’n Kennis anders as die bloot analitiese? Die Westerse denkwyse versus dié van die Ooste en Afrika

Abstract

Knowledge different from merely the analytical? The Western way of thinking versus the Eastern and African mode of thought

This study addresses the problem of intercultural contact and communication from the angle of the different ways of thinking in the West, the East and Africa. As an introduction, the author explains his own viewpoint about culture and worldview as well as how culturalworldviewish differences should be evaluated. In the first main section the Western mode of thought is contrasted with both ancient Hebrew thinking and that of the modern Japanese. This is followed by an analysis of the differences between the thought patterns of the Western mind and that of the (traditional) African. The study reveals remarkable similarities between the contours of thinking in the East and Africa in contrast with that of the West. In conclusion, the distilled theoretical (cultural-philosophical) insights are applied practically to the educational situation (secondary as well as tertiary) on the African continent.