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Last night my wife and I were “discussing” the possibility that Japanese and gaijin think differently. Emotion according to Answers.com A mental state that arises spontaneously rather than through conscious effort and is often accompanied by physiological changes; a feeling: the emotions of joy, sorrow, reverence, hate, and love. Number three is particularly interesting to me since I think it is one of the many reasons Japanese don’t understand foreigners living in Japan. Often I think that logics or critical thinking is a sadly missed trait of this country. It isn’t taught at any point of their education, while in America it’s a requirement from high school on. I believe, to understand a foreigner living in Japan one must understand how emotions play or don’t play in our decision making process. Westerners live on the outside looking in while Japanese dwell on the inside looking out. I think both sides have the same objective but that we process the information differently. More precisely, I mean to say emotion plays a bigger role in the Japanese decision making process than in that of an American. Intellect is taken as an attack when forced upon the dweller. Reaction is not logical but rather learned. Intuition is based on acceptable or unacceptable rather than advantageous or disadvantageous. In Japan, I think education is a means to get everyone up to speed in order to be ready for training upon entering the company, whereas in America it is training to enter the workforce; which entails competition. Intellect in Japan is secondary to group consensus. Learning how to allow everyone to voice their opinion and then reaching a consensus is considered a better skill than a leader who can push the process forward in order to instigate the right decision. It’s not uncommon for business people to have three hour meetings, work overtime, go out drinking after work and partake in various other “meetings.” So how can Japanese attempt to understand the world if emotion and group consensus dictate what is right or wrong? Curiosity alone will kill you–just ask the cat. You must be logged in to post a comment. |
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I know it might sound surprising, but actually I thought I was on to something. Hear me out. I often wonder why why why my wife feels that I am attacking her every time I question her thinking. 
Peace.
so uhm yeah, greetings from an half irish half arabic guy that lives in germany! ah and start making more podcasts, like 3 a week 
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