Question

Communication as a Reminder of Non-Separateness

The first Asiacentric proposition is that communication is a process in which we remind ourselves of the interdependence and interrelatedness of the universe. This proposition can complement the Western dominant thinking that communication is a process in which we demonstrate our independence and express our individuality. The two Asian themes of relationality and circularity have much to do with the ontological belief that the universe is a great whole in which everyone and everything are interrelated across space and time. No one and nothing in the universe exists in isolation (Chen, 2006; Jung, 2009; Miike, 2003a). Asian religions and philosophies illuminate the interpenetrated nature of the self, family, community, society, nation, world, and cosmos.

Confucius (551–479 BCE) remarks in the Analects (6: 30) that “if you wish to establish yourself, you have to help others to establish themselves; if you wish to complete yourself, you have to help others to complete themselves.” Similarly, in the words of Suzuki (2006), Buddhism teaches: “So to save oneself we have to save others. . . . By helping others, I may be able to save myself. My salvation and others’ salvation are so intimately involved, connected together, that we can never save ourselves just by ourselves. We must always be saved together” (p. 19). More interestingly, the Hindu notion of Virat Purusha [Cosmic Person] views each individual as the manifestation of the cosmos itself. The universe is “a single body where each element lives for all and all live for one . . . [T]he weal and woe of one individual affect another” (Saral, 1983, p. 54). It is the teaching of Hinduism that “the world of distinct and separate objects and processes is a manifestation of a more fundamental reality that is undivided and unconditioned” (Jain, 1991, p. 80).

The Asian worldview demands that we constantly communicate with fellow humans, nature, and the world of spirits in order to escape from the illusion that we are independent individuals in a particular place at a particular time (Miike, 2007). For humans are prone to engage in a present-oriented and lifeworld-centered way of thinking. It comes as no surprise, then, that Asian patterns of small group and organizational communication correspond especially to this ideal of communication as a reminder of . . . non-separateness with a view to strengthening group or organizational unity, loyalty, and harmony. The Indonesian musyawarah-mufakat performance and the Japanese nemawashi practice, for instance, allow group members not only to exchange ideas but also to increase the sense of interdependence and interrelatedness (Saito, 1982).

The Asian worldview essentially defines communication as an endless process in which we continuously locate and relocate ourselves in an ever- expanding network of relationships across space and time. This ancient yet radical Eastern idea of communication must be taken seriously now that the global village has never been so divided by wealth, power, technology, and influence in world history, and [now] that we have polluted the air we breathe and poisoned the water we drink to the extent that we risk our own lives (Tu, 1998, 2002). Social disintegration is also becoming a worldwide phenomenon in modern societies. As Asante (2005) observes, “The lack of connectedness creates insensitivity to others, harshness, abrasiveness, and arrogance” (p. 135). Yum (2000) further points out that “[a]lthough individual- ism has its own strength as a value, individualism that is not accompanied by commitments to large entities eventually forces people into a state of isolation, where life itself becomes meaningless” (p. 71). We must learn about communication as a way to realize that our well-being is inextricably and inescapably intertwined with [the well-being] of other members of the human family, nature, and even the supernatural.

What are some ways that a culture’s worldview could influence communication style? How could these create difficulties during an intercultural communication interaction?

Answer 1

Answer:

In the current era of globalization, the concept of inter-cultural communication is at its peak. I don’t deny that it was never existed before, but in the current state of 20th Century it has became a need of the hour for a lot of us. There are several people with the possibility to work in several different continents, at the same time there are several students across the globe who endeavor to have an internship offer in a foreign country university and talking about enterprises, most of their survival would be difficult in case of lack of presence in the foreign market. These are some of the very common reasons generating needs of the out for the inter-cultural communication.

Talking about the culture differentiations, generally every human being posses almost same biological characteristics such as eating, sleeping etc. however, when we talk about culture and the impact of these biological aspects, however the socialization of these aspects results in our thinking, feeling etc. the major difficulties arrive at the global front when these several types of inter cultural aspects comes into the picture. These cultural communications while having an interaction can be defined as a collective programming of several minds which can differentiate people from several other groups and cultures and these same differences create the difficulties during an intercultural communication interactions, if not well prepared in advance.