This document discusses cultural differences in reasoning about contradiction between Western and Eastern thought. It provides an overview of different psychological responses to apparent contradiction such as denial, discounting, differentiation, and integration. Integration, a key feature of Western dialectical thinking, involves comparing information and deciding one view is right and the other wrong. Eastern dialectical thinking focuses more on principles of change, contradiction, and relationships between concepts. Studies show Chinese participants preferred dialectical thinking that considers multiple perspectives while Americans preferred logical non-contradictory arguments and became more extreme in their views.

1. Ｃｕｌｔｕｒｅ，Ｄｉａｌｅｃｔｓ，
ａｎｄ Ｒｅａｓｏｎｉｎｇ
ａｂｏｕｔ Ｃｏｎｔｒａｄｉｃｔｉｏ
ｎ

2. Professor
Kaping Peng
➲a tenured
faculty member
at the
Department of
Psychology of
the University of
California at
Berkeley.

3. Richard E. Nisbett
➲is Theodore M.
Newcomb
Distinguished
Professor of social
psychology and co-
director of the
Culture and
Cognition program
at the University of
Michigan at Ann
Arbor.

4. Ｐｓｙｃｈｏｌｏｇｉｃａｌ ｒｅ
ｓｐｏｎｓｅｓ ｔｏ
ａｐｐａｒｅｎｔ ｃｏｎｔｒａｄ
ｉｃｔｉｏｎ：

5. Ｄｅｎｉａｌ
➲ｎｏｔ ｔｏ ｄｅａｌ ｗｉｔｈ ｃｏｎｔ
ｒａｄｉｃｔｉｏｎ ａｔ ａｌｌ ｏｒ ｐｒ
ｅｔｅｎｄ ｔｈａｔ ｔｈｅｒｅ ｉｓ ｎｏ
➲ｃｏｎｔｒａｄｉｃｔｉｏｎ．
➲Ｄｉｓｃｏｕｎｔｉｎｇ
➲ｔｏ ｄｉｓｔｒｕｓｔ ｆｏｒ ｄｉｓｃｏ
ｕｎｔ ｂｏｔｈ ｐｉｅｃｅｓ ｏｆ ｉｎｆ

6. Ｄｉｆｆｅｒｅｎｔｉａｔｉｏｎ
➲ｉｎｖｏｌｖｅｓ ｃｏｍｐａｒｉｎｇ ｂｏｔｈ
ｉｔｅｍｓ ｏｆ
➲ｉｎｆｏｒｍａｔｉｏｎ，ｔｈｅｎ ｄｅｃｉｄｉ
ｎｇ ｔｈａｔ ｏｎｅ ｉｓ
➲ｒｉｇｈｔ ａｎｄ ｔｈｅ ｏｔｈｅｒ ｉｓ ｗ
ｒｏｎｇ．
➲Ｄｉａｌｅｃｔｉｃａｌ ｔｈｉｎ
ｋｉｎｇ

8. CONTRADICTION

10. Integration
→ key feature of Western
dialectical thinking.

12. “ The process of historical
development is endless because the
synthesis itself becomes a new thesis,
and is in turn negated by a new
antithesis producing a new synthesis,
and so on ad infinitum.”
- Marx and Engels

13. ➲Integrative complexity
➲→ the ability to view problems from
multiple perspectives and use multiple
rules for thinking about them.

14. Three different Principles

15. Law of Identity
→ This law holds that if anything is true, then it
is true; thus, A equals A.
“ everything is what it is”.- Leibniz

16. Law of Noncontradiction
→ this law declares that no statement can
be both true and false; thus, A cannot equal
not-A.
example:
➲“a student is not a non-student”
➲“ A is B, A is not B”

17. Law of the Excluded Middle
→ this law expresses the rule that any
statement is either true or false; thus, A or B,
and not A and B
→ “ A is either B or not-B” .
example:
➲A person must either be a “student” and
“nonstudent”.
➲Expression

19. Principle of Change
( Bian Yi Lu)
→ this principle holds that reality is a
process. It does not stand still but it is in
constant flux.

20. Principle of Contradiction
( Mao Dun Lu)
→ states that reality is not precise or
cut-and- dried but is full of
contradictions.

21. “When the people of the world all know
beauty as beauty, there arises the
recognition of ugliness. When they all
know the good as good, there arises the
recognition of evil, and so, being and
nonbeing produce each other.”
- Lao- Zi

22. Principle of Relationship or Holism
→ This principle that constitutes the
essence of dialectical thinking.
→ It is a consequence of the principles of
change and contradiction.

24. STUDIES

27. ➲Doctrine of the mean
➲→ emphasizes moderation, sincerity, and
reasonable middle-of-the-road approach.

30. ➲Conclusions:
➲Chinese participants preferred dialectical
proverbs, americans preferred
nondialectical ones.
➲Chinese participants preferred
compromise solutions, Americans
preferred noncompromise solutions.
➲Chinese participants preferred dialectical
arguments, Americans preferred logical
arguments.
➲Chinese participants moderated their
views, Americans became more extreme.