Thorsten Pattberg

“ Even the slightest sign of a nearing of ‘wholeness’, ‘harmoniousness’ and ‘oneness’ is now reminding the West of its past ‘failures’ and ‘shame’ and thus, in the eyes of any analytical-deductive Westerner, must be avoided at all costs.
The final reckoning was considered only a matter of time, in Gandhi’s words, until that ‘other’, be it nature or man, in a most subtle manner strikes back on its tormenter and destroys the illusion of Western-sciences-only validity:
This [Western] civilization is such that one only has to be patient, and it will be self-destroyed. ”

“ Since the more inductive East and the more deductive West are both part of a gigantic ecosystem called earth, it is import to understand how the two cultural hemispheres traditionally see their relationship with who truly matters to us all: nature. ”

“ The Western ‘scientific way’ implies that there must be a non-scientific way, or just a ‘non-scientific other’ – nature and the ‘other people’ who value the unity with nature. Nature and the traditional people who align with nature are thus, by definition, positioned at the wrong side of the ‘man-conquers-nature’- equation and consequentially must be totally subjugated, deconstructed (divided) and manipulated to the will of its scientific conqueror. ”

“ Enough human beings and territory was left out that could make the scientific, deduction-based West fulfill it’s mission, namely, to force into submission all things – the entire material world and everything non-Western. ”

“ The facts have changed, global power has shifted, but not so the Western feelings of total superiority. That is why the otherwise easily predictable rise and proportional dominance of the integration-based Asia in the 21st century still looks somewhat like a miracle or bogus to most Europeans, even today. ”

“ A similar East-West comparison has been made by Li Dazhao [李大钊] (1888-1927) , philosopher and co-founder of the Communist Party of China:
东洋文明主静,西洋文明主动,一个动,一个静,这是一点。
东方是为自然的,西方是人为的;东方是安息的,西方是战争的; 东方是消极的,西方是积极的;东方是依赖的,西方是独立的; 东方是苛按的,西方是突进的;东方是因袭的,西方是创造的; 东方是保守的,西方是进步的;东方是直觉的,西方是理智的; 东方是空想的,西方是体验的;东方是艺术的,西方是科学的; 东方是精神的,西方是物质的;东方是灵的,西方是肉的; 东方是向天的,西方是立地的; 东方是自然支配人闻的,西方是人闻征服自然的。 The Eastern civilization is static, while the Western civilization takes initiative; one is active, while the other is passive, so much for that. The East harmonies with nature, the West conquers it ”