Abstract

This article aims to understand the philosophical problems implied in the theory of the Spiritual beings with the Hwadam Sô Kyông-dôk's philosophy, who is one of the representative philosophers in Yi Dynasty. The reason to select Hwadam is that he has been considered the first step to the theoretical deepening of the Neo-Confucianism in Yi Dynasty. Also Because Hwadam's philosophy can be interpreted as a natural philosophy, and his philosophical viewpoint is centered around the concept of Ki, significant opportunity may be offered to the study on the theory of the Spiritual beings. But more important thing is that Hwadam may be beyond the phenomenological interpretation of Ki, that is, the Spiritual beings is only the traces of creation, and instead takes on the ground of metaphysical theory of Ki, which is that the Ki can not perish at all. Therefore the Spiritual beings interpreted by him does not only falls in the doctrine of immortality of man's soul, but also in the distrust and doubt about the eternity of man's soul, which is attributed to the perfect perishing of Ki, rater than he presents the theoretical solutions. However Hwadam's theory of the Spiritual beings has been considered as the disharmony with the orthodox Neo-Confucianism in Yi Dynasty. This article deals with the meaning of different cosmology under such considerations. Consequently Hwadam's theory of the Spiritual beings can be interpreted to develop the theory of the Spiritual beings and the theory of Life-Death, which is really the integrated construction of physics and humanities in Neo-Confucianism, and also to succeed the traditional notion or knowledge, which has been continued long in existence from time memorial in East Asia.