洪大容의 經世論과 科學的 世界觀

Abstract

인간은 역사적 존재이며, 철학적 사유도 그러한 역사성을 지니고 이루어지는 인간의 지적 활동이다, 그러므로 한 시대의 철학사상은 그 시대적, 역사적 제약, 즉 경제기초와 경제의 발전에 따른 변화상을 논외로 하고서는 규명될 수 없을 것이다. 인간의 관념이나 사상은 한 시대의 정치, 경제, 사회와 밀접한 관련을 지니고 이루어지기 때문이다. 특히 임란과 병란이라는 민족적 시련을 겪은 후에 발생, 발전하는 조선 후기 실학은 도학사상의 규범화와 교조화에 따라 사고의 자율성이 제약받고, 형식화 내지 관념화하는 주자학의 풍토를 반성하고, 그것이 조선후기 사회가 직면하고 있던 현실 문제의 해결에 무능함을 자각한데서 이루어진 개방적이고 진보적인 학풍이었다. 또한 그것이 실학이라 명명될 수 있었던 원인도 시대적 요구에 더욱 충실하려는 태도에서 연원한 것이라 볼 수 있을 것이다. 해방 이후, 더 거슬러 올라가면 1930년대 이후, 한국 문화와 사상에 대한 자각과 반성에 기초하여 한국학 방면의 연구가 활발히 진행되고, 특히 실학사상에 대한 관심이 고조되었던 것도 실학의 현실 극복 노력에 주목하였기 때문이었다. 조선후기 사회는 흔히 중세 사회 해체기로 지칭되는데, 그 해체의 양상은 학문, 사회, 경제 등 제 분야에 걸쳐서 다발적 양상을 띠고 나타나며, 아울러 상호 유기적 연관하에서 노정된다. 실제로 조선 후기에는 광작의 출현, 금속화폐의 유통, 토지의 상품화, 농민층과 농촌 사회의 분화, 신분질서의 문란 등이 야기되어 사회, 경제적으로 전단계와 질적으로 확연히 다른 단계에 처해 있음을 알 수 있다. 이와 같은 조선 후기의 사회적 변동과 더불어 발생하는 학풍이 실학이다. 이것은 실용주의와 실사구시를 추구하는 청조(淸朝)의 학술 경향과 서양의 과학적 진보에 접할 수 있었던 환경, 그리고 이학(理學, 道學)을 빙자하여 공리공론(空理空論)을 일삼는 당시 속유(俗儒)들의 피상적 태도의 지각이라는 학문의 내적 변화와 아울러 학문 외적변화, 즉 사회, 경제적 변화가 맞물려 작용되었던 것으로 보아야 할 것이다. 본고의 목적은 18세기 조선 사회의 제반 해체 양상에 주목하여, 경제론적 측면에서 중세사회의 변화가 담헌사상의 전개에 어떻게 작용했으며, 시대적 난관에 직면하여 담헌을 어떻게 대응하였는지를 고찰함과 동시에, 과학적 세계관의 측면에서 주자성리학과의 연관관계 및 과학적이고 교조화된 주자학에서 그의 세계관이 어떻게 탈피해 가는지를 규명하는 데 있다.;The late society of the Yi Dynasty is often called disolution period of the society of the Middle Age. The phase of that disolution was proceeded widely not only in the field of the studies which Were varied by Ynag - Ming Xue (陽明學), Shi Xue (實學) and studies on the Occident(西學) in addition to Neo - Confucianism (朱子學), but also in society at large, that is, confusing of social class order, disolution of the tenant farmer class, the appearance of coinage etc. And all these phenomena were proceeded in organic relation to each other. The progressive current of thought which borned and developed just in this situation is Shi Xue (實學), and some scholars intended to solve the problems which occurred in this disloution period through Jing Shi Zhi Yong (The theory of Governing, 經世致用), Ii Yong Hou Sheng (利用厚生), and Shi Shi CJu Shi (實事求是), etc. The purpose of this article is to make clear that in the birth and the development of Shi Xue (實學), not only the change of the studies but the change of the society and economy were operated with relationship to each other and to demonstrate the significance which Hong Dae Yong (1731 - 1784)'s Shi Xue (實學) has in this context. This article is made up of Hong's studies on the theory of Governing (經世論) and science. First, he gave attention to the appearance of vast - farmland (廣作) by the incease of agricultural productivity of the late Yi Dynasty and the phenomenon of falling of tillers into the land - divested farmers. He thought that only the combination of tillers and farmland can consolidate the control of sovereign power and government of the Yi Dynasty and can save the people from starvation and poverty. In other words, Hong admitted that the arrangement of the land system is the most important and basic and insisted that as a method of a farmland reform, Gyun-Jean Jae (勻田制) which makes private - owned land reduce to nation - owned one, so its only a possessory title to land, is the most appropriate method. And he thought work as a common condition to the living of the man, so he emphasized the significance of work. He found the reason why the economy of the Yi Dynasty was devastated and framers roved around begging, in the noble class and the landowner who didn't engaged in work. The emphasis on the significance of work is a momentum escaping from the view of occupation of the Middle Age. The class system of the Yi Dynasty made up of four classes was based on view of occupation of vertical arrangement of the Gentle man, the tiller, the hand craftsman ans merchant (士, 農, 工, 商). The economy of the Yi Dynasty was based on the agriculture. Politics and education were in charge by the gentle class that were not engaged in work. Commerce was regarded as the lowest occupation. But in this period, it was often occurred that the commons and the slaves etc raisedtheir social class and it was not rare things falling of noble class into the tenant farmer. It was possible by providing the chance of saving money; the production on a commercial scale of agricultural produce by the wild currency of coinage and the appearance of vast - farmland by the free dealing of land. The confusion of social class order like this made Hong get out of the studied view of occupation. And his Man Min Kae Ro (萬民皆勞) idea that if he were a man he would have to work, insist that one should be engaged in the occupation proper to his condition whichever social class he belongs to, and that it is not disgraceful thing that one without talent or learning becomes the slave though he would be the son of the noble man, And he emphasized the necessity of Li Yong Hou Sheng (利用厚生) that is saving money by active use of resources and by engaging in commerce, opposing to the established economic notion that only the agriculture can be the basis of economy of the notion. Hong's open view of occupation, thought work significant and it seems to reflect the growth of the power of the hand craftman and the merchant, as the result of regarcing pursuit of profit as the human nature. Hong's declination of Li Yong Hou Sheng (利用厚生) like this was owing to the change of view of nature. He thought nature and the material world not as the given (所與) but as the object that should be processed by man. The Change of view of nature made him emphasize the Beaning of the existance of the material world. He criticized the Anthmpo - centrism of Neo - Confucianism (朱子學) that only the man is the existance who take over the highst value in the universal dimension. It is only the selfisch opinion viewed from the man's standpoint, and when viewed from the standpoint of nature, all the objects have aqua1 value, Man is only one among all the phenomenon of nature of the world. And Hong thought that man's all knowledge recognize the concreteness of the object on the basis of the material world. But he thought that, though it would be the knowledge acquired on the basis of thd material world only by applying to objective actual accurrences and inspecting by evidence, it can be said to be complete knowledge, or not it is no more than the sutuffed conception. Hong's emphasis on the meaning of the existence of the material world and on the practicality in the study of practical science. He proposed some opinions on the earth - rotation theory (地轉說) and the infinite universe theory (宇宙無限說) etc. In Addition to it, he got out of the conventional schema of the established science that on the basis of all the movement and formation of the things operrates the principle of Yin Yang (陰陽). About the atmospheric phinomena which occurs in the world of nature such as a solar eclipse, a lunar eclips, rain, snow, wind, cloud and rainbow etc, though studying positive and empirical investigation, Hong explained it is no more than the phenomenon of nature itself regardless of human affairs. He found that the change of four seasons were occurred by the distance between the sun and the earth. These knowledge on the natural science made it possible to say Hong as a great scientist of the Yi Dynasty. But, Hong's theory on the natural science had to be studied with organic relation to the whole phenomena of 19C society of the Yi Dynasty.