Comparing West and East

1. Comparing West and East • We might generalize that the West (Europe and America) has historically favored the ends. Individualism, ideas, laws, hierarchies, systems . • Linear world view. Teleology. • We might generalize that the East (China, India, Japan, etc.) has historically favored the communal and the intuitive. Communal relationships, family, interdependency, looking inward. Holistic world view. Transcendent.

2. The Yin and Yang of History and Philosophy • In several instances, American culture and philosophy has been influenced by the East. • 19th Cent. Transcendentalism with its emphasis on nature, holism in individuals, and simplicity. • 1950’s and 1960’s Civil Rights culture and Hippies’ culture of rebellion. Non-violent protest (MLK, Brown vs. Board of Education). Communal life. Hippie simplicity, holism and personal search for meaning. Transcendence through drug experimentation

3. East / West and American Schools • 19th Century: a new look at honoring and caring for the individual. Progressives sought school change toward this end. • 20th Century: Varieties of protest and civil rights movement. Anti-war activism on American campuses. The open school, • Honoring individuals and self-esteem (holism).