Knowing in Japan

Abstract

Japan shows us a way of seeing ourselves, a different philosophy of thought. This difference runs deep in Japanese culture, and is evident in everyday surface behaviour. It influences all things Japanese people do. This difference is apparent as a greater emphasis on inner human feeling, on aesthetic sensitivities. Consistent with this feeling, tolerance is shown towards chaotic (sometimes, in our eyes, crass) temporal manifestations. Less importance is given to materialisations, externalisations, holding single exclusive truths about the world. Less emphasis is given to formal logic and the notion of separate objective knowledge.