There are discernible differences between the philosophical traditions of the East and the West. Is there any correlation between it and climate, terrain, and soil? Do merchants prioritize materialism while farmers prioritize spirituality? Geographical topography Ancient Greece and later Rome are the origins of Western philosophy. Other civilizations like the Egyptians and the Babylonians influenced the Greeks and Romans. Nevertheless, before the Greeks, there were scarce or nonexistent written records documenting a structured philosophy. We can trace the origins of Eastern philosophy to the ancient civilizations of India and China.
Greek Is the Hub of Knowledge
Greece has islands between the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Large bodies of water surround land. A boat is all you need to easily travel between islands. This makes moving objects much easier. Water has less friction than land. The Ancient Greeks relied on imported food due to their poor soil. Thus, the Greeks relied on trade routes to import goods from Egypt, Mesopotamia, Central Europe, and elsewhere. In addition to trading goods, the region became a hub for ideas, knowledge, and cultural, scientific, and technological advances. This helped the Greeks refine their scientific knowledge by encouraging a more rational exchange of ideas.
The Views Point of the Thales
Undoubtedly, the Egyptians, Babylonians, and Phoenicians had a significant influence on Euclid’s Elements, which is considered the oldest scientific book. Pythagoras formulated his mathematical principles. Aristotle conducted comprehensive studies on a wide range of subjects, encompassing various aspects of the animal kingdom. Indeed, Thales, the first Greek philosopher, personally participated in the olive trade and developed his philosophical principles based on the belief that water is the most important element in existence. He made a well-known prediction that favorable weather conditions, specifically heavy rainfall, would result in a bountiful harvest of olives, ultimately leading to his significant financial success. Consequently, the Greeks depended on trade, facilitating the interchange of ideas and practical sciences.
The Mountain Water Is Soul For Fertilize
Indian and Chinese civilizations, however, are more centered on rivers and mountains. This sets them apart from ancient Greece. Numerous rivers in India and China brought amazing soil from the Himalayas, enabling their agricultural economies to sustain a large population in large cities, thereby making them mostly self-sufficient. Other people was a plus, but not essential. China’s Yellow and Yangtze River, as well as Ancient India’s Indus and Ganges Rivers, all start in the snowy mountains of the Himalayas and traverse for thousands of kilometers, bringing fertile soil.
Greece’s Topography and Fertile Soil
It is not unexpected that both India and China depended on a crop that has a high water content. Rice. Unsurprisingly, Sadhguru, widely regarded as the most eminent Indian guru of our time, advocates a straightforward message: Preserve the soil. Eastern philosophy has a profound and intimate connection with the practice of soil cultivation and farming. Greece’s topography facilitated the prosperous exchange of goods and ideas among diverse societies and civilizations. While ancient China and India depended on their rivers for fertile soil, the Greeks had to acquire food from external sources while they awaited the arrival of nourishment through their rivers.
The Role of the Trade in Greek
From a perspective of survival, merchants held the utmost significance for the Greeks, whereas farmers held the utmost significance in the east. The Greeks’ mobility, as merchants, contrasted with the farmers’ immobility due to their land, enabling them to be more open to new ideas, technology, and scientific discoveries. Merchants exhibit a lower level of attachment to their established practices, allowing them to readily adapt to changes in the market or shifts in commodity demand. Today you engage in the trade of rice; tomorrow you engage in the trade of potatoes. Nevertheless, farmers encounter greater difficulty in swiftly adapting and modifying their practices. Thus, western philosophy places greater emphasis on practical sciences, whereas eastern philosophy gives priority to spiritualism.
Climate Also Plays a Role
If merchants don’t like something, they change, but if farmers don’t get enough water, they wait for the following season or accept their fate. It’s harder to leave your land and migrate. So western philosophy is more change-oriented, while eastern philosophy is more fatalistic. In other words, you change yourself. Climate to progress Climate also plays a role. India and China tend to be warmer throughout the year, so it makes sense to be in the here and now, which Buddhism teaches. Furthermore, seasons follow a predictable pattern every year, and people live a more cyclical life. The monsoon comes every year. Rivers flood at a specific time of the year.
Eastern Civilizations
In some ways, it was very similar to the Egyptian way of life around the Nile. Of course, when you rely on a river, you also experience severe famines, but they come every few years or decades. The Greeks navigated the seas where, for the most part, you’re in control of where you’re going. Eastern civilizations, on the other hand, centered themselves around rivers. On rivers, your path remains unchanging; the river guides you to its destination. As a result, eastern philosophy is more fatalistic. The fate of humans, animals, and plants is in the hands of the same rivers. It meant that they saw all living beings as part of a big family, so they didn’t put humans as outsiders, special, or above everybody else.Â
Merchants Relied On Peacetime to Continue Trading
In Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism, we are not only from nature; we are nature, just like other living beings. The Greeks, however, experienced colder winters, so they had to source and accumulate food for colder days. Since they relied on trade, wars always disrupted the trade routes, which meant you had to source your food from somewhere else. Merchants relied on peacetime to continue trading, but they also benefited from wars because certain commodities were more sought-The old adage holds true: war stimulates the economy by accelerating the movement of money compared to peacetime.
Aristotle’s Teleological Philosophy
Since things were pretty unpredictable, the Greeks had to think long-term and prepare not just for the cold winter but for the future, in case of warfare. The future became the most important time—not here and now, but next month and next year. Like a Zen Buddhist, you couldn’t afford to be here and now. So, for the Greeks, this long-term or linear perception of time became the dominant way of looking at the world. A famous example is Aristotle’s teleological philosophy, which holds that everything has a purpose, usually a single destination in the future. The original sin changed the world: Western philosophy, through its exchange with middle-eastern religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and later Islam, came to understand that humans were separate from the animal kingdom.
Buddha and Laozi Left the City on Their Spiritual Quest
Our mistakes result in our expulsion from the Garden of Eden. As a result, you try to compensate for your past mistakes. You want to correct the mistake. What do you do? You fight for causes. If you look at literature, heroes are often people who have sinned or made a terrible mistake. To redeem themselves, they fight injustice. One way to fight for justice is to make other people’s lives better. Often materially, you study the world, and you invent new technology to make life easier for others. Eastern philosophers were not looking for material comfort but more for mental and spiritual comfort. Buddha and Laozi left the city on their spiritual quest and went to the mountains and forests. Solitude allows you to seek answers within you, not outside.
Western Philosophy Relied On Dialogue and Exchange
Even today, the majority of Buddhist temples in India, Japan, and China are situated in the mountains and forests, far from populated areas, providing a refuge from social interaction. The core doctrine of Buddhism is that material comfort doesn’t make you happy in the long run. The Greeks, however, gathered in the city to debate and dialogue, like Socrates, who would walk around on the streets of Athens asking people questions, while others established schools like Plato’s Academy or Aristotle’s Lyceum. To flourish, learn, and improve, Western philosophy relied on dialogue and exchange, just as merchants do. The west built universities, churches, and schools in the middle of towns and villages so everyone could come, not like some remote temple that nobody could go to.Â
Eastern philosophy and Chinese civilizations
In eastern philosophy, you don’t force your will on nature to control or change it; you try to flow with it. Given the centrality of rivers in both Indian and Chinese civilizations, one often perceives river flow as nature’s path, where one must navigate around obstacles rather than resist or eliminate them. In other words, you change yourself, not the outside world. A good example is in India, where traffic moves around an obstacle, be it a cow or an accident. In the west, even a minor road accident can bring everything to a halt. So eastern philosophy tells you to be more fluid and flexible, like yoga, and less rigid. But western philosophy relies on manipulating nature through science and technology to make life easier for humans.Â
As a result, we live in a very comfortable period in history. While millions of people struggled to reach adulthood, today’s child morality stands at its lowest point in history. People live longer and healthier. However, this also has negative consequences for other species on Earth, as the more comfortable we are, the more difficult it becomes for some other species in certain areas.
Dr. Abid Hussain Nawaz, Post Doc & Ph.D.
Muhammad Mudassir, MPhil Scholar in social Work
For more reading
Philosophy: To Know the Truth
https://scienceresearchs.com/philosophy-to-know-the-truth/
Philosophy: A Guide to Understanding Fundamental Terms
https://scienceresearchs.com/philosophy-a-guide-to-understanding-fundamental-terms/
Thales: Philosopher Statement, Life Started With Water
https://scienceresearchs.com/thales-philosopher-statement-life-started-with-water/
