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Indian traditions vs western
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Scholars from the indigenous psychology and philosophy field noted that explanations of the differences between the East and West, such as individualism/collectivism, have relied most exclusively on theoretical constructs generated in Western cultural contexts (Cheng, 1987; Cushman & Kincaid, 1987; Peng, Spencer-Rodgers, & Nian, 2006). Peng and his colleagues argued that indigenous concepts need to be introduced into the mainstream study, and the cultural differences between Western and Eastern people in the domains of thinking and reasoning can be attributed to differences between Western and Eastern folk epistemologies (Peng et al., 2006). Moreover, communication theory can be explored from both Western and Eastern perspectives by bringing in philosophical thoughts (Cushman & Kincaid, 1987). With its rich background and insights into human nature and human understanding, philosophy can make contributions to contemporary communication theory by recognizing the crucial necessity of the human context for communication (Cushman & Kincaid, 1987). Cheng (1987) noted that by bringing in philosophical perspective, the way of communication can be understood in a much broader sense. For instance, when comparing the differences between the West and China, scholars pointed out that while Chinese thinking and reasoning are mainly guided by folk version of Taoism and Ch’an Buddhism, Western thinking and reasoning are mostly Aristotelian in spirit (Cheng, 1987; Peng et al., 2006).
The theoretical foundation of Taoism belief is the idea that two opposites are mutually dependent on each other (Peng et al., 2006). This mutual dependence can be found between form and substance, between knowledge and action, and between symbol and e...
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...ive emphasizes selflessness and submission to central authority as the institutional means for achieving unity and harmony between man, and nature and this is the principle goal for communication. In contrast, the Western perspective emphasizes self-cultivation and the subjugation of human and natural resources to individual control as the central means for achieving individual and group goal attainment. According to the Eastern perspective, an individual's participation in a collective institutional structure motivates human action and human communication, therefore, serves for the need of participation (Cushman & Kincaid, 2006). According the Western perspective, an individual's desire for political, social, and economic self-realization actuates human action and human communication, therefore, serves for the need of self-realization (Cushman & Kincaid, 2006).
"Main Concepts of Taoism: Yin and Yang." Taoism and the Taoist Arts. April 2002. http://www.taoistarts.net/main.html#yin LeGuin, Ursula K. The Lathe of Heaven. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers Inc., 2000.
How balance is truly mediated cannot be rectified completely, although I believe it is fair to state that the Tao is similar to a ‘do it yourself’ manual, it plays with and stirs up the notion of the need for clarification in the reader’s mind on a psychologically intricate level and then releases us back into the labyrinth of life to fend for ourselves.
The next major influence on the Taoist belief was Chang Tzu. To him, Tzu’s writings defined the truth of life. He went on to write f...
While seeking westernization of all parts of society and culture, Japanese brought back the “Western st...
Intercultural communication is type of communication which people from different cultures and groups share information. The occasion where significant basically cultural differences made effective intercultural communication a challenge between me and my friend here in America was about bride price. In my culture bride price is paid by groom to the family of the girl who is going to marry. The bride price symbolizes as a promise to always love and protect. It serves as reassurance to the bride’s parents that the daughter they love with all their heart will be in good hands. The bride price does not represent the value of a women and it was never intended to. Its present a promise to love and respect a women. But my friend who is the citizen here and was born here told me that in America there is no like this culture anymore, they do not pay any bride price to groom or to the bride.
Intercultural communication is a significant, unavoidable element of communication in the 21st century. With the vast movements of population throughout history, as well as the growing prominence of technology, the ability to interact and come into contact with different cultures, both ethnic and sub-cultures, has never been easier. However, with this growing role of intercultural communication, there is a large opportunity for the existence and perpetuation of stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination. In order to avoid offence and miscommunication when partaking in intercultural communication, a person must be willing to understand a person as an individual entity, and not as a representation of their culture or of what the host culture may believe it to be.
As one of the greatest founding novels of Taoism, Book of Chuang Tzu serves to strengthen Lao Tzu 's arguments in Tao Te Ching and lays the foundation for Taoism 's place in Chinese philosophy. Because Confucianism and Taoism are two competing philosophy schools that share more outstanding differences than similarities, the followers of both schools often refute and evaluate the ideals of the opposite school. However, the constant appearance of Confucius as the main character in more than twenty chapters in Book of Chuang Tzu not only surprises the readers, but also calls for deep analysis of the roles played Confucius in order to understand the true meaning of this ancient literature. While Chuang Tzu criticizes many of the Confucian ideas
In Hall’s article, “Context and Meaning” it is revealed to us the importance in cross cultural communication. Context can be defined as the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed. Cross cultural communication is important because it creates diversity and understanding between the workers. In this essay the reader is provided with sufficient evidence to identify the staging of context with such importance to cross culture communication, teach about culture and joint cooperatives, and business transaction, and help create a diverse workforce.
Koller, John M. Asian Philosophies. Ed. Craig Campanella. Edition ed. Vol. Sixth. N.p.: Pearson, 2011. Print.
Since communication affects almost all aspect of our life, it is important to enhance the skills of communication. Difficulty in expressing or conveying your message may lead to your communication becoming unaffected. And, ineffective communication will lead to your message becoming confused and misunderstand. Thus, recognizing the barriers in communication is the first step in improving communication. There are many factors that cause the failure in communication such as language, gender, culture, and interpersonal barrier. However, it is clearly that the different culture has a different pattern in transferring message and has a strong influence in our communication skills. To avoid the barrier in culture, this paper will try to analyze the differences in culture between Asia and America that impact on the two ...
Humans have been communicating since four million years. On the other hand, the birth of culture is estimated to have taken place about 35,000 years ago. Today, both culture and communication have evolved considerably and have become interdependent of one another, to the point that communication is considered to be a product of culture. Thus, our own culture has a deep impact on our thoughts and behaviors. Since each culture has its distinct aspects, intercultural communication can be the cause of conflict and disorder. There are three main issues which are at the root of the problem of intercultural miscommunication : language as a barrier, cultural diversity and ethnocentrism. I will analyze these three notions in situations in which intercultural communication is frequent such as : the workplace, the classroom and vacation trips.
Culture consists of the beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics common to the members of a particular group or society. Through culture, people and groups define themselves, conform to society's shared values, and contribute to society. Thus, culture includes many societal aspects: language, customs, values, norms, mores, rules, tools, technologies, products, organizations, and institutions. Sociologists define society as the people who interact in such a way as to share a common culture. The term society can also have a geographic meaning and refer to people who share a common culture in a particular location. For example, people living in arctic climates developed different cultures from those living in desert cultures.Culture and society are intricately related. A culture consists of the “objects” of a society, whereas a society consists of the people who share a common culture.
Witsel (2003) from the Southern Cross University advanced that teaching at tertiary or any level was rather uncomfortable even when the socioeconomic and cultural background of students are compatible with that of their teachers. Consequently, teachers have the added responsibility of motivating, assessing, negotiating, admonishing as well as teaching. The expert contends that these tasks force teachers to go beyond the call of duty by placing themselves in active relationships with students and the professional responsibilities they execute on a daily basis. Therefore, it becomes complicated when students appear in a classroom with various linguistic backgrounds, learning styles and expectations based on their socioeconomic and cultural development (Witsel, 2003).
I wasn 't quite sure what I was getting into when I first enrolled in Intercultural Communications. I had assumptions as to the goals of the course such as I would be learning about the way cultures interact with each other, learn about communication in general, or I would be learning about the ways we use communication through our culture. I think that I achieve the latter goal, but I also gained knowledge about more then just my culture. I came to realize that there is more to a culture than just language, appearances, and customs, which are aspects of culture that could be seen above the waterline, or they are more noticeable/obvious to someone outside of that culture. There are aspects of culture that are below the waterline, or more
Culture can also shape individuals’ development of self, which also influence their behaviors. According to Smith (2014) an individual from Western cultures tend to develop independent self-construal which he or she tends to “strive for self-expression, uniqueness and self-actualization, acting autonomously based on his/her own thoughts and feelings, and pursuing his/her own goals” (p. 160). In contrast, an individual from East Asia tends to acquire interdependent self-construal where he or she tends to view “the self as closely connected to the social context” which he or she strive “to fit in and maintain harmony with relevant others, basing their actions and expectations and social norms” (Smith, 2014, p. 160). The different types of self-construal give rise