The ancient greeks were far from perfect, but there does seem to be a spirit of freedom and healthy controntation in western philosophy that’s lacking in oriental philosophy. Eg., Korea still has a strong Confucian influence and the society’s so hierarchical you have to agree with your elders even when they’re clearly wrong (eg. “the nail that sticks out gets nailed down”- it’s not just a Japanese concept). There are advantages and disadvantages to both.
Why Did Oriental Philosophers Emphasise Obedience & Hierarchy More Than Hellenistic Philosophers?
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That’s a very interesting commentary.
Speculating on it, I would be inclined to assume it has a lot to do with both the political climate in which the concepts arose, and the traditions which carried them through.
Politically, Greek experiments with democracy led to a different relationship with authoritative institutions than that which was available in the dynastic East.
Furthermore, traditionally, Greeks embraced the problem of nature much more so than early eastern philosophers, which were less concerned with the way things are outside (first cause, change, matter), and more preoccupied with the point behind things being the way they are inside (suffering, want, need, duty).
I would add that since their outset, both traditions have expanded to cover most considerable phenomenon, and while there are differences in societal manifestations of the traditional ideologies (some more recognizing of authority; some less), as far as the ideologies are concerned, it cannot be said that they are limited to the scopes of their origin.
G If you only focus on Confucian influence, you will get a distorted picture of Asian philosophy. It is much richer than the Greeks, but Confucian works get ignored because the world’s universities and publishers are still controlled by Euro centrism. Check out Daisaku Ikeda. You will find a world of individuality, freedom, and healthy confrontation. He has been confronting delusions in all aspects of society for 50 years.
we live in an enviroment we all share and that means each of our desires can and will be effected by actions of each others lives so our pleasure desires a pattern to make sure that we can keep our pleasure in constant use and understasnding,.!