西溪가 저술한 思辨錄은 반대파에 의해 斯文亂賊으로 내몰린 계기가 된 六經 註解書이다. 서계는 朱子의 학설만을 맹신하던 당대의 학문 풍토를 우회적으로 비판하고, 자기 나름의 六經 註解書를 편찬하게 된 목적을 밝혔다.
서계의 이러한 학문적 태도는 가치 판단에 있어서 名分보다는 實質을 우선시하는 경향과, 문학 작품을 형상화하는 데 관련된다. 실질적 논리를 지향하고 현실적인 합리성을 중시한 태도는 歷史的 人物을 당대의 입장에서 재평가하거나, 급변하는 對外 現實을 인식하는데 두드러지게 나타난다.
하지만 서계가 淸나라로 변화된 中國 本土를 인식하는 태도에는 공식적인 입장과 개인적인 입장에 차이가 나타나며 갈등적인 면모를 보여준다. 이는 그의 實質을 중시하는 현실관과 사상이 완벽하게 문학적으로 구현되지 못한 인식적인 한계로 評價할 수 있다.
Seogye's book, Sabyeonlok is the annotation on the six Confucian classics which provided the opposing party with a cause for accusing him of disturbing Confucianism with improper speech and behavior. Seogye made clear his purpose for indirectly criticizing the scholastic climate of the age under which only Zhuzi's doctrines were given overcredulity, and compiling the annotation of the six Confucian classics in his own interpretation.
This academic attitude of Seogye's has to do with his tendency to prioritize substance over cause in his value judgement and the embodiment of his literary works. The attitude leaning toward essential logic and realistic rationality is strikingly represented in the reassessment of historical characters from the contemporary perspective or in the recognition of rapidly changing external reality.
However, there appear discrepancy and conflicting aspects between the official stance and personal standpoint in Seogye's perceiving mainland China which turned into Ching. This can be evaluated as limitations of understanding in the sense that his outlook and philosophy that think highly of essence are not completely materialized in the literary works.