“MAN IS THE MASTER OF EVERYTHING AND DECIDES EVERYTHING”: DE-CONSTRUCTING THE NORTH KOREAN JUCHE AXIOM
Issue: Vol 17 No. 2 (2009)
Journal: Essays in the Philosophy of Humanism
Subject Areas: Philosophy
DOI: 10.1558/eph.v17i2.67
Abstract:
This essay undertakes a critical deconstruction of the core axiomatic principle of the North Korean Juche ideology: “Man is the master of everything and decides everything.” The author examines the axiom as an epistemic construction that structures human perception of objective reality, identifying fundamental philosophical problems in its binary opposition of “man” and “everything.” Despite official North Korean claims that Juche is an “original revolutionary philosophy” and a “man-centered philosophy,” critical analysis reveals that the axiom is nonsensical, that it has no genuine or real philosophical content, and that the Juche ideology is neither humanist nor materialist nor rationalist.
Author: Alzo David-West