From: Technotranscendence (neptune@superlink.net)
Date: Sun Jul 20 2003 - 06:48:12 MDT
Orienting the East: U. Michigan Psychologist Richard Nisbett Asks: Do
Asians and Westerners Think Differently? by Hua Hsu
In 1944, the eminent Chinese anthropologist and sociologist Fei Xiaotang
accepted an offer from the State Department to spend a year working in
the United States. Fei's stint began with all of the excitement and
wonder promised by this still-rising star among nations, but as the
months drew on he grew exhausted with the fidgety, restless nature that
outlined every feature of American life. He returned to China wiser and
more attuned to American customs, but thankful that they were not his
own: "American children hear no stories about ghosts. They spend a dime
at the drugstore to buy a Superman comic book. . . . Superman represents
actual capabilities or future potential, while ghosts symbolize belief
in and reverence for the accumulated past. How could ghosts gain a
foothold in American cities? People move like the tide, unable to form
permanent ties with places, still less with other people. . . . In a
world without ghosts, life is free and easy. American eyes can gaze
straight ahead. But still I think they lack something and I do not envy
their life."
Fei's ennui would lead to a complete turnabout in thought as he went
from a fascinated student of American culture to a strident critic. But
rather than causing us to write him off as someone who, say, hates us
for our freedom, Fei's comments suggest deeper assumptive differences.
University of Michigan psychologist Richard Nisbett explores the
psychological dimension of this gap in his new book, The Geography of
Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently . . . and Why (Free
Press). "The Easterner lives in a very complex social world where role
relations are much more important than in the West," he explains over
the phone from his office in Ann Arbor. "The person is literally a
different person if they're taken out of their web of relationships.
That's just not the attitude in the West-in the West, I'm a bundle of
attributes. What I am is my wants, needs, traits, and abilities. I am a
package of those things, and I am that package regardless of the social
milieu in which I find myself."
For the rest of this article, see:
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0316/edhsu.php
I heard a Richard Nisbett on the radio a few weeks ago. It sounded like
an interesting topic. I wonder how well this fits with Chris
Sciabarra's methodological orientations and Stephen C. Pepper's world
hypotheses (nod toward Jeff Riggenbach on that reference). Or do you
think it's merely the latest form of stereotyping?
Any comments?
Dan
http://uweb.superlink.net/neptune/
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