EPISTEMOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN THE CONCEPT OF “EAST” AND “WEST” (WITH REFERENCE TO PRINCIPLES THAT FORM CULTURE)

Do the words “East” and “West” mean more than just geographical orientations or areas? This seems to be a simple question, which cannot be answered easily.The difficulty in answering such a question seems to be rooted in questions that deal with universal concepts. Defining such universal concepts, which seems quite simple, is very difficult indeed - perhaps even impossible in some cases. “East” and “West” are among such concepts, and of course are bonded to even more complex concepts such as “culture” and “civilization” in general. This paper attempts to analyse the concept of “East” and “West” at an epistemological and a philosophical level, using an inductive and a descriptive methodology. It aims to describe how the concepts of “East” and “West” are in fact indicative of two different approaches to nature, before being descriptive of a particular geographical area or location.