Major Differencies Between Eastern and Western Philosophies as the Basis for Adult Education Essay

Western philosophy has its roots in Athens, capital of Italy and JudeoChristianity while easterly philosophy is derived from Confucianism, Taoism and Mahayana Buddhism. As Greek and Latin argon to Western civilisation, so classical Chinese is to East Asian civilisation. I will focus on four major differences between Eastern and Western philosophies.1. Western Individualism and Eastern CollectivismIn the Greco papistic tradition, the go through of Prometheus effectually illustrates the struggle for individual freedom. Prometheus had at peace(p) against Zeus, the all powerful god who ruled the sky from Mt. Olympus. Prometheus annoyed Zeus by creating tender beings. To protect the tender-he artworked beings from Zeus, he stole fire from Hephaestos, the blackmith god and gave it to the human race beings. This angered Zeus to the extent that Prometheus was chained to a rock and an double birdie tore out his liver. In European consciousness, Prometheus had become the hero whodefied the patriarchate in the name of individual freedom, who brought light into our darkness. He was the saviour who sacrificed himself for the interest of mankind, the benefactor who brought the gift of technology down from heaven, the teacher who taught us that we are non at the whims of the gods any more, who showed us how to use our intelligence to fool a course control of the institution.The Christian tradition has also reinforced the sentiment of individual respectables. The Bible speaks of God creating Man in His own image and letting him have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the boo of the air, and over the cattle and over all the earth, and every creeping intimacy that creeps upon the earth (Genesis 126).By comparison, the Chinese live in a world of obligationsobligations to serve the ruler, obligations to work for the family, obligations to obey elders, obligations to help relatives, obligations to do well to glorify the name of ancestors, obligations to def end the country in times of trouble, and obligations to virtuosoself to cultivate ones own virtue. It would also seem that rights besides belong to one individual the Son of Heaven.Confucianism promotes conservatism and this stifles creativity and robs the masses of selfintrospection.2. Fragmentary and HolisticAccording to Fritjof genus Capra, the emphasis of rational sight is epitomised in Descartes celebrated statement,Cognito, ergo sum I think, therefore, I exist. This has forcefully encouraged Westerners to equate their identity with their rational mind rather than with the firm organism. This division between the mind and the body has led to a visual sense of the cosmea as a mechanical system consisting of separate objects, which in turn were reduced to fundamental building blocks whose properties and interactions were thought to completely congeal all natural phenomena.This mechanistic conception of the whole world is serene the basis of most of our sciences and con tinues to have a tremendous influence on our lives. Academic disciplines become fragmented and this has served as a rationale for treating the universe as if it consisted of separate parts to be exploited by antithetical groups.The essence of the Eastern world view is the awareness of the unity and the common interrelation of all things and events, the experience of all phenomena in the world as manifestation of a basic oneness. All things are seen as independent and inseparable parts of a cosmic whole, as divergent manifestations of the same ultimate reality. The Eastern traditions refer to this ultimate, indivisible reality as Brahman in Hinduism, Dharmakaya in Buddhism and Tao in Taoism.3. Conflict and HarmonyThe loss view of history saw change as arising from a dialectical interplay of opposites hence class struggle and conflict. Western civilisation based itself on the struggle between the Good and Evil, God and Satan or mentality and Cupid.Eastern philosophical thought i s based on this notion of the Yin and the Yang. Frithjof Capra describes the Yang as the strong,male creative power associated with Heaven while yin is the dark,receptive, female and enatic element.The dark yin and the bright yang are arranged in a isobilateral manner. They are dynamic a rotating symmetry suggesting very forcefully a continuous cyclic movement.The two dots in the diagram symbolise the root word that each one of the forces reaches its extreme, it contains in itself the seed of the opposite.Life says Chuang Tzuis the blended unanimity of the yin and the yang.Taoism permeates the economic and social lives of the Chinese through geomancy, qigong, Chinese medicine and beau ideal worship. As Chan observesAlmost every hotel, office and commercial building that has gone up within the last decade adheres to certain principles of geomancy or Fengshui the art and science of harmonising man and nature.4. Idealism and Pragmatism.The Western idea of democracy does not fit into the Eastern scheme of things easily. In an interview by the passing(a) Telegraph on 16 October 1989 the former Prime Minister remarked thatI think in a mainly Chinese electorate, the idea of a loyal opposition and an alternative government does not come easily. Youre either for or against the government.The Confucianistic idea of social hierarchy where a souls existence is relational, extending from his family, society and country. The pragmatism of the East is exemplied in the way Confucianism has been used to emphasize order through social hierarchy and the rules and conventions. Taoism provided the content of bread and butter and thus compliment Confucianism.Confucius preached the doctrine of the here and now. The emphasis is one of life and life and not life and end. The sage hoped to hear the right way in the morning, and die in the evening without regret. What lays the foundation of life for the Chinese is the family and the continuation of the family also means the passing on of experience, grow and thought. The Taoists has an equal view of life and death seeing life and death as the coming out and going back of a human form of existence. Chuang Tsu talks of coming and going . Lao Tzu said,out to life, in to death. The crux of the matter is to make the best of the present.