preparations for 23 September session
Read this
Nisbett, R. E. (2004). The geography of thought: How Asians and Westerners think differently – and why. New York: Free Press.
-
Living Together vs. Going It Alone:
Social Life and Sense of Self in the Modern East and West,
p. 47 through 77
Think about these issues
The very real differences among Eastern cultures and among Western cultures, however, shouldn't blind us to the fact that the East and West are in general quite different from each other with respect to a great many centrally important values and social-psychological attributes.
Is it possible for those of us raised in the West, living in the West, thinking in the West, to recognize this?
There is a real potential for misunderstanding ...
... when people who value universal rules deal with people who think each particular situation should be examined on its merits and that different rules might be appropriate for different people.
Think very closely about these last eight words. Where might these apply? Where might they never apply?
East Asians live in an interdependent world in which the self is part of a larger whole; Westerners live in a world in which the self is a unitary free agent.
Think about this. Then go to the book proposal example I provided you and look at the "introduction" on pages 1-2. Does the author of this paper seem to subscribe to the idea that Americans are "unitary free agents"?