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Reasoning must be equivalent across cultures, even where language varies, right? If not, wouldn't sciences be culturally relative (y'know, beyond a certain thre

Reasoning must be equivalent across cultures, even where language varies, right? If not, wouldn't sciences be culturally relative (y'know, beyond a certain threshold of like not worshiping a sun-god)? So, to me, what's actually being addressed in this article and with the research involved is merely that language shapes the way we perceive, but not necessarily how we think/reason. It's interesting, but more along the lines of anthropological insight, less how does the way I speak affect the way I write code/solve problems. You say that Anglo-Saxon culture is dominated by inductive reasoning. Is there a different system of reasoning dominant in other cultures? Not trying to be flippant, I'm ignorant of this topic and am interested in hearing what someone who can speak 3 languages knows.

diego_moita 13y ago
Well, reasoning is indeed equivalent across cultures, but only when these cultures embrace it. Reasoning is a cultural trait too and a lot of people or cultures don't know the rules of logic. These people/cultures use other ways of convincing and arguing instead of reasoning: strongly held prejudices, religious frameworks, proverbs, tribal loyalties, etc. Besides, inductive method is not the only form of reasoning; I find it interesting how the Germans are so much at ease with deductive reasoning using so precisely defined words and expressions. Like reasoning, another example of a western notion that we think as universal but it isn't: the humanist notion that every human being is worth the same regardless of gender and race. I find it shocking how many people find themselves as being worth less just because they are not white and/or male. In Latin-America this is changing fast and a lot but still is a widespread feeling among native South-Americans, blacks and women in rural settings.
- loupeabody 13y ago
  This feels like precisely what I was after in picking your brain, especially how German language encourages deductive reasoning (or maybe it's the other way around). It's a pretty obvious connection to me now, knowing German words like gemeinschaft. Perhaps it's fair to generalize that the more specific the concepts behind a language's vocabulary (maybe just the more frequently used words) the greater the average speaker's tendency to use deductive reasoning. Or at least, that's a good point of departure for more investigating. Thanks for the insight!

diego_moita 13y ago

Well, reasoning is indeed equivalent across cultures, but only when these cultures embrace it. Reasoning is a cultural trait too and a lot of people or cultures don't know the rules of logic. These people/cultures use other ways of convincing and arguing instead of reasoning: strongly held prejudices, religious frameworks, proverbs, tribal loyalties, etc. Besides, inductive method is not the only form of reasoning; I find it interesting how the Germans are so much at ease with deductive reasoning using so precisely defined words and expressions. Like reasoning, another example of a western notion that we think as universal but it isn't: the humanist notion that every human being is worth the same regardless of gender and race. I find it shocking how many people find themselves as being worth less just because they are not white and/or male. In Latin-America this is changing fast and a lot but still is a widespread feeling among native South-Americans, blacks and women in rural settings.

loupeabody 13y ago
This feels like precisely what I was after in picking your brain, especially how German language encourages deductive reasoning (or maybe it's the other way around). It's a pretty obvious connection to me now, knowing German words like gemeinschaft. Perhaps it's fair to generalize that the more specific the concepts behind a language's vocabulary (maybe just the more frequently used words) the greater the average speaker's tendency to use deductive reasoning. Or at least, that's a good point of departure for more investigating. Thanks for the insight!