How best to see outside your own culture, beyond the ideas in vogue?

[Ansiktsburk]

I don't know about that vogue thing, but do you have to make it that complicated?

To simply read about and communicate with people from other cultures, studying the history of those cultures, why is that so bad?

[duszek]

Yes, Leo.

I do not blame the Pakistanis. I just point out a cultural difference.

What would be a good way of talking to a Pakistani host if we were visiting him in his country and he offered us such a spectacle as a special treat ?
Should we pretend to enjoy it (out of politeness) ?
Should we start a philosophical and ethical discussion ?

[Ansiktsburk]

Yes, Leo.

I do not blame the Pakistanis. I just point out a cultural difference.

What would be a good way of talking to a Pakistani host if we were visiting him in his country and he offered us such a spectacle as a special treat ?
Should we pretend to enjoy it (out of politeness) ?
Should we start a philosophical and ethical discussion ?

As I said above, just observe? Is that so bad? Or something like, say "in our country we dont do that. Why do you enjoy that?"

[Obvious Leo]

What would be a good way of talking to a Pakistani host if we were visiting him in his country and he offered us such a spectacle as a special treat ?
Should we pretend to enjoy it (out of politeness) ?
Should we start a philosophical and ethical discussion ?

An interesting question. I was invited to a cock-fight once and simply politely declined without offering an explanation. I certainly didn't feel that I had the moral authority to deliver a lecture on the subject but if I had been pressed on the matter I would probably have revealed that watching birds fighting to the death was not my idea of a fun night out. A game of pool and a few beers is good enough for me.

[duszek]

Yes, this is good.

And one could even offer: and how about our culture ? Is there anything in our culture that would be perfectly unacceptable for you ?

It could be alcohol !

Cock-fighting is enjoyed in Indonesia or Malaysia and if they are muslims they loath alcohol.

[duszek]

Putin has restricted the rights of Turks working and doing business in Russia.

I am wondering: how can Turkish businessmen make deals with Russians in Russia if drinking vodka at the occasion is a must for Russians ?
How do they compromise ?

[Ansiktsburk]

Putin has restricted the rights of Turks working and doing business in Russia.

I am wondering: how can Turkish businessmen make deals with Russians in Russia if drinking vodka at the occasion is a must for Russians ?
How do they compromise ?

Read Turkish history, talk to turkish people.

[duszek]

I can easily imagine that the party who is more anxious to make the business take place compromises more.

A Viking would drink camel milk to seal the deal if the deal is important enough for him ...

[Bill Wiltrack]

.


Camel milk & vodka...then a good cock fight.


.

[duszek]

An Italian journalist once mentioned her interview with Dalai Lama.
His sanctity showed up wearing a t-shirt with Mickey Mouse and when asked about it explained that he wanted to give her pleasure or to make her smile (I read a translation of her book, I don´t know what he said exactly). He had bought the garment on a market in India.

She appreciated his kindness and his sense of humour.

[Arising_uk]

A study of Philosophy might be a good start as then at least you'll understand some of the history of your voguish ideas.

[Ansiktsburk]

A study of Philosophy might be a good start as then at least you'll understand some of the history of your voguish ideas.

Macciavelli and Plato's Republic is also a part of the history of philosophy.

[Arising_uk]

Macciavelli and Plato's Republic is also a part of the history of philosophy.

So?

[Ansiktsburk]

Macciavelli and Plato's Republic is also a part of the history of philosophy.

So?

I'll try my best without googling, please correct me if I get it wrong:
Oh, the tangled webs we weave
When we practice to deceive

Maybe there was a "first" in there somewhere. But deceiving all the same makes webs tangeled.

It IS good to read those guys, maybe. Actually, I love The Republic. But what exactly does those works learn us about the culture in different places? That it is the clever guys who construct the cultures?

[Obvious Leo]

That it is the clever guys who construct the cultures?

I reckon it's hardly a controversial proposition to suggest that a culture is a construct of the society which contrives it rather than a reflection of some sort of truth about the nature of reality. What we seem to be slow to realise is how quickly our cultural truths can change in an information age. Even a decade ago who could have predicted that Ireland, of all places, might be the first country in the world to legalise gay marriage as a direct result of a universal plebiscite, or that the US might be one of the world leaders in acknowledging that prohibition is an ineffective method for dealing with some of the problems relating to psycho-active substance abuse. Even in the course of my own lifetime a belief in god within my own culture has become little more than a quaint historical curiosity when only a few decades ago it was the default mode of thought for a vast majority of our population. The only thing constant about a culture is its inconstancy.