Philosophy and Culture, East and West

Philosophy and Culture, East and West: East-West Philosophy in Practical Perspective. by
Charles A. Moore
Review by: Yoshito Hakeda and Ainslie T. Embree
Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 1963), pp. 589-592
Published by: University of Pennsylvania Press
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 PHILOSOPHY AND CULTURE, EAST AND WEST

CharlesA. Moore,editor.Philosophyand Culture,East and West: East-

West Philosophyin Practical Perspective.Honolulu: Universityof Hawaii
Press, 1962. xi + 832 pp. $10.00.
The Proceedingsof the Third East-West PhilosophersConferenceheld
at the Universityof Hawaii in 1959 presenta formidablechallenge to a
reviewer,partly because of their enormouslength,partly because of the
extraordinaryvarietyof materialspresentedby the forty-onecontributors.
Furthermore, some of the authors,such as D. T. Suzuki and S. Radhakrish-
nan, are so well-knownthat theirnames themselvesare almost a sufficient
presentationof theirideas, while some of the others,althoughof eminence
withintheir own scholarlydisciplines,are presentingpoints of view that,
because of their freshnessto those not familiar with their field,demand
considerableattention.The most that a reviewercan hope to do is to state
the thematicstructureof the symposium,and then indicate somethingof
the contentand methodof the papers that are providedas explication.
The East-West Conferenceshave had as a general aim the encourage-
ment,througha study of philosophicaltraditions,of greaterunderstanding
betweenthe peoples of Asia and of the West. The two previousConferences
wereconcernedmainlywiththe theoriesand conceptsof Asian and Western
philosophyand soughtto formulatea synthesis.The Third Conferencehad
a rather different orientation:it sought an understandingof the cultures
of East and West throughan attemptto articulatethe philosophicattitudes
whichundergirdsocial practices.This meantthat the Conference,according
to the editor,was "devoted to the study of culturesratherthan technical
philosophy. . . and the papers . . . are fundamentally,if not exclusively,
descriptivein nature" (p. 5). Such an intention,one would suppose,would
have requireda dialogue betweenphilosophersand social scientists,but one
of the basic weaknessesof the book is the failureto providecriticismof the
interpretationsprovided. Thus T. M. P. Mahadevan's study of Indian
ethics and social practice is descriptiveof ideas foundin the classic litera-
ture,not of a livingsocietywherethe great formulationsof a religiousand
philosophictraditionfindan actualizationthat is both moreambiguousand
more complex than the analysis given here suggests.A related weakness,
and one pointedout by a contributor, ConstantinRegamey,is that the rep-
resentativesof Asian philosophicaland religioustraditionsdefended"with
deep and sincere convictioneven the extremespiritual attitudes of their
philosophiesand religionsand do not hesitate to appeal to the authorities
of theirwhole history,"while the spokesmenfor the West confinedthem-
selves to particular modern philosophic analyses (p. 316). Thus Sidney
Hook discussesvalue systemsin termsof social interestand of the need "to
rationalize the social status quo" while S. K. Saksena argues that Indian
ethical values are drawn fromthe Upanishads. The resultsof this method
are unfortunate.On the one hand, the professionalWestern philosopher,
who, momentarilyeschewingwhat the introductioncalls "provincialpreju-
dice," turns to the writingsof the Asian scholars,is likely to come away
withhis preconceptionsmore firmlyfixedthan ever. He will findtoo much
cultural chauvinismand too little of rigorousintellectualexaminationof
589

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 590 HAKEDA AND EMBREE

ideas and methodologies.

In the section which is specifically concerned with the relation of
philosophicaltheoriesto humanconduct,in additionto the essays by Sidney
Hook and S. K. Saksena already referredto, thereare a numberof studies
analyzing differentcultural situations.In a lucid, well-organizedpaper on
the Western tradition,Herbert Schneiderasserts that "philosophyis not
pure when it is pure theory; its very essence is to operate criticallyin
human affairs."With this spirit,SchneiderexaminesClassical Greek,Stoic,
and Hellenistictheoriesof civilizations,Dante's idea of a Universal Chris-
tendom,the theoryof an InternationalCommunityof Law, belief in Uni-
versal Progress,and the evolutionof industrialcivilization.Wing-tsitChan,
in his "Chinese Theory and Practice, with Spiritual Referenceto Human-
ism," thoughhe deals brieflywith Taoism and Buddhism,emphasizesCon-
fucianismas the predominantsystem,exemplifyingits practical and hu-
manistic charactermainly with examples drawn fromclassical literature.
He arguesthat because of the Chinese conceptthat truthcan be discovered
and tested only in human events or in history,philosophyand practical
affairsare closely related in theoryand in fact in China.
Remedyingan omissioncommonto most studiesof East-West problems,
the Conferenceaddressed itself to an examinationof the role of natural
science and technologyin relationto cultural institutionsand social prac-
tice. Stella Kramrisch'spaper has some usefulsummariesof Indian mathe-
matical knowledge,but her conclusionthat "the will fortranscendence, the
desirefordeathlessness,compelledthe constructionof symbolicfigures,and
this necessitated a geometryand resulted in a science of mathematics"
(p. 168), seems a statementof faith,ratherthan a historicalor logical se-
quence. N. Bammate provides a concise descriptionof Islamic scientific
achievements,and suggeststhat amongthe causes fortheirdecay was that,
on one level, the scientisthad no definedstatus in society,and, on another,
the Muslim belief in "signs" tended to such dead ends as astrologyand
alchemy. Hideki Yukawa, the Nobel Prize theoretical physicist,in his
"ModernTrend ofWesternCivilizationand Cultural Peculiaritiesof Japan,"
states that the generaltrendprevailingin theWest is empiricism, or positiv-
ism, in the fieldof physicalscience as well as in civilization,whereasin the
East, especially in Japan, it is irrationalism."The unconsciousrecognition
of theirown defectin abstractionseems to drive the Japanese to the un-
criticaladorationand unconditionaladaptationofthereligionand philosophi-
cal systemsbroughtin fromoutside." Yukawa thinksthat because of this
mentalitythe Japanese have taken an interestin the arts. In "Scientific
Spirit and Method in Chinese Philosophy,"Hu Shih challengesNorthrop's
theory that "the East used doctrinebuilt out of concepts by intuition,
whereas westerndoctrinehas tended to be constructedout of conceptsby
postulation (The Meeting of East and West, p. 448)." He claims that
Northrop'sstatementhas no historicalvaliditybut is derivedfroma "tech-
nical terminologyfor comparativephilosophy."He illustratesthe predom-
inance of a scientificspiritand methodin China by referenceto the field
of philology.
A section on religion and spiritual values tends to cover well-worn

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 PHILOSOPHY AND CULTURE, EAST AND WEST 591

ground.T'ang Chun-I writingon the "Development of Ideas of Spiritual

Value in Chinese Philosophy,"contendsagainst the view that Confucianism
is devoid of spiritualvalues. He insiststhat the virtuesin Confucianethics
should be consideredas essentiallyspiritual,and he discusses in some de-
tail the basic conceptsof Confucianism.Aftera discussionof Taoism and
Buddhismas a supplementto Chinese philosophy,he summarizesthe teach-
ings of Neo-Confucianism,concludingwith a survey of spiritual,social,
and natural values duringthe past three centuries.Hideo Kishimoto dis-
cusses the peculiaritiesof religiousgroupsin Japan and of Japanese culture
as a whole in his "Some Japanese Cultural Traits and Religions." "The
Japanese," he believes, "have been more interestedin the domain of im-
mediate experience.So, if one wants to call Japanese thinkingidealistic,it
might be better to call it empirical idealism." Through this "radically
empiricaltrait" of the Japanese,he analyzes religiousfeaturesand spiritual
values of the Japanese culture.Christianmovementsare an exception,but
Buddhism,Shinto,and about six hundrednew religionsshare these charac-
teristics.He thinksthat the Japanese religionsstressimmediateexperience
-how to removeworriesand anxietiesso that man can attain tranquility
and a balanced state of mind. Other conspicuousfeaturesof the Japanese
religionsare, he claims, the separation of religionfroman ethical system,
and the close relation between religious values and aesthetic values. He
touches upon the problem of resistance by the traditional religions to
modernization(which was thoughtto be identical with westernization).
P. T. Raju and S. Radhakrishnanoffervery generalizedcharacterizations
of Indian religion.The role of reason is stressed,but in fact little is offered
that does not depend upon the act of faiththey decry as the hallmark of
westernspirituality.M. M. Sharif's discussionof spiritualvalues in Islam
followsin part the traditionalmethodof Quranic exegesis,but he appears
to be too aware of the normsof traditional,or at least nineteenthcentury,
criticismsof Islam. In the end this tends to make his essay an apologetic
statement.Walter Stace assumes the role of spokesmanforWesternspiri-
tualityof the mysticalvariety.His positionis also a familiarone. Mystical
experienceitself,he argues, the experienceof undifferentiated unity, has
been by and large the same the
throughout world, but the interpretation of
it has been widely divergent, because of pre-existingbeliefs and cultural
attitudes.He supportsthis point with selected documentationfrom,among
others,Plotinus,Dionysius,Ruysbroeck,Eckhart,and St. Johnof the Cross.
He concludesthat in the East the mysticspeaks in termsof the "category
of identity,"whereas"in Christianitythe notionof union has been whittled
down to mean similarity,"with "the whole conceptof union being regarded
with disfavor"by Judaism.
A sectionentitled"Ethics and Social Practice" tends to reiteratepoints
previouslymade, but Herbert Schneider'sdelineationof American society
providesan interestingcontrastto the Asian members'evaluations of their
societies.He findsseven intellectualand moral traits dominantin the cul-
ture patternsof America: the acceptance of a culturalpluralismthat pro-
motes internationalism;faith in the law of the land; the love of freedom;
theobligationto compromise;thesubordinationofmilitaryto civilauthority;
the pluralisticphilosophyof the public; and the rightto liberal education.

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592 HAKEDA AND EMBREE

Considering the attentionthe representatives of the Asian traditionsgive

to religion,onewouldhave assumedthatsomeassessment ofits functionin
America'spluralistic societywouldhavebeenin order,butSchneider makes
onlypassingreference to it. In thesamesectionD. T. Suzukicontrasts the
Buddhistphilosophy ofEmptiness to westernmodesofthought. He believes
thatthebasic difference betweentheEasternand theWesternmindlies in
-thedualisticaspectof Realityemphasizedby the West and in the non-
dualisticapproachby theEast.
An omnibussectionon Legal, Politicaland EconomicPhilosophyfails
to focusattention sharplyon particular issues,and theconfusingly different
methodology ofthecontributors lessensthepossibility ofcomparative anal-
ysis.ThusFrankH. Knightdefinesas "theWest"ofhis concern"theideas
and ethosembodiedin liberalinstitutions" of thelast two centuries,
while
JohnC. H. Wu beginshisexamination ofChinesepoliticalphilosophy with
therulerofHsia, 2183-1752B.C.
Despitethelack of definition and precision,thereis muchin thisbook
thatwillbe of value to thehistorianof ideas,evenif he has no particular
interestin themeeting oftheEast and West.Almostwithoutexception, the
writersare competent guides,and theirbiases are obviousenoughto the
discerning reader.
The index is verygood,considering the diversityof topics.The typog-
is
raphy excellent; of the very few errors,only one is worthmentioning:
the date of the Meiji Era should be 1868-1912,not 1867-1945 (p. 192).
Dr. CharlesA. Mooreshouldbe congratulated fortheexcellenteditorial
organizationof thediverseessaysof so many Eastern and Westernscholars
the
engagedin discussing complex theme of the of
relations philosophical
of thehumanspirit.
ideas to otherculturalexpressions
YOSHITO HAKEDA
AINSLI T. EMBREM
ColumbiaUniversity.

Editorial Note
The footnote2 (on page287 ofourApril1963issue)to Professor George
Boas' reviewof the firstvolumeof The Careerof Philosophyin Modern
Times (From theMiddle Ages to theEnlightenment) by ProfessorJohn
HermanRandall Jr.,was insertedad verbatimfroma lettersentby Pro-
fessorRandallwhilehe was travellingabroad.As an editorofthisJournal,
ProfessorRandall urgently to inserthis opinionas a
requestedour office
in divergence
footnote, fromthereviewer'sjudgment thathis bookdid not
treat medievaltheoriesof knowledgesufficiently. The ExecutiveEditor
wishesto apologizeto the reviewerfornot havingmade it clearthatthe
footnote(labelled"Ed. Note") was simplyProfessor Randall's,and notin-
tendedas a correction by the ExecutiveEditor (also abroadat the time)
whohad notseenthevolume,

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