Im Yunjidang

This Element aims to critically examine the philosophical thought of Im Yunjidang (172193) a female Korean Neo-Confucian philosopher from the Chosn dynasty (13921910) and to present her as a feminist thinker. Unlike most Korean women of her time Yunjidang had the exceptional opportunity to be introduced to a major philosophical debate among Korean Neo-Confucians which was focused on two core questions-whether sages and commoners share the same heart-mind and whether the natures of human beings and animals are identical. In the course of engaging in this debate she was able to reformulate Neo-Confucian metaphysics and ethics of moral self-cultivation culminating in her bold ideas of the moral equality between men and women and the possibility of female sagehood. By proposing a ''stage-approach'' to feminism that is also sensitive to the cultural context this Element shows that Yunjidang''s philosophical thought could be best captured in terms of Confucian feminism.