Page 276 - Cultures and Organizations

Yesterday, Now, or Later? 249

ern minds produced a fourth dimension dealing with Truth; a questionnaire
invented by Eastern minds found a fourth dimension dealing with Virtue.
Data from the public opinion survey of human values and satisfactions
mentioned earlier showed that people in high-LTO countries were more

satisfied than people in low-LTO countries with their personal contribu-
tions in the areas of “Being attentive to daily human relations, deepen-
ing human bonds in family, neighborhood and friends or acquaintances”
and “Making efforts to correct social inequality and injustice, bringing
29
about fair and equal life for everybody.” Respondents in cultures with a

short-term orientation felt less satisfied with their contributions to these
good causes. In a culture that believes in absolute criteria for good and
evil, it is difficult to be satisfied with one’s own efforts at doing good. In

cultures with a long-term orientation, a strong concern for Virtue allows
a pragmatic integration of morals and practice. Virtue is not based on
absolute standards for good and evil; what is virtuous depends on the cir-
cumstances, and when behaving virtuously, one doesn’t feel a strong need
to do more for correcting social injustice.
The Western concern with Truth is supported by an axiom in Western
logic that a statement excludes its opposite: if A is true, B (which is the
opposite of A) must be false. Eastern logic does not have such an axiom. If
A is true, its opposite B may also be true, and together they produce a wis-
dom superior to either A or B. Human truth in this philosophical approach
is always partial. People in East and Southeast Asian countries see no
problem in adopting elements from different religions or adhering to more
than one religion at the same time. In countries with such a philosophi-
cal background, a practical nonreligious ethical system like Confucianism
can become a cornerstone of society. In the West ethical rules tend to be
derived from religion: Virtue from Truth.

According to Danish sinologist Verner Worm, the Chinese give prior-
ity to common sense over rationality. Rationality is abstract, analytical,
and idealistic, with a tendency to logical extremes, whereas the spirit of
common sense is more human and in closer contact with reality. 30
Western psychology assumes that people seek cognitive consistency,
meaning that they avoid mutually conflicting bits of information. This

31
seems to be less the case in East and Southeast Asian countries. In com-
parison with North Americans, the Chinese viewed disagreement as less
harmful to personal relationships than injury or disappointment. A differ-
ent opinion did not hurt their egos. 32