Western and Non-Western Compared

Most
students read this chapter and realize two things: first, that they
don’t know as much about other cultures as they thought they knew, and,
second, while there are differences between cultures and traditions,
there are surprising similarities as well.

Respond

In a well-organized essay, address the following:

1. While
   reading about any of the non-Western traditions, identify at least
   three traditions that you mentally compared to some theory in Western
   philosophy? How are they similar?
2. Identify which features of
   these two traditions you saw as non-comparable. How are the two
   traditions different? If you had grown up in the non-Western culture, do
   you think you would prefer these two traditions over the ones to which
   you have been enculturated in our Western society? Why or why not?
3. When
   you consider that Asian philosophy predates Western philosophy and
   religion, why do you think that it was not more influential on Western
   thinking?
4. How has noting and writing about the comparisons
   change your opinion concerning the non-Western traditions? If your
   opinion has not changed, explain why you think it has not changed.

Please
ensure that your essay addresses each component of the assigned
questions and that your answer is well-organized, uses excellent,
college-level prose, and makes judicious use of textual evidence. Your
essay must follow APA formatting and should be 500-750 words long.

If
you quote, paraphrase, or summarize from the textbook or any other
source, you must include in-text citations and a References page.