讲义中西思维模式比较

Western thinking modes:
R.C. Lamm (1996:62): Systematic speculation about the nature of the universe was a Greek innovation… The Greeks thought systematically about the cosmos and their relationships to it, which led not only to the invention of philosophy but also to the concurrent invention of pure science, the essence of which is the pursuit of objective knowledge about the world in which we live. 1. rationality; 2. objective, facts ; 3. empirical evidence; events have causes, and causes are discoverable; humans have the power to intervene, mitigate or prevent the effects; 4. Human dominion over Nature; 5. Moral philosophy or ethics is the study of the principles on which human behavior is based.
John Meskill (1973: 601): It is well known that Confucianism, a dominant philosophy in China for more than 2 000 years, is largely a code of ethics governing human relationships. Its focus of attention is not on the individual, but on the web of human relations. Its concern is with order and harmony in family and society and not with the freedom of their constituent members. Thus, the emphasis is on a person’s moral obligations to others, not on his own “human rights”.
4 Intuitive vs. Logical
Chinese thinking mode: experiential knowledge; sense impression; intuitive thought
Western thinking mode: logic
Nisbett (2004: 25): The general explanation given for why the Greeks, rather than some other people, invented logic, is that a society in which debate plays a prominent role will begin to recognize which arguments are flawed by definition… Logic is applied by stripping away the meaning of statements and leaving only their formal structure intact.
2 Holistic vs. Analytic
Chinese thinking modes: 1. intersecting web of nature, social and personal relationships; 2. life in perfect accord with nature;
6 Fuzzy vs. Precise
Chinese thinking mode: fuzzy; both/ and orientation Western thinking mode: precise; either/or mentality
7 Convergent vs. Divergent
Chinese thinking mode: convergent Western thinking mode: divergent (the tradition of debate: what, how, why) R.C. Lamm (1996:124): Constantly seeking an understanding of the world and everything in it, they asked not only “Why?” but also “Why not?” And they expected sane and sensible answers.
3 Subjective vs. Objective
Chinese thinking modes: ideas and feelings existing in the mind and based on personal taste and views
Western thinking modes: not influenced by personal feelings, opinions or views; to rely more heavily on facts and figures to determine the optimum outcome
J. Needham (1956: 280): In coordinative thinking, conceptions are not subsumed under one another, but placed side by side in a pattern, and things influence one another not by acts of mechanical causation, but by a kind of “inductance”.
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1 Ethical vs. Cognitive
Chinese thinking modes: 1. the Confucian human-centered philosophy; 2. to harmonize with each other and adjust themselves to the social environment; 3. interaction between man and man; 4. The way, the way to live and behave, and not the discovery of Truth, was the goal of philosophy.
Western thinking modes: The obsession with categories of the either/or sort runs through Western intellectual history. Dichotomies abound in every century and form the basis for debates
Modes of Thinking: Chinese vs. Western
General Education in a Free Society (by Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1945) analyzes effective thinking into three types which, though not mutually exclusive, have each an area of appropriateness in human thought: logical thinking in science, relational thinking in social studies, and imaginative thinking in the humanities.
In Chinese thought, even imaginative thinking is colored by relational thinking.
About Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
1 The Original Version Language helps mould our way of thinking, and consequently, different languages may probably express speakers’ unique ways of understanding the world. 2 The Developed Version The strong version: emphasizing the decisive role of language as the shaper of our thinking patterns The weak version: there is a correlation between language, culture, and thought, but the cross-cultural differences thus produced in our ways of thinking are relative, rather than categorical.
9 Introversive vs. Extroversive
Chinese thinking mode: introversive (the Middle Kingdom/ the Center of the World ) Western thinking mode: extroversive (universalism) Nisbett (2004: 209): Western debate style, and the mental habits it encourages, are important for keeping societies open and open-minded.
8 Retrospective vs. Prospective
Chinese thinking mode: retrospective (ancestor worship) Western thinking mode: prospective/ future-minded/ future-oriented (live the future in the present; be motivated by the future in how to act in the present)
3. strong sense of balance; symmetry; yin and yang only exist because of each other; the Doctrine of the Golden Mean; keep a balance between two extremes
5 Imagic vs. Positive
Chinese thinking mode: imagic; analogism Western thinking mode: positive; Comte (1798-1857): positivism, a system of thought based on real facts that can be experienced and proved, rather than on ideas formed in the mind.