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East and West

 

The terms "Eastern" and "Western" like most abstractions are not absolute, but represent a spectrum of thinking and knowing, art, literature, etc.

 

 

 

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When it comes to philosophy, Western is derived mostly from the ancient Greeks and is based on rational, logical analysis of questions about life.

 

 

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Eastern philosophy is a blend of Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and other Eastern cultures and is mostly based on immediate realization, awakening, to the ultimate answer.

The difference is not about the truth being sought, but about the approach. As the graphic below shows, the Eastern approach begins with awakening, then, based on that insight, explores the creation of entities and the logical organization of quotidian reality. The Western approach is just the opposite. Based on a rational analysis of quotidian reality one then seeks to logically derive a philosophical system that, if taken to the extreme, gives insight into an ultimate reality.

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