Book Review

Overall Synopsis

Aristotle and Confucius are presented at the book’s beginning as examples of two systems of thought. Then, Chapters 2 and 3 explain the reasons for differences in folk metaphysics from ecological and social practice perspectives. Fertile plains, navigable rivers, and a long history of agriculture meant Chinese people lived in a complicated world of social constraints. On the other hand, Greece’s ecology favored hunting, fishing, and trade. Therefore, Westerners live in a world where the self is a unitary free agent. In Chapters 4 to 7, the author provides more evidence about different fundamental beliefs. (1) Eastern and western societies have different social realities. Chinese society views the world in holistic terms, but modern western society sees the world in analytic and atomistic terms. (2) Easterners believe the world is a highly complicated place, but westerners see fewer factors as relevant for understanding the world. (3) East Asians see the world mostly in terms of relationship, and Westerners are more inclined to see the world in terms of static objects that can be categorized. (4) Compared with Westerners, Easterners remain more committed to reasonableness than to reason. In the end of the book, Chapter 8 identifies some implications for psychology, philosophy, and society via the deep differences in systems of thought.

 

Reflection

The Geography of Thought was written clearly and attractively. It provides significant knowledge about psychology and sociology. As a world language teacher, I think the book is absolutely inspiring for Eastern and Western educators and could be used to improve teachers’ intercultural competence by developing their empathy and cultural self-awareness. First, the barriers to developing intercultural empathy are an overreliance on human universals and a lack of awareness of cultural differences, especially in underlying values and patterns of thinking (Calloway-Thomas, Arasaratnam-Smith, and Deardorff, 2017). In his book, Nisbett challenged the concept of the ‘universal belief of the world’ by illustrating the differences between the systems of thought of Easterners and Westerners. It makes readers consider the possibility of another valid approach to thinking about the world. Second, the development of cultural self-awareness could be difficult because it is hard to appreciate one’s own culture while immersed within it. It requires “mindfulness and intentionality that go beyond preconceptions, bias, and autopilot routines” (Paracka and Pynn, 2017, p. 44). By digging into explanations of ecological and social practices, this book serves as a mirror with which to examine and critique people’s own beliefs and habits of mind.   

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References

Calloway-Thomas, C., Arasaratnam-Smith, L. A., & Deardorff, D. K. (2017). The role of empathy in fostering intercultural competence. In D. K. Deardorff & L. A. Arasaratnam-Smith (Eds.), Intercultural competence in higher education (pp. 32-42). New York: Routledge.

Nisbett, R. E., (2003). The geography of thought : How Asians and Westerners Think Differently-- and Why. New York, NY: The Free Press.

Paracka, D. J. & Pynn, T. (2017). Towards transformative reciprocity: Mapping the intersectionality of interdisciplinary intercultural competence. In D. K. Deardorff & L. A. Arasaratnam-Smith (Eds.), Intercultural competence in higher education (pp. 43-52). New York: Routledge.