East and West

Fritjof Capra's 'The Tao of Physics' has been an interesting reading so far. He has tried to compare classical Western philosophy and ancient Eastern philosophies, and point out how modern physics is bringing the two schools of thought closer. This post is an attempt to capture my little understanding on the basic tenets of Eastern and Western philosophies, their differences and parallels, based on my reading of Capra, a little bit of Swami Vivekananda and lots of Wikipedia.

First, to the basic beliefs of Western thought:
1. Central to the belief is that the universe, with all its complexities, is decomposable into discrete, fundamental entities. The quest of all sciences is the search for these building blocks and the understanding their interactions which bring about the universe as it is.
2. It distinguishes the self from the world, the observer from the observed, the mind from the matter. All observed phenomena can be explained independent of the observable. The ultimate aim is explain this reality, which lies outside of the self.
3. Everything is deterministic, and all phenomena can be explained by a set of invariant laws.
5. The whole process of acquisition of knowledge is based on creation of concepts, refining, classifying and discriminating between concepts. These concepts are only approximations to the reality, but there always exists the danger of identifying them with reality.
4. Rational, sequential thinking is given more prominence, as opposed to intuitive thinking - hence the emphasis on logical rigor in the development of theories.
6. Knowledge is refined in a gradual process through endless iterations of this cycle: theory -> prediction -> validation -> correction of theory.

By Eastern philosophies, I mean Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, etc. The central tenets of the Eastern philosophies can be summarized as follows:
1. The core belief is the unity and interconnectedness of everything. All that we see are different manifestations of the same unity - which is referred to as 'Brahman', 'Tao', 'Dharmakaya', etc.
2. The observer is an integral part of the world, and an active participant in the observed phenomena. The ultimate aim to reach the reality through realization/observation of the self.
3. There is an acknowledgment of the fact that all our knowledge is relative - the world of concepts is a construct of the mind and hence not absolute.
4. There is an emphasis on the intuitive reasoning, aimed towards a non-sensory and direct experience of reality.

Though the contradictions between the two are apparent, there are some commonalities:
1. Both systems understand the limitations of language and concepts in describing reality. Yet, such a concept-based description is unavoidable.
2. There is a place for intuitive and rational knowledge in both philosophies. But, the degree of emphasis varies.

Capra's argument in his book is about how modern physics has redefined the understanding of reality in Western thought, and brought it closer to the Eastern philosophies. It makes for interesting reading, and certainly some of the esoteric concepts of modern physics seem imaginable when some of the thoughts from the East are used to interpret them.