Chinese Thinking Styles and Religion

Abstract

Is there any experimental evidence indicating there is something different or distinct about the psychology of ethnic Chinese? Might such differences challenge the purported universality of the cognitive biases outlined in succeeding chapters of this volume? The most developed body of psychological literature showing evidence of significant differences in the reasoning styles of Chinese and “Western” participants is that examining holistic vs. analytic reasoning styles. In this chapter we first introduce this body of research’s key terms and key empirical findings demonstrating Chinese preference for holistic reasoning. Then, we connect particular elements of holistic reasoning to cultural logics operant in cornerstones of traditional Chinese thought—yin-yang theory, Doctrine of the Mean (zhong yong), wu wei, past-oriented reasoning (i.e., assumptions of cyclical time), and pragmatism—that may, hermeneutic scholarship suggests, challenge the universality of cognitive biases posited by the naturalness theory of religion. Finally, in our conclusion we attempt to draw a finer point on particular challenges holistic reasoning may present to particular components of the naturalness theory.