On Philosophical Synthesis

Abstract

I do not think that a synthesis of the East and the West and of their different thought is possible. Apart from those points of contact which are due to the fundamental identity of the human mind and of the instruments at its disposal, the two trends of thought too often look at the same problems-nature, man, and God-and at their relations with each other altogether differently. Both in the East and in the West there are peculiarities far deeper than those encountered in Europe between AngloSaxon and Latin cultures or in Asia between Chinese and Hindu thought. Just as two persons educated in the same school do not see things in the same way and neither of them can be made to renounce his own views or to accept the other's, without losing his individuality, equally so is it with the East and the West. They are both what they are; in some points they agree, in others they maintain opposite views. The Western mind has made such progress along scientific paths that it places intellect above all else. What we want is knowledge and action. On the other hand, the East, despite its varieties of thought, has placed the accent on realization and experience. I do not say that these aspects of Western and Eastern culture should be taken rigidly, but certainly they cannot be denied. The real synthesis should first be achieved in man, in whom intellect and experience, knowledge and intuition, certitude and dreams, should be equally balanced. With us in the West, the prevalence of intellect has done away with this equilibrium; admiration for science and the facilities, now extant, for participating in scientific and intellectual conquests, so different from spiritual experiences, which cannot be imparted, are endangering even the East nowadays. So, in my opinion, both East and West, through their most representative personalities, should co-operate toward a reintegration of man, simply of man, whether Western or Eastern. In so doing, the cultural heritage of the East can greatly contribute in preventing both East and West from giving way to a dangerous idolatry of intellectualism.