Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2013 August 31

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August 31

Western culture compared to Eastern culture

I'm very familiar with Western culture because I live in it and I'm partly familiar with Eastern culture due to things like Discovery Channel documentaries, imported media, and fictional works set in Asian countries. I'm focused on two specific countries—America and Japan—and the trouble I'm having is trying to verbalize the differences between them. To the extent that I can concisely mark the differences, it seems to me that Japanese society places heavy emphasis on tradition, cultivating interpersonal relationships, and social roles whereas America on the other hand values autonomy, expressive behavior, and not [necessarily] selfishness but rather mutual advancement of interests. I'm sure that there are several scales that can be used to quantify these traits, but I'm having difficulty constructing them and finding the right words to use. Can anyone assist me with this? — Melab±1 ☎ 04:46, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

I recommend that you be careful suggesting that eastern cultures (or any culture, for that matter) DON'T support "mutual advancement of interests". HiLo48 (talk) 05:17, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

What I meant was more like an egoistic type of mutual interests, if that makes any sense. — Melab±1 ☎ 18:34, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

Possibly the difference between two people helping each other with their own goals, vs helping with a group goal (e.g. two businessmen helping each other to get promoted, even if this is not in the best interests of the business as a whole). More like "I scratch your back, you scratch mine", than "We're all in this together". MChesterMC (talk) 09:13, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Two classic studies are The Anatomy of Dependence and The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, though both were published decades ago, and are somewhat personalistic. (Our article on "The Anatomy of Dependence" seems to omit any mention of Senpai and kohai, which I remember being important concepts in the book...) -- AnonMoos (talk) 07:38, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

Very belated correction -- I was confusing it with Japanese Society (1970 book) by Chie Nakane... AnonMoos (talk) 10:15, 24 October 2013 (UTC)

You can't forget the importance of honor in Japan. If somebody feels that they have dishonored themself there, they might very well commit suicide, whereas in the US many politicians who have thoroughly dishonored themselves, say by sending pictures of their genitals out on their cells phones, not only don't commit suicide, but feel entitled to stay at their job or even get a promotion. StuRat (talk) 08:43, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

inappropriate per BLP and ATTACK
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
And we occasionally re-elect those who do much worse things. Dismas|(talk) 08:48, 31 August 2013 (UTC) "Did you hear Marion Barry was re-elected after being filmed smoking crack with a prostitute ? I mean WTF is wrong with voters in Washington DC, that they would actually vote for a man with a girl's name ?" :-) StuRat (talk) 08:51, 31 August 2013 (UTC) We don't need to be opining about the morality of living persons. μηδείς (talk)

"America on the other hand values...not selfishness but rather mutual advancement of interests". Lol wut. Sounds downright communist! Adam Bishop (talk) 11:01, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

I meant it in the sense that it is done out of primarily self-interest. — Melab±1 ☎ 18:34, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

See Personal responsibility and how other cultures value that concept. Ditch ∝ 03:53, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

Eastern cultures seem to be heavier on that since it appears that persons have more burdens and responsibilities (i.e., to family members, rigid social roles). — Melab±1 ☎ 18:14, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Legal system

In the past week Nidal Hasan was sentenced to death for killing 13 people. Robert Bales was sentenced to life in prison for killing 16 people. Why does one get a death penalty while the other gets prison? Why this contradiction? Pass a Method talk 20:26, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

• See plea bargain. Hasan pled not guilty, Bales pled guilty. I personally find plea bargains despicable, and think they should be outlawed, but there is no contradiction. μηδείς (talk) 20:57, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

News articles and analysis said that Hasan sabotaged his defense and aimed for the death penalty, unlike Bales who cried and said he was sorry. Edison (talk) 02:18, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

• • Ironically, according to followup stories, his non-defense of himself might be sufficient to revoke the execution sentence, or even spawn a new trial. (He won't be conducting his own defense during the appeals process.) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:03, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

Description of regional identity in the US South following the Civil War

Hello. I am working on an article about a Confederate monument in the area I am visiting. It was built in 1907. A lot of similar monuments were built during this time, which the source defines as being between 1870 and the first World War, and describes as such: "(the monuments are)...part of the development of a sense of a Southern regional identity during that period." That is kind of vague, and I was hoping for a better way to phrase this concept of regional identity following the Civil War...or maybe there is a specific term that I could link to? Right now I'm saying " a period of postbellum resurgence in regional identity", but I'm not sure "resurgence" is the right word. Any ideas, tips, etc? Ditch ∝ 23:23, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

See White supremacy and Jim Crow. These articles provide information about Southern regional identity following the end of Reconstruction in the 1870's. There was pride in the Confederacy, up into the 1960's. Edison (talk) 02:04, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

Maybe Lost Cause of the Confederacy? Clarityfiend (talk) 02:13, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

See Southern United States and particularly History of the Southern United States. Edison (talk) 02:16, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

For various manifestations, see Dunning School and Nadir of race relations... AnonMoos (talk) 10:55, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

Also see the List of Civil War Monuments of Kentucky and what it says about the monument-building time period. Nyttend (talk) 03:22, 2 September 2013 (UTC)