The Eastern and Western Mind

Written by Mathew Naismith

As we become more integrated and communicative around the world, I think it's essential we become aware of the differences between how we think in regards to other people of different cultures. At times the difference can be huge and at another times quite simular. Of course with the dominance and control of the western mind on the rest of the world, the differences in how we think is diminishing, sadly, eastern people are thinking more inline with western thinking.

I say sadly because it is obvious from the below information that the western mind is more dominating and controlling, even at the expense of the environment to it's own detriment. You have got to wonder, are more western minded people trying to understand eastern thinking to bring balance and a moderated existence back to the world? I should also mention, just because you are living under a western or eastern influence, you can still think and exist to the contrary depending on the influence one wants to exist under.

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https://www.slideshare.net/adonissfera/east-and-west-thinking-pattern

Extract: The West has consequently developed a materialist science that is focused on the outer world--which it endeavours to control and exploit. In Asia, where most religions have arisen, consciousness has been directed inwardly to understand the essential nature of life.

The Westerners worked longer on the stuff they were told they had aced the first time. The Easterners concentrated on the areas they thought they had botched. Students from the West—where the cult of self-esteem reigns supreme—wanted a tummy rub. Students from the East were more concerned with fixing their blind spots, becoming well-rounded. The Westerners polished up their strengths while the Easterners addressed their weaknesses.

https://sureshemre.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/eastern-and-western-thought-patterns/

Extract:

§                  Patterns of attention and perception, with Easterners attending more to environments and Westerners attending more to objects, and Easterners being more likely to detect relationships among events than Westerners.

§                  Basic assumptions about the composition of the world, with Easterners seeing substances where Westerners see objects.

§                  Beliefs about controllability of the environment, with Westerners believing in controllability more than Easterners.

§                  Tacit assumptions about stability vs. change, with Westerners seeing stability where Easterners see change.

§                  Preferred patterns of explanation for events, with Westerners focusing on objects and Easterners casting a broader net to include the environment.

§                  Habits of organizing the world, with Westerners preffering categories and Easterners being more likely to emphasize relationships.

§                  Use of formal logical rules, with Westerners being more inclined to use logical rules to understand events than Easterners

§                  Application of dialectical approaches, with Easterners being more inclined to seek the Middle Way when confronted with apparent contradiction and Westerners being more inclined to insist on the correctness of one belief vs. another.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Asian-Thinking-Vs-Westerner-Thinking:-The-Cultural-Differences-and-Inferences-of-East-and-West&id=5671780

Extract: We can find the most striking difference in Asian and Western way of thinking. When Asian thinking aims for harmony, Western thinking strives for order. This is because the basic philosophy of Western people is based on the concept of liberty, free market economic system or liberalization of economic system. On the other hand, Asians do not give much importance to the aspects of free competition of the economic system. They are concerned more with the equal distribution of income or solidarity in helping each other among their communities, thereby assuring an egalitarian society.

If your also into the philosophical differences of views, you might like the following as well.

http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/cultures_east-west-phylosophy.html

Extract:

Broadly, speaking,

Western society strives to
find and prove "the truth",

while

Eastern society accepts the truth as given and
is more interested in finding the balance.

Westerners put more stock in individual rights;

Easterners in social responsibly.

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This is interesting stuff. I realise more clearly now why the western mind has problems with people like me, we point out where we can become more aware where the western mind only desires to focus on where they are aware.

Another example is standardisation. The western mind tries to standardise everything so everyone standardises when it is obvious the eastern mind doesn't. How many western people standardise spirituality with awareness? Of course to an eastern mind, spirituality and awareness are obvious bed fellows; there is simply no standardisation because there is no expression or motion of control unlike the western mind.

Another example is when the western mind ostracises or has disdain for people for having their own views, especially when these views are pointing out a lack of awareness. To the western mind, pointing out things like this is being critical, to an eastern mind, all one is doing is pointing out where one is lacking awareness. I am often ostracised/blocked on forums by the western mind for pointing out our short falls on my own posts; it's a typical western mind reaction.

Us westerners, in my mind, need to be more aware of our own short falls of the western mind, but of course the western mind only desires to be aware of it's grandeurs, it's strengths not it's weaknesses, this of course is it's weakness. 

I should point out that the eastern mind can be influenced by the western mind to become more of a western mind and visa-versa.