Week Nine: Towards a New Synthesis

Can I synthesize East and West?

In physics, I think a synthesis of Eastern and Western views has been apparent since at least the 1950s. In the general culture, I see a synthesis of East and West happening as well, though not quite as fully integrated. The “synthesis” is kind of like an introduction at this point to ways of being and thinking in both Eastern and Western cultures. Just through my own witnessing, and no particular research devoted to the topic, I list here some examples of Eastern / Asian influence in the West, and Western influence in the East:

Eastern influences in the West:

Martial arts: Karate, Tai Chi, Tae Kwon Do, etc.
Yoga / meditation
Chinese medical practices: herbs, acupuncture
Ayervedic medical practices
Buddhist and Hindu practices (books, monasteries, retreats)
Asian cuisine (Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, etc.)
Increase in population of Asians
Products made in Asia are ubiquitous
Presence of the Dalai Lama as a world religious figure
local Asian TV stations


Western influences in the East:

Capitalism (or some version of it)
Increased consumption (energy, cars, food, etc.)
Westernized styles (music, dress, food, etc.)
Allopathic medicine

With increased global communication and travel we have seen ideas and lifestyles from far away places infiltrate previously isolated cultures (except, perhaps, in Wyoming). In places, the East looks more like the West than ever before and the West looks more like the East. I wouldn’t necessarily call this a true “synthesis” at this point, but we seem to be moving in that direction.

Most of these changes occur first at the lowest level --that of popular culture. True synthesis will come when the thinking and practices inform scientific, religious, and medical practices at the root level, which will become apparent when we see a synthesis of these ideas in education--when the new generation learns something from both worlds of thought.