This blog post examines how excessive submission to law undermines human freedom and autonomy, even amplifying guilt, focusing on Kant’s categorical imperative and Deleuze’s critique. Within the Western intellectual tradition, law has long been understood as secondary to the good, or merely a means to resemble the good. Law was seen as a mere semblance of the good, revealed...
Why did Zhu Xi view the mind as governing both character and emotions?
This blog post examines why Zhu Xi saw the mind as the source encompassing both character and emotions. We explore together the significance of his step-by-step analysis of the mind’s functions for moral cultivation and the perfection of character. For Song Dynasty Confucian scholars who valued the perfection of character and moral practice, the mind (心) was the most fundamental...
How did evolutionary thinking already permeate Korean creation myths?
This blog post examines the natural worldview in Korean creation myths and explores how it aligns with the theory of evolution established in the West. It looks at how the worldview in early myths presupposed gradual change and harmony. The theory of evolution, developed by Charles Robert Darwin and numerous scientists, explains the diversity and complexity of existing life forms. Its core...
If we cannot control mutations, what future will humanity face?
This blog post explores the positive possibilities brought by advances in biotechnology, while also delving deeply into the risks uncontrolled mutations could pose to humanity’s future. On March 14, 2018, the brilliant physicist Stephen Hawking passed away. Though he was a cosmologist, he also made numerous predictions about humanity’s future. Among them, his warnings about the...
Why does decontamination technology play a crucial role in the nuclear power plant decommissioning process?
This blog post explains why decontamination technology is considered the most critical step in the decommissioning process of aging nuclear power plants. It examines the principles of radiation removal and the technical challenges involved, outlining the essential conditions for safe decommissioning. On June 19, 2017, Unit 1 of the Kori Nuclear Power Plant in South Korea permanently ceased...
Why do corporate size and growth potential yield conflicting predictions in capital structure theories?
This blog post examines how the trade-off theory and the pecking order theory interpret corporate size and growth potential differently, providing a balanced understanding of the core principles governing debt ratio decisions. The Modigliani-Miller theory, often expressed as the proposition that capital structure is irrelevant to firm value, is a capital structure theory based on the...
Why does the difference in fat breakdown speed between genders manifest differently across body regions?
This blog post explores the physiological reasons behind how sex hormones and the characteristics of fat cells interact to create differences in fat accumulation and breakdown speeds across body regions in men and women. The processes by which fat is stored and broken down within the body have been clearly elucidated through extensive research. Fat accumulates within fat cells in the form...
Why has modern moral philosophy systematically avoided the question of the good life?
This blog post examines how modern society, under conditions valuing diversity and autonomy, has excluded the question of the good life, exploring its philosophical background and limitations. Views on what constitutes a good life vary across societies and cultures, yet each society or culture possesses an ideal form of the good life that its members deem desirable. So, what makes our...
Why could animal trials be justified as legal procedures in medieval Europe?
This blog post examines the background and legal logic behind animal trials actually conducted in medieval Europe. It explores how the combination of an anthropocentric view of nature with religion and jurisprudence enabled these bizarre trials. In 1587, residents of a French village sued a swarm of beetles before the local ecclesiastical court, claiming the insects had caused such severe...
How does intensive media coverage reshape trust and perceptions of science and technology?
This blog post examines how intensive media coverage amplifies risk perceptions surrounding science and technology incidents, and what changes it brings to public trust and image formation in the process. Science and technology reporting typically involves specialized content that is difficult for the public to access in daily life. The public primarily relies on media reports to learn...