I think this relates to my radical overgeneralizing in my first post here.
In the East background and foreground are given a more balanced weight - this actually shows up in what people will notice in an image.
Relationships are also ‘seen’ more in the East in images. And in the West objects.
I see these patterns related to what is stressed. The individual, the thing, self. Or, the dynamics, relations (family) harmony, perception. The former one could argue at best create a healthy ego and an actualized individual. The latter best creates an expeience of the dissolution of subject/object split and harmony in relations.
Each approach having advantages and disadvantages depending on context.
I can agree with that sentiment.
Please rephrase that.
One can call it so as well, yes.
There has been a trend in occidental philosophy to the autonmous individual, with understanding considered having a good representation of reality inside the head. Emphasis on freedom of the monad self. Free from outside control, independently evaluating in a detached way the objective world that is outside it. This goes down from politics and up from ontology in the West. In the Orient the self it not considered separate. It is part of the family, it is merged or should merge with the object. The goal is not separateness, freedom from, but being well enmeshed…in the family, in the environment, joining the flow. The self as meeting place, nexus. One must take into account the other in a dialogue. In the West expression of the unique individual in the moment. In the East engaged in harmonius dance in a long chain of history. Understanding is not contained in the East, but a doing, a relation.
Holistic vs individualistic.
Agreed. The difference between the extreme individuality and the extreme community is one of the main differences between Occident and Orient.
Yes, one can also call it holism versus individualism.
Yes, one can also call it holism versus individualism.
[/quote]
I was just thinking ecological reason vs. instrumental reason (which harks back to James’s dichotomy)
Actually that is a good wording. The East usually involves a consideration of the whole picture, all inclusive, entire ecology whereas the West is generally concerned with how to accomplish a specific endeavor without regard to the whole. The East involves the entire simultaneous equation matrix whereas the West attempts to resolve each equation separately.
In general gender terms, the East is more feminine (wide visioned, “broad minded”, “ecological”) and the West more masculine (long visioned, “goal oriented”, “instrumental”).
West = Will to Power, masculine, focus on autonomy, linear, goal oriented,
East = Will to Emptiness, feminine, focus on relational, cyclical, awareness oriented
I think the middle way is probably the best way, although over the years I’ve gravitated more towards the east because I was too caught up in western philosophy for so long.
True.
There is clear gender differentiation between the two. I realized this within some days when i got access to internet for the first time about 15 years ago. And, that is precisely the reason why most of the east was invaded by the west and lagged behind in innovation in technologies too.
East is happy in status quo, be there patiently at where it is. There is not much desire to change and progress. The emphasis is more on mere calm and easygoing survival. It would not change unless forced to do so. West is not satisfied with what it already has. It wants more and change too, whether it serves any purpose or not, true male character. Both thinking have their shares of pros and cons.
Though it is matter of debate which ideology is better, i still think that eastern approach is slightly better. Being hugely feminine in nature, it can withstand the onslaughts more effectively and easily. But, it could never become dominant.
with love,
sanjay
It seems that you think it would be very easy to change between western and eastern philosophy. I do not think so. One can learn much about a philosophy of a foreign culture but not live it as if it were the philosophy of one’s own culture (the culture in which one has grown up). The change between different national philosophies can already be a problem, so the change between greater different units like the western culture(s) and the eastern culture(s) is not as easy as one may think.
the study of ancient eastern and western knowledge share common roots. I suggest that you google up ‘mystery schools’ .The same story comes into many flavors. I think the west has lost much of its holism during the great inquisition, this of course was one of the aims. As a result the feminine was lost. Western society and philosophy, lost their holistic metaphysical edge, became left brained as a result. And the left brain is very dominant.
most westerners smile or shrug at ancient knowledge, in the east they listen attentively. But mentalities are changing slowly on, now the philosophy of Aryuveda and Vedic Texts for example is gaining traction in the west. I agree that as long as man ignore his relation to the cosmos (as above so below), he will continue to wander.
I am genuinely pleased by your response and hesitate to disturb a nice moment of agreement, but…could we not extrapolate the skill sets (overlapping) coming from these two forms of reason and imagine a team of two equals, one with the feminine reason and one with the masculine? (again not imagining a binary set up, but two people with the counterpoised tendencies/strengths . I assume you will know the thread/issue I am referring to. (while the coyote and the badger do not fit masculine and feminine roles, I would like to use their teamwork hunting as an example of two organisms with different skill sets can partner and it is not clear if at all one is dominant or superior to the other.)
I generally agree, and that’s one of the reasons I have never adopted any sort of eastern spiritual path, let alone an eastern religion. Overall in my life I’ve read quite a bit more western philosophy than eastern philosophy, although the eastern philosophy I’ve read has been more my cup of tea. With that said, I have seen friends of mine go to far to the East, as if they were going to find salvation there, and have also listened to experts of eastern philosophy warn westerners of the dangers of adopting foreign ways of thinking that was not meant for them. At the end of the day, I enjoy the variety and balance that both western and eastern thought brings to me, while always reminding myself that I am a westerner. The West will always be my home, but the east is a great addition to my diet, so to speak.
Are what you have referred to as the “mystery schools” the same as the “wisdom traditions”? In that I mean Gnosticism, Sufism, Jewish Kabullah(sp?) and such? I know that all of the esoteric paths of all of the major religions have much in common, primarily when it comes to finding the kingdom of God/Enlightenment within oneself and in the moment, along with looking at scripture mythologically more than literally. I myself am extremely right brained/intuitive and introverted, which is probably a big reason I have found very little commonality with the culture I live in as well as enjoying Eastern though in general more than Western thought. Or I should say, I love the variety and balance that Eastern thought brings to me, in conjunction with western thought.
Sex non-segregation is also a pure and typical occidental pheomenon.
There are a lot of "we’"s in your one liner, One Liner. 
The Occidental culture is an “I”-culture, thus it is very much more individualistic than all other cultures. So in the Occidental culture the “I” is more considered than in all other cultures. But this does not mean that the Occidental culture does not comsider the “we” - it merely means that it considers the “I” much more than all other cultures do. And this is especially due to the reformation (protestantism) as Ierrellus and I have pointed out:
I did not post that in this thread.
Oh, sorry. Shall I delete that quote?