동아시아의 사회진화론 재고 ― 중국과 한국의 ‘진화’ 개념의 형성 = RETHINKING SOCIAL DARWINISM THAT PREVAILED IN EAST ASIA

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The most popular Western theory that East Asian intellectuals have continued to actively seek for and tried to understand appropriately since the mid-19th century, was Social Darwinism. This theory also served as the most important philosophical background for all the enlightened intellectuals in the early days of the modern era. From Social Darwinism, Intellectuals tried to find a new perspective that would be effective in viewing both the world and history. As we can imagine, Western philosophies such as Social Darwinism widely circulated in multiple fashions throughout East Asia, and sparked a series of intellectual stimuli among the intellectuals.
Studies that are determined to examine the status and function occupied by Social Darwinism in East Asia should consider the factor of regional differences among areas that witnessed and accepted Social Darwinism, or variables in the individuals' personal situations who were involved in studying that theory. Yan Fu, who first introduced Social Darwinism to China, recognized that the Western value system itself was embedded inside Social Darwinism. He translated the English term 'evolution' into 'tianyan'(天演) in Chinese. And at this point, he also presented the notion of 'progress' to the Chinese people. In the meantime, a scholar named Liang Qichao, discussed the concept of progress strictly in terms of the interest of the society and the nation, instead of the interest of individuals. And he wished to construct a new nation through an organic unification and upon a strong social order.
During the national opening period, the Korean intellectuals imported the concepts of competition and progress. The Korean intellectuals accepted Social Darwinism through Liang Qichao, and Liang Qichao embraced Social Darwinism which was filtered through Japanese scholars. So, in order to properly understand and appropriately analyze Social Darwinism that circulated inside East Asia, this sort of 'dual filtering' should be kept in mind.