics and his own personal moral experience, observers have noticed the possibility of Western influence on his thinking. He is thus hailed by Koreans as a cross-cultural philosopher, an example of how Koreans can borrow from the West while nonetheless remaining authentically Korean.

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  1. Department of Asian Studies, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, V6T 1Z2

    Don Baker

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  1. Don Baker
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Correspondence to Don Baker.

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Baker, D. Finding God in the Classics: The Theistic Confucianism of Dasan Jeong Yagyong. Dao 12, 41–55 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11712-012-9303-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11712-012-9303-0

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