From: mtachiba@rkna50.riken.go.jp (Masahiko Tachibana)
Subject: Re: There's-only-one-Truth-ism?
Followup-To: fj.misc
Organization: Institute of Physical & Chemical Research (RIKEN) Saitama,Japan
            <MAGNUS.92Jul23131615@is19e0s00.jaist-east.ac.jp>
Distribution: fj
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 09:05:52 GMT

    Thanks a lot for your followup, Dave and Magnus.  

    In the latest post <1992Jul22.115549.12767@rkna50.riken.go.jp> I wrote:

>>	May I understand that your former opinion as follows?  Japanese
>>tends to have mentality that he/she believes or lets him/herself believe 
>>there's only one truth.  Too much simplification?

    First of all,
In article <2140@aegis.or.jp> davidg@aegis.or.jp (Dave McLane) writes:

>Probably too much simplification but I think it's relatively true
>compared to other countries. IMHO, this kind of thinking is why "the
>trains run on time", meaning that things work very very well in
>Japan and the quality control is excellent. 

    On the other hand,
In article <MAGNUS.92Jul23131615@is19e0s00.jaist-east.ac.jp> 
magnus@jaist-east.ac.jp (Magnus Halldorsson) writes:

>I beg to differ. I would say that Japanese culture is much *less*
>one-correct-answer oriented than the Occidental culture. The nature of
>Japanese interpersonal communication is strongly based on the idea
>that truth and morals are relativistic. Conflicting opinions are not
>necessarily wrong, incorrect, or immoral, but may be right for that
>person or society.
>On the other hand, so many Westerners believe in the concept that if
>they believe in something, then non-believers must be wrong. What
>other reason can you see behind coercions like "Let's Boycott Country
>X!", where X incidentally often seems to include Japan due to some
>"immoral" actions like hunting the 'wrong' kinds of animals.

    I would say that in small social group Japanese people are still
standing on a view as Magnus writes.  But I feel sorry that Japan as
a whole seems to persue single value.  And I think it is not our
own character but a result of the policy of the government throughout
this century.  
    It may be possible to say that a Japanese behaves as a flexible-minded
person to the people in the same hierarchy, a slave to the people in the 
upper hierarchy.  (English rich enough to take the context? :-)
    Any comment is appreciated.

    Thanks again for the quotation from Kurt Vonegutt, Dave.  
Certainly we have been in a society where implicit understanding goes. 
And I agree to what you have written ----

> There seems two major trends in the world right now: 1) Folk
> Societies (also known as Ethnic Minorities) are becoming
                           ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^ (sounds bad to me)
> increasingly powerful (Czehcs and Slovaks) and 2) people are
> becoming increasingly dependent on events around the world (effects
> of atomic testing/accidents don't stop at national borders). 

    Now I am interested in talk/discuss/chatting to the people
from differnt community or society through networks where no implicit
understanding works.  It's rather hard for me as I have no experience
in living outside Japan.   However, it is encouraging that people in
networks can't stop at national borders :-)
    Kore kara mo yoroshiku!  ( nearly equal to `I look forward to see
you again') 

--
 Masahiko[1] Tachibana[2] 	  E-mail:  mtachiba@rkna50.riken.go.jp
 Lab. of Organometallic Chemistry,   Tel:  +81-48-462-1111 ext.3513
 The Institute of Physical and       Fax:  +81-48-462-4665
 Chemical Research (RIKEN), Wako-shi, 351-01 Japan.  [2]$B5L(B [1]$B2mI'(B