(Park Gu-yong, Kim Eo-jun's Gyeonggong) Professor Park Gu-yong explores contemporary democracy through 20th century French structuralist philosophy.
Introduction - The Philosophical Wounds Left by War In the early 20th century, humanity experienced profound loss and turmoil through two world wars. This was not just a political and economic shock but a philosophical shock that shook belief in human existence itself. After this period, Western philosophy moved away from the tradition of placing humans at the center of the world and instead turned towards thinking that deconstructs and reconstructs humanity. This essay outlines the philosophical transitions from the era of ancient metaphysics through the age of the subject to the age of structure, exploring the significance that the institution of democracy can hold within this flow of thought today. The Era of Pursuing Essence - Metaphysics and God The origin of Western philosophy began with the exploration of essence. Plato argued that there exists a world of ideal essence beyond the sensory world through the concept of Ideas. This notion grew into a system during medieva...