Unification Thought, Art Theory, and a Principle-Based Study of Art, Joy, a

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<  Unification Thought, Art Theory, and

a Principle-Based Study of Art, Joy, and the Creation of Joy  >

1. Citations from Unification Thought

A.

As recorded in the Divine Principle:

“When an object—whether invisible or substantial—unfolds according to its sungsang and hyungsang, and when the stimulation coming from that object enables the subject to perceive its own sungsang and hyungsang in a correlative manner, only then does joy arise.” (1987, p. 52)

Thus, joy is produced when the sungsang and hyungsang of the object resemble the sungsang and hyungsang of the subject.

(Unification Thought, p. 422)

B.

Shimjung is the emotional impulse that seeks joy through love.

An emotional impulse refers to an inner, irrepressible desire or longing that rises from within.

Desire must be fulfilled in order to be satisfied.

Every human being is born with an innate tendency to pursue joy. This means that human beings live with a constant impulse to obtain joy— a persistent drive to be joyful.

(Unification Thought, pp. 58–59)

2. A Principle-Based Interpretation of the Cited Passages

Human beings possess an original shimjung— a fundamental emotional nature that seeks joy through the fulfillment of desire.

From the standpoint of the Principle of Creation, the attainment of joy occurs through two distinct pathways.

Human beings, created in the likeness of God’s Original Image, possess both:

God’s Divine Spirit (the absolute, loving, heart-based nature), and

God’s Divine Truth (the absolute, law-based, form-based nature).

Therefore,

the joy that human beings innately pursue also follows two corresponding pathways

a Divine-Spirit pathway (heart-based, love-centered), and

a Divine-Truth pathway (form-based, resemblance-centered).

The cited passage A describes the Divine-Truth pathway of joy—

joy arising from resemblance between the sungsang and hyungsang of subject and object.

The cited passage B describes the Divine-Spirit pathway of joy—

joy arising from the inner impulse of shimjung seeking fulfillment through love.

Accordingly,

the Art Theory of Unification Thought—its explanation of art and beauty—

addresses only the Divine-Truth pathway of joy,

while the Divine-Spirit pathway of joy remains unaddressed.

3. Conclusion

The Art Theory of Unification Thought—its explanation of art and beauty—

covers only one of the two pathways through which human beings pursue joy:

the Divine-Truth pathway, centered on resemblance between subject and object.

The Divine-Spirit pathway, which explains joy arising from the heart’s impulse toward love, is omitted.

A complete principle-based understanding of joy in art requires both pathways—

the joy of resemblance and the joy of love— to be fully integrated.