『老子』의 道器觀 (The Viewpoint of Dao and Qi by Laozi)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국동양철학회
· 수록지 정보 : 동양철학 / 49호 / 125 ~ 155페이지
· 저자명 : 정병석, 김영철

초록

본 논문의 목적은 『老子』에 나오는 쌍 개념, ‘道’와 ‘器’의 함의를 밝히고 그 상관관계 를 검토하는 데 있다. 『老子』 이전부터 ‘道’와 ‘器’는 각기 나름의 용법으로 쓰이고 있 었다. ‘道’가 중국 고대 철학의 최고 범주로 자리매김할 수 있었던 것은 무엇보다 『老子』에 힘입은 바 크다. 『老子』에 의해 “최고의 절대 추상”으로 확립된 ‘道’는, 맥 락에 따라 삼라만상의 운행 법칙, 궁극의 진리, 존재의 근거, 천지만물의 본원, 개 인과 공동체의 삶을 의지하는 보편적 규율 등을 가리키는 대명사로 두루 활용되었 다. ‘器’는 본디 그릇을 뜻했지만, 기물이나 장신구 같은 구체적 사물을 표현하는 데 도 쓰였으며, 경우에 따라서는 인물 혹은 인품과 도량 등으로 의미가 확대되기도 했 다. 그러나 대개는 구체적 형체를 지닌 기물을 ‘器’라 통칭한다. 無形의 추상적 ‘道’ 와 有形의 구체적 ‘器’, 이처럼 다른 색깔의 두 개념을 『老子』는 어떤 사변을 통해 연 계시켰으며 이 둘의 상관관계는 또 어떤 양상을 띠는가 하는 것이 본 논문이 다루려 는 기본적 문제의식이다. 老子는 器야말로 자신이 추구하는 道를 드러내는 데 있어 대비 효과를 극대화시킬 수 있는 장치라고 생각했고, ‘器’를 ‘道’와 대응하는 不動의 철학적 범주로 확실히 자리매김하는 데 성공했던 것이다.

영어초록

This thesis is aimed at identifying the implications of Dao and Qi, the twin concepts appearing in Laozi and reviewing the correlation between the two concepts. Dao and Qi had been used in their own usage before Laozi. The main reason how Dao has became the best category in China’s ancient philosophy was that it was indebt to, among other things, Laozi. Dao, which was firmly established as “the best absolute abstraction” by Laozi, has been widely used according to its context as a pronoun indicating the operation rule of the universe, the ultimate truth, the foundation of existence, the origin of all creatures, and the universal rules on which individuals and communities relied on for their life. While Qi originally meant a bowl, it was also used to express concrete objects like an article or an accessory and its meaning was extended to a character, personality, or generosity in some cases. However, articles with concrete shape are generally called as Qi. Dao, which is intangible and abstract, and Qi, which is tangible and concrete. It is the fundamental critical mind that this thesis intends to study how Laozi connected the two different concepts through what type of speculation, and what type of aspects the correlation between the two concepts took on. What caused Laozi, who took Dao as the pivot of his thinking, to be obsessed with Qi, and in what circumstances of the times did Qi emerge as a philosophical issue? In the Warring State period, master craftsmen who turned into a free man as a result of the collapse of a slavery society played a leading role in making huge strides in the handcraft industry as a new player for economic activities. As the private sector began to take the lead in production technologies which had served the ruling class alone, new products and weapons manufactured by new materials and production methods began to show their effects, and daily instruments like a bowl also converted into a means for producers to display their personality and skills beyond the mere functions of daily necessities. While the handcraft industry was enhanced into the level of handicraft art as technique was added to the manufacturing of articles, it was actually, on the other hand, converted into a cradle where sophisticated weapons were manufactured. As far as Laozi was concerned, every technological progress was a mere activity in either case to undermine simple timbers by the human race’s cunning skills and wisdom. He projected his fear for the loss of simple timbers on a symbol called Qi and believed that the restoration of Dao could be the only detoxicant to root out the toxin of civilization symbolized by Qi. This is the foundation from which the viewpoint of Dao and Qi by Laozi can be discussed. Laozi thought that Qi itself was a device which he could maximize the contrast effects in displaying Dao of which he was in pursuit, and succeeded in firmly establishing Qi, which reacted to Dao, as an unshakable philosophical category.

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