Do you agree with the differentiation between the west and east?
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:
I think the “Eastern and Western” culture differentiation is overly simplistic and does not reflect the complexity of human societies.
Today, there seems to be a whole cottage industry set up around the concept of “East vs. West” cultural differences. People make good money consulting with companies on how to be culturally sensitive, how to adjust when faced with cultural conflicts, and even how to exploit the cultural dimension to maximize business profit.
However, all this was based on an Eurocentric world-view: the so called “West” was supposed to be western Europe (and societies that supposedly share the same lineage, such as the US, Canada and other “White people” countries), and “East” everyone else. If anything, it comes out of colonial era pseudoscience - Edward Said gave it the name “Orientalism”. [see Orientalism (book) - Wikipedia]
The reality is: there is no such thing as a “Western Culture” or an “Eastern Culture”. Even within Western European societies, there are significant cultural differences. A Frenchman would have a huge “Vache!” (cow) if you try to tell him that his culture is the same as l’horrible Anglais. East Asians would think you positively bunkers if you tell them that China, Korea and Japan can be so conveniently lumped as one big “Eastern Culture”.
More often than not, an American finds herself having more in common with a Chinese friend than her American compatriots. Conversely, a Chinese may find himself a lot more at ease when in the US than being at the place of his birth in China.
The difference among individuals within one “culture” may well be more important that the collective differences between two “cultures”.
The problem with the “Eastern and Western” cultural differentiation is also that it introduces many crazy stereotypes: “Eastern people are this, and Western people are that” - none of which is exactly true.
Having met many people from various backgrounds, I would say that the material taught in culture sensitivity seminars and training courses has snake-oil at the top of its ingredients list. Very little is base on real-life evidence.
I think the “Eastern and Western” culture differentiation is overly simplistic and does not reflect the complexity of human societies.
Today, there seems to be a whole cottage industry set up around the concept of “East vs. West” cultural differences. People make good money consulting with companies on how to be culturally sensitive, how to adjust when faced with cultural conflicts, and even how to exploit the cultural dimension to maximize business profit.
However, all this was based on an Eurocentric world-view: the so called “West” was supposed to be western Europe (and societies that supposedly share the same lineage, such as the US, Canada and other “White people” countries), and “East” everyone else. If anything, it comes out of colonial era pseudoscience - Edward Said gave it the name “Orientalism”. [see Orientalism (book) - Wikipedia]
The reality is: there is no such thing as a “Western Culture” or an “Eastern Culture”. Even within Western European societies, there are significant cultural differences. A Frenchman would have a huge “Vache!” (cow) if you try to tell him that his culture is the same as l’horrible Anglais. East Asians would think you positively bunkers if you tell them that China, Korea and Japan can be so conveniently lumped as one big “Eastern Culture”.
More often than not, an American finds herself having more in common with a Chinese friend than her American compatriots. Conversely, a Chinese may find himself a lot more at ease when in the US than being at the place of his birth in China.
The difference among individuals within one “culture” may well be more important that the collective differences between two “cultures”.
The problem with the “Eastern and Western” cultural differentiation is also that it introduces many crazy stereotypes: “Eastern people are this, and Western people are that” - none of which is exactly true.
Having met many people from various backgrounds, I would say that the material taught in culture sensitivity seminars and training courses has snake-oil at the top of its ingredients list. Very little is base on real-life evidence.