초록 열기/닫기 버튼
순자는 현실 세계의 경험을 바탕으로 사회정치적 목표를 설정하고, 그 원인을 인간의 ‘성’에서 찾는 이론 틀을 구축했다. 그가 말하는 ‘선’과 ‘악’은 ‘천하의 치란’과 관련된 것이며, ‘성왕’과 ‘예의’의 존재의의와 적극적인 역할을 정당화시키기 위해 요청된 것이다. 순자가 지향하는 사회정치적 실천 목표는 ‘인위적 질서관’에 입각해 인간과 그 욕망을 ‘분(分)’에 따라 철저히 차별화하고 통제함으로써, 다가올 통일된 천하에서 치자[君主ㆍ士君子]가 피치자를 효율적으로 지배하는 것이다. 이것은 『순자』 전 편에 걸쳐 일관된 철학이다. 순자 심성론의 의의는 그가 종래에 맹자가 주장해 온 ‘자연적 질서관’과 『장자』의 ‘천인분리론(天人分離論)’ 및 묵가의 ‘비유론(非儒論)’ 등을 비판하고, 군주와 사군자를 주체로 하는 ‘인위적 질서관’을 확립하려고 했다는 데 있다.
Xunzi had set its socio-political ideals based on experience from the practical world and formulated a philosophical framework that seeks the origin of contemporary issues in human nature. Xunzi’s notion of “good” and “evil” is related to the order and chaos of All-under-Heaven. It was conceived to legitimatize the raison d'être and the pivotal role of the “sage-kings” and “ritual and righteousness.” The sociopolitical goal of Xunzi was to take “the concept of artificial order” as a ground to control and discriminate humans and their desires rigidly with the means of “classification.” This was to aid the ruling class (rulers, service-gentlemen) in ruling the ruled, uniformly and efficiently, in the anticipated new era. This line of thought runs consistently throughout the entirety of Xunzi. The significance of Xunzi’s theory on “human nature” is that it criticized previous discourses such as Mengzi’s thought on the “concept of natural order,” Zhuangzi’s thought on the “division between the natural and the artificial,” and Mozi’s “criticism on Confucians.” It is also in that it yearned to establish an “artificial order,” in which the ruler and service-gentlemen are the principal agents.
키워드열기/닫기 버튼
Xunzi, Evil Nature, Artificial Order, Ritual and Righteousness, Classification
