Christian-Confucian Spirituality in Korea

This book engages in the Confucian-Christian
dialogue in Korea by means of a comparative study of
the cosmologies of Alfred N. Whitehead (1861-1947),
the founder of process philosophy, and Yi Yulgok
(1536-1584), the great scholar of Korean Neo-
Confucianism. Although their philosophical and
cultural traditions are different, Yulgok s and
Whitehead s modes of thought are very similar in
terms of organic, processive, and interrelational
perspectives on the universe. This book argues that
Whitehead s theory of eternal objects-actual entity
has affinities with Yulgok s theory of principle-
material force. Their two contrasting sets of
concepts, based on reciprocal dialectical
interrelationships, view the world as a cosmos
characterized by the process of becoming.
Accordingly, Whitehead s panentheistic
interpretation of the God-world relationship
correlates with Yulgok s Neo-Confucian notion of how
the Great Ultimate relates to material force.
These two concepts suggest a balanced structure of
God and the world. This book then formulates a
Christian Confucian spiritually based on two
thinkers versions of process cosmology.

Autorentext
received his doctorate in Theology and Religion from the Boston
University School of Theology. He has taught theology,religion,
and philosophy at Mokwon University in Korea and Merrimack
College in the United States.

Klappentext
This book engages in the Confucian-Christian dialogue in Korea by means of a comparative study of the cosmologies of Alfred N. Whitehead (1861-1947), the founder of process philosophy, and Yi Yulgok (1536-1584), the great scholar of Korean Neo- Confucianism. Although their philosophical and cultural traditions are different, Yulgok's and Whitehead's modes of thought are very similar in terms of organic, processive, and interrelational perspectives on the universe. This book argues that Whitehead's theory of eternal objects-actual entity has affinities with Yulgok's theory of principle- material force. Their two contrasting sets of concepts, based on reciprocal dialectical interrelationships, view the world as a cosmos characterized by the process of becoming. Accordingly, Whitehead's panentheistic interpretation of the God-world relationship correlates with Yulgok's Neo-Confucian notion of how the Great Ultimate relates to material force. These two concepts suggest a balanced structure of God and the world. This book then formulates a Christian Confucian spiritually based on two thinkers' versions of process cosmology.