From: blamb@sparc1.hri.com (Bill Lambert)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.korean,soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: korean and japanese culture
Date: 15 Apr 92 22:31:08 GMT
Article-I.D.: bigbird.6293
Reply-To: blamb@sparc1.hri.com (Bill Lambert)
Followup-To: soc.culture.korean
Organization: Horizon Research


> In article <Mdv550y00awKM2Y0Um@andrew.cmu.edu> ar2j+@andrew.cmu.edu
(Anthony Russell Rosania) writes:
> >You are all wrong- EVERYONES cultures are all just watered down handouts
> >of long lost caveman civilizations, that migrated across the continents
> >back before the days of continental drift---- BOW TO YOUR CAVEMAN
> >ANCESTRY!! -JUST A JOKE.... oh and by the way Steve..... I told you this
> >would happen.
> >

In article <_Gp+!s@engin.umich.edu>, coops@engin.umich.edu (David John
Cooper) writes:
> I think every culture is in fact a watered-down or bastardized
> version of some original ancient culture.  The Vedic period in
> India seems to contain many features which pop up in different
> forms in present-day cultures.  I was surprised to learn that
> many things have their origin in ancient India:  Buddhism (came
> from Vedic religion), chess, so-called "Arabic" numbering
> system, martial arts, algebra, geometry and calculus, aviation,
> robotics, etc., etc...
> 
> I saw a three-line proof of the Pythagorean theorem which comes
> from Vedic math scriptures thousands of years prior to
> Pythagorus himself.
> 
> The actual Vedic literatures have people existing in civilized 
> form many thousands of years previous to what western historians
> want to accept.
> 
> The deity worship aspect of Hinduism also has strong resemblance
> to the Shinto.  
> 
> Not an informed opinion, so no flames please -- just a casual
> observation.
> 
> dave

Thanks for your nice observations, Dave, and not so casual at that.

{There is the famous quote from Gandhi, who, when asked what he 
thought of Western Civilization replied, "Sounds like a good idea!"}

Of course different cultures are based on what has gone before them,
and even 'today' will be seen by future generations as an 'ancient culture'
someday. I wonder what those future scholars will make of the sudden
burst of cross-cultural fertilization taking place between the US
and Japan in this century, and what the long term effect of this period
will be in terms of the dilution and/or reinforcement of those cultures -
both of which at this stage are homogenized blends of numerous aspects
of previous and existing cultures. It's fun to think about. Will Tokyo
be so strikingly different than New York in 200 or 300 years? Maybe....
maybe not.

In addition to the obvious spread of culture through actual contact of
peoples, the theories of Joseph Campbell postulate that no matter where
or when cultures developed or flourished, they embraced certain common
elements of myth, legend, and folklore that arose from the needs of the
human psyche. Sometimes.... if his theories are accurate.... it is among
these things that we can find many parallel points of culture and values.
Some points from Dave's post about religious aspects may be due to the
humanly inherent mythological tendencies that the learned Joe Campbell
has brought forth.

No particular point. Just musing.

Bill
Newsgroups: soc.culture.korean