Thesis (M.A.)--University of Southern California, 2001
The seventeenth century was a transitional period in East Asian society. In response to a compelling need for economical and political reforms, grew a similar intellectual movement in Korean and Japanese Society to break away from the established Neo-Confucian tradition. Despite the different social, historical conditions Pak Sedang (1629–1703), a pioneering figure in the school of Practical Learning and Ogyū Sorai (1666–1728), the culminating figure in of the school of Ancient Learning had a number of common aspects in their Confucian thought. On the issues of Heaven and human nature, Pak and Ogyū rejected the idea of the unity of Heaven and man, a central doctrine of Sung Neo-Confucianism. By doing this, they emphasized the transcendental, religious aspect of Heaven and a more concrete, realistic view of human nature
