환경철학에서 본 장회익의 온생명론

Abstract

Environmental philosophy is a recently developed applied philosophy that deals with such increasing environmental issues of exhaustion of resource and ecological crisis. In this area various environmental theories have been on the rise. Today, however, ecological crisis is too serious and urgent that find out a certain environmental ideology which can elicit a general agreement to solve these problems. The recent expansion of scientific knowledge is requiring new contemplation on a view of life, world and nature that provides a background for existing environmental ideology. Especially, how to view a life is a most critical notion that becomes an issue for recently looming environmental ideologies. But any scientific definitions on life proposed until now have not fully explained an essence of life. Hwe Ik Zhang(1938～) believes that we need to work on new concepts in order to understand entire features of life. To do that, he has redefined a standard unit of biological existence. And he develops concept which indicates one total unit, not individual or collective organisms in a usual sense. Concretely, he has a view on a physical condition in which a life could be born on the Earth for the first time, and then organized an abstract concept on life, and tries to find out a concrete entity suitable for the concept. It is a concept of Onsaengmyung(global life). According to a theory of Onsaengmyung(global life), even a cell is a life, an entity consisting of cells is a life and a collection of entities is a life, too. However, these lives cannot live on their own and they have to depend on the larger entity to keep them alive. He calls this as Natsaengmyung(individual life). A life dependent on others must be distinguished from others which exist independently on their own. Onsaengmyung(global life) is the only self-contained unit of life that can keep an activity of life without any external fundamental assistance. A particular unit of Natsaengmyung(individual life) necessarily depends on the other parts of Onsaengmyung(global life). However, the rest of Onsaengmyung(global life) is also another life. Zhang calls it as Bosaengmyung(co-life). Considering like that, a synthesis of Natsaengmyung(individual life) and Bosaengmyung(co-life) is Onsaengmyung(global life). In his theory an ecological crisis at the present times result from a misunderstanding on the nature of life, which does not consider the rest parts of human life as human's Bosaengmyung, but seeing them an environment only for human. This misconception leads into a reckless destruction of environment. According to the theory of Onsaengmyung, environment isn't considered a condition surrounding humans, or an instrument or resources for human beings, but living things, it is human's Bosaengmyung. Theory of Onsaengmyung is asking for elemental conversion in an awareness on environment. We won't be able to resolve the environmental problems with dualistic thinking that divides the universe into human and surrounding living conditions. The concept of Onsaengmyung was not the one that originally approached to solve resource exhaustion and ecological crisis. Nevertheless, the concept of Onsaengmyung has provides fodder for overcoming limitations that the most environmental philosophical conceptions have. Environmental philosophy is a field in which we can discuss thoroughly how we should live, based on natural environment or ecological facts. Therefore, environmental philosophy cannot but include a value question. The theory of Onsaengmyung is naturally overcoming a naturalistic fallacy by synthesizing facts and values. Zhang describes human as a cancer in Onsaengmyung. Therefore, the theory of Onsaengmyung is a criticism of human-hatred or ecological fascism. But it is desirable to understand that the description of human as a cancer is a rhetorical figure to emphasize sympathy for man who has to get over narrow-minded anthropocentrism. Human beings is the sole body who has recognition ability in Onsaengmyung. And human beings, the sole being that realizes Onsaengmyung is on the edge, is therefore the sole being that can be responsible for Onsaengmyung. In that sense, human is the sole being that can heal Onsaengmyung which has been getting a serious illness. Meanwhile, human's recognition ability has been used for this purpose. And especially, at the present day when Onsaengmyung is in serious crisis, human's recognition ability should be the basis for the responsibility to heal Onsaengmyung. The concept of Onsaengmyung is a scientific one synthetically combining results of modern scientific, metaphysical ideas of life. According to Zhang, we cannot reach a real knowledge without a positive examination of it, it is a reckless thing to find out a right way of life without a factual knowledge. Theory of Onsaengmyung is the result of scientific investigation, and at the same time, ethics presenting a direction where human being should proceed. It is important to spread out ecological thinking in order to resolve ecological crisis. However, in such a scientific age it is not easy to justify such theory without being scientific. Such ecological perspective as Zhang's has encountered criticisms that they are intuitive and mystic. Therefore if the theory of Onsaengmyung thoroughly presented itself based on scientific grounds, it will largely contribute on the spread of ecological thinking. Zhang, an advocate of theory of Onsaengmyung, is expanding his intellectual field from that of a physicist to a life thinker, from philosopher of science to a culture-critic. He still is thoroughly faithful to a scientist's stance, rejecting intuitionism or mysticism. As theory of Onsaengmyung is an unfinished theory, it can be modified and complemented. I hope that theory of Onsaengmyung will also get through the process and be settled as the realistically applicable theory that can resolve environmental issue and ecological crisis.