Catalin’s Reviews > The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently... and Why > Status Update

Moreover, the invention of formal logic emerged from Greeks—from the Greeks' passion for debating,
which was, of course, part of the vision of choosing for themselves. And debates were encouraged.
So, it is believed that Aristotle, who was so annoyed by hearing bad arguments within the Agoras, that he put the basis of formal logic such that he can justify his arguments and prove bad arguments wrong.

Thus, it could have not existed as it was a contradiction in itself. So the concept of zero had to be imported from the East.
Now, regarding Greeks and Asians' view on life and on themselves. Greeks viewed themselves as individuals, each with the luxury of choosing for themselves.
So Greeks actually considered the most luxurious life—that of choosing for yourself—as a life of intellect and discovery.

Okay, so the main thesis of the book was very interesting. It started by asking why were Greeks good at geometry and such great inventors of it,
but Asians were very good at algebra. And it turns out there is a justification for that.
For instance, Greeks were obsessed with formal logic and contradictions. For instance, for them, the concept of zero did not exist because zero was non-existent and not being.