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Everyone would agree that a logically true statement in English would be true in Chinese, would be true in French, and would also be true in Japanese. Everyone would agree that when two different people are shown the same painting, they see the same painting. What if this is not the case and everyone is wrong? In The Geography of Thought, Nisbett tries to convey the very same idea that human cognition is not everywhere the same. More specifically, Nisbett brilliantly pointed out that Eastern Asians view the world in a broad contextual and interdependent way, while Westerners view the world in an objective and individualistic way. A few words need to be said about the author as well as background assumptions for the book before going into evaluation. Richard E. Nisbett has taught psychology at Yale University and the University of Michigan. He has received the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award of the American Psychological Association, the William James Fellow Award of the American Psychological Society, the Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Theodore M. Newcomb Distinguished University Professor while at University of Michigan. He is the coauthor of some other books such as Culture of Honor and Human Interference (Nisbett Cover). In his book, Nisbett use the term East Asians to refer to China and countries that were heavily influenced by its culture, such as Japan and Korea. He refers the Westerners as people of European culture, including blacks, whites, and Hispanics (Nisbett xxii). People labeled as East Asians are by no means identical within their group. They are only identical in some general respects similar to one another and different from Westerners. The same can be said about Western Countries. In addition, Nisbett’s audiences are East Asians and Westerners themselves. According to Nisbett, ecology plays a vital role in shaping the way one views the world and behaves (Nisbett 34). Modern Eastern and Western views on the world dates back all the way to the time of ancient Greeks and ancient China. The land of China consists primarily of fertile plains, low mountains, and navigable rivers. This is ideal for agriculture. Agriculture, in turn, requires cooperation between farmers. This makes it necessary for them to live together in a harmonious way and get along with one another. In addition, ancient China was ruled by despots. Everyone had to look up to some higher authority. Peasants were ruled by the village elders, they in turn were ruled by magistrates and so forth. It can be seen that the Chinese live under complicated social constraints. These social constraints create a system of relationships among the people and help form the concept of interdependence. Peasants depend on the village elders, who may be in charge of irrigation systems, and village elders depend on magistrates for other favors outside of their individual power. Unlike the land of China, Greece consists mostly of mountains descending to the sea. This made it favorable for hunting, fishing, and trade.
Approximate Word count = 1946
Approximate Pages = 7.8
(250 words per page double spaced)
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