Yi Gan’s Inclination Toward The Learning Of The Mind-Heart In The 18th Century: A Comparison With Wang Yangming’s Mind-Heart Philosophy

Abstract

The study of Joseon 朝鮮 Neo-Confucianism has recently given some attention to an inclination toward the Learning of the Mind-Heart (xinxue 心學), and Yi Gan 李柬 (1677–1727) is at the center of this research. He was an outstanding disciple of Gwon Sang-ha 權尙夏 (1641–1721) and a successor to the philosophical spirit of the Yulgok 栗谷 School; he is renowned for initiating the Horak 湖洛 Debate through his controversies with Han Won-jin 韓元震 (1682–1751). In “A Thesis on the Not-Yet-Aroused State,” Yi asserted that the mind-heart is purely good, basing his argument on the doctrine that “li 理 and qi 氣 are actualized as the same entity, and the mind-heart and nature are united as one.” Han Won-jin criticized this assertion as belonging to the Lu-Wang 陸王 School of Neo-Confucianism, and in fact, Yi Gan’s arguments were, in some aspects, consistent with Wang Yangming’s 王陽明 philosophy of the mind-heart. Indisputably, however, Yi Gan was an ardent follower of Zhu Xi’s 朱熹 philosophy. In this case, Yi Gan’s inclination toward the Learning of the Mind-Heart may perhaps be viewed in the tradition of the Learning of the Way (daoxue 道學), which emphasized self-cultivation and practice, a distinct feature of Joseon Neo-Confucianism.