Does our western, modern frame of mind hinder our understanding of other cultures? Can we grasp their art, their literature, their philosophy or their ethics? Can we understand how they view the world and the place of humans in it?
Some cultures do not distinguish between left and right, some have no words for yes or no. It is said that if you want to understand an Eskimo you need to learn twelve different names for snow.
Ancient cultures took slavery for granted and saw human sacrifice as a good. Their values when we read about them in ancient texts are sometimes incomprehensible. Or do you think all cultures more than a hundred years old are incomprehensible? Are even Victorian books strange to us now?
Should we try to understand all cultures? Or is it impossible? Can we ever know why Stonehenge was built, can we understand how the Japanese see the world?
Come and discuss past and present cultures in GeekSpeak.
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