The development of the concepts of Heaven and of Man in the philosophy of Chu Hsi
The purpose of this thesis is to chart the development and the inter-relationship of the concepts of Heaven and of Man in Chu Hsi's philosophy. As Chu Hsi (1130-1200) is generally regarded as having brought to its completion the unification of the doctrines of his Neo-Confucianist predecessors, it is hoped that this research will throw light both upon the central tenets of his philosophy and upon those of Sung philosophy in general. The method adopted is to use the development of these concepts as a central thread. Chu Hsi's metaphysics and ethics will then be discussed accordingly as they are relevant to this theme, although it has not been feasible to present an independent survey of these branches of his philosophy. The development of these two concepts is discussed in six chapters. In the first chapter, I give a brief account of Buddhist Idealism, to the refutation of which Chu Hsi had dedicated his whole life. In the second chapter, I describe how, in his thirties, he had used the Immanent Vitalism of the earlier Neo-Confucianists to attack the Buddhist view of Emptiness. In the third chapter, I discuss how he struggled, in his forties, to construct his own metaphysics, after becoming disillusioned with
Chung, Tsai-Chun
Buddhism
The development of the concepts of Heaven and of Man in the philosophy of Chu Hsi. The purpose of this thesis is to chart the development and the inter-relationship of the concepts of Heaven and of Man in Chu Hsi's philosophy. As Chu Hsi (1130-1200) is generally regarded as having brought to its completion the unification of the doctrines of his Neo-Confucianist predecessors, it is hoped that this research will throw light both upon the central tenets of his philosophy and upon those of Sung philosophy in general. The method adopted is to use the development of these concepts as a central thread. Chu Hsi's metaphysics and ethics will then be discussed accordingly as they are relevant to this theme, although it has not been feasible to present an independent survey of these branches of his philosophy. The development of these two concepts is discussed in six chapters. In the first chapter, I give a brief account of Buddhist Idealism, to the refutation of which Chu Hsi had dedicated his whole life. In the second chapter, I describe how, in his thirties, he had used the Immanent Vitalism of the earlier Neo-Confucianists to attack the Buddhist view of Emptiness. In the third chapter, I discuss how he struggled, in his forties, to construct his own metaphysics, after becoming disillusioned with
development concept heaven man philosophy purpose chart development inter concept heaven man philosophy generally_regard bring completion unification neo predecessor hop throw_light upon central_tenet philosophy upon philosophy general method_adopt use development concept central thread metaphysics ethic discuss accordingly relevant theme although feasible present independent survey branch philosophy development concept discuss six_chapter first give_brief account buddhist idealism refutation dedicate whole life second describe thirty use immanent earlier neo attack buddhist view emptiness third_discus struggle forty construct metaphysics become disillusion