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The Soul and its Mechanism - Introduction |
One of the most hopeful signs of the time is the growing
understanding of the Oriental point of view, and the tendency to investigate it. The
psychology of our two hemispheres is so widely different, the approach to truth so
dissimilar, that only lately have students considered the possibility of their fundamental
unity, and that a new outlook on man and his environment may emerge out of the fusion of
the Eastern and Western interpretations of life. Old interpretations may fail, yet ancient
truths will stand: old misconceptions may be recognized as misleading, but reality will
radiate clearer light and beauty. From the union of our different sciences, thought and
deductions, a new psychology may emerge based on the comprehension, so familiar to the
West, of the structure which man uses, and the comprehension, so familiar in the East, of
the energy or spirit with which man animates and directs his structure. These - the
structure and the motivating energy - are not antagonistic but mutually interdependent.
They have an essential unity. Western psychology concerns itself primarily with the structure, with the tangible objective universe and with the reaction of objective man to that world. It deals with man as an animated body; it emphasizes the mechanics of his nature, [19] and the instrument he uses. It is therefore mechanistic and deals only with that which can be subjected to tests and experiment. It investigates the body and accounts for the emotions and the mentality, and even for what it calls the soul, in terms of the body. Durant points out this position in the following words:
It explains various types and temperaments in terms of the mechanism. Louis Berman sums up this position in his interesting book as follows:
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