Nisbett: Similarities Between Greece And China

Chapter Two in TITLE
In chapter two, Nisbett further examined the culture and identity of the Greeks and Chinese. We know that chapter one explained several differenced from the two ancient cultures, but chapter two took things further by exploring the factors that cause these differences. The main point that was discussed was that ecological and social factors in both the ancient cultues played an important role in the formation of identities. The information explained that differences in the land led to differences in social reasoning, and that both of these differences influenced the way that ancient Greeks and Chinese viewed themselves and the people around them.
Nisbett started off by introducing the contrasts between the two ecologies of Greece and China. The land was very
One example of this was the idea that ancient Greeks had several separate city states with different governments. If you did not like the ruler of your city state or if people did not accept your ideas, you could simply move on to another location in Greece. Due to the flat, open land in China, this was not as easily accomplished for the ancient Chinese. A second example was that Ancient Greeks did not need to depend on others in order to gather food and other goods, and this allowed them to develop independent identities in which their needs were put first. The ancient Chinese, however, had to rely on each other to gather the food that they grew. Therefore, they developed a strong sense of community and interdependent identities. Overall, Nisbett focused on the impact that ecology had on the identities of the ancient Greeks and Chinese and how these differences led to further social differences. The major differences between the two cultures greatly impacted their identities, and you can still identify these differences