In this blog post, we explore the differences between Eastern and Western ways of thinking and the processes of cultural imitation and fusion through ‘The Geography of Thought’.
The book I read this time is Richard Nisbett’s ‘The Geography of Thought’. Comprising eight chapters, the author—a social psychologist—uses experiment-based data in each chapter to explain the differences in Eastern and Western thinking. This validates the differences we knew existed between these two great cultures and offers the lesson that we should complement each other’s shortcomings through these differences.
Chapter 1 addresses the differences in social structure, philosophy, and scientific thought processes stemming from the differing origins of Eastern and Western cultures. The origin of Western culture lies in ancient Greece. Ancient Greece was a society valuing individual autonomy, characterized by analyzing and categorizing the properties of individual objects, and understanding philosophy and science based on the immutability of these properties. In contrast, Eastern culture originated in ancient China. Ancient China was a society that valued relationships between individuals, characterized by understanding philosophy and science based on the harmony, change, and continuity of relationships between things.
Chapter 2 explains the difference in the concept of self as viewed by the East and the West.
The West emphasizes individual uniqueness within a group, exhibits strong independence, and uses direct speech. Conversely, the East views the self as part of a group, places great importance on relationships within the group, uses indirect speech to avoid offending others, and, unlike the West, demonstrates a strong ability to read others’ minds. Chapter 3 explains the differences in how the East and West describe the world.
The West focuses on the individual factors of things, emphasizing the characteristics and properties of each element. It views changes in the world linearly and believes these changes can be controlled. The East emphasizes the holistic aspects of things, viewing worldly changes from a cyclical perspective. Since change is complex rather than simple, there is a tendency to accept it rather than control it.
Chapter 4 explains the difference in perspectives on the causality of change. The West strongly holds the belief that the attribute of a single factor is the cause of a phenomenon. For example, when viewing a murder case, there is a high probability of committing the fundamental attribution error by focusing on internal attributes like the perpetrator’s personality and ignoring situational forces. However, this results in a low probability of overconfidence bias. Conversely, Easterners believe multiple factors must be considered for phenomena. Thus, when examining a murder case, they value external factors like economic circumstances and personal relationships as much as the perpetrator’s personality. This lowers the probability of committing the fundamental attribution error, but because they consider multiple factors, they are more likely to experience overconfidence bias than Westerners.
Chapter 5 explains how the East emphasizes relationships between things, while the West emphasizes rules and categorization of things. This difference stems from differences in child-rearing methods and linguistic culture. The East adopts a relationship-focused child-rearing approach, while the West adopts a categorization-based approach based on the attributes of things.
Chapter 6 explains the differences in logical thinking between the East and the West. The West prioritizes logical judgment over content and holds that consistency must be maintained even when phenomena change. Conversely, the East bases judgments on facts derived from experience rather than logical reasoning, accepts that phenomena can change due to multiple factors, and considers it wise to accommodate contradictory situations.
Chapter 7 analyzes the origins of these Eastern and Western thought differences, examining factors such as environment, social structure, and economics.
Finally, Chapter 8 presents points each culture should learn from the other’s way of thinking and argues that Eastern and Western cultures will converge towards a middle ground.
I agree with the author’s opinion and believe that the cultures of Eastern and Western people will ultimately converge into one. This is because humans are creatures that imitate. We observe others, whether we respect or look down on them, and imitate their behaviors. This behavior begins in early life and continues throughout, serving as a survival strategy. Individuals form similar thought and behavioral patterns by imitating family members at home. This phenomenon similarly manifests within peer groups, communities, and nations. For instance, wearing ‘The North Face’ down jackets became a trend among Korean middle and high school students, establishing down jacket fashion as a distinct cultural phenomenon. People from other countries might find it hard to understand why students wear hiking gear. However, Korean students, having developed similar thought processes and behavioral systems through imitation within the same culture, accepted this trend without hesitation.
This cultural uniformity isn’t limited to a single nation. Similar thought processes can be observed even among countries with vastly different cultures. According to the book, various Eastern and Western countries undergo identical cognitive and thought processes, exhibiting similar behaviors. In Eastern countries, this is particularly evident in areas where contradictory elements are accepted rather than rejected, and overconfidence biases emerge. For example, China has a culture of wearing shoes indoors, yet its thought patterns resemble those of Korea. This is thought to be the result of different cultures imitating each other. Korea, throughout its long history, borrowed Chinese characters for use and adopted Neo-Confucianism as its supreme academic discipline. This influence shaped Korean thought and behavioral patterns to resemble those of China. While disciplines like Neo-Confucianism and figures like Confucius are products of Eastern thought, the process of adopting this mindset itself involved multiple instances of imitation.
In this regard, Korea has a high potential to evolve beyond Westernization into a society blending diverse cultures. Historically, Korea has tended to view Westerners as superior, leading to shop signs and university student council names being predominantly written in English. The ‘cosplay’ culture, where people imitate popular Western actors or movie protagonists, is another example of this tendency. Recently, cultures from other countries, such as Southeast Asia, are also gradually being embraced. Just as the term ‘yooker’ emerged in businesses targeting China, the increase in businesses targeting Southeast Asian consumers has made signs in their languages commonplace. Imitations of Southeast Asian foods, like rice noodles or Indian curry, are also increasingly sold. Thus, Korean culture is progressively blending diverse cultures, a trend that will become more pronounced as globalization progresses.
This cultural convergence brings several advantages. First, similar thought patterns enable better understanding of other nations. The book explains that Westerners use direct speech while Easterners employ indirect speech. This leads Westerners to find Easterners’ speech frustrating and Easterners to perceive Westerners’ speech as rude. Cultural unification would allow mutual understanding of each other’s communication styles, reduce negative feelings, and enable finding a middle ground between the two cultures. Second, exchanges would become more active. For example, in the Japan-Australia ‘sugar contract’ dispute, when sugar prices fell, Japan proposed renegotiating the contract, but Australia refused. This stems from the difference between the West adhering to universal rules and the East responding flexibly based on circumstances. When cultures unify and perspectives align, such problems diminish, leading to more active exchanges. Third, conflicts between nations decrease. While nationalism or white supremacy could intensify disputes, cultural unification fosters mutual understanding and respect, reducing conflicts.
However, cultural unification also presents problems. There is a risk of losing Korea’s unique culture. Currently in Korea, English is used more frequently than Korean on store signs, and most university student council names are written in English. Furthermore, wearing hanbok during holidays has decreased, and dresses and tuxedos are increasingly common at weddings. This Western cultural influence on Korea could lead to the gradual disappearance of Korean traditions. Furthermore, as individualism is emphasized, it has become commonplace for people not to give up their seats on buses or subways to pregnant women or the elderly. The Japanese phenomenon of ‘hikikomori’ is also emerging in Korea.
I believe this cultural convergence will lead to the formation of a third culture that finds a middle ground between Eastern and Western cultures while maintaining its own distinctiveness. According to Darwin’s theory of evolution, the genetic frequency of a population changes depending on the environment; species suited to the environment survive, while unsuited ones decline. Therefore, securing genetic diversity is crucial for preserving a species in a changing environment. While the book mentions only East and West, the world contains far more diverse cultures. When these diverse cultures fuse, a third culture will emerge, capable of establishing itself as a robust culture even within a changing world. Stimulated by diverse cultures, new ways of thinking may be born, and no single culture will dominate. However, I believe that even within a blended culture, preserving and developing one’s own national culture is the path to enhancing a nation’s competitiveness.
