It isn't just cultural, it is also genetic.

The 5-HTR1A gene affects whether we more easily make relative versus absolute judgments. And this seems to be true for everything from the length of lines, to quality of life. The allele that is most common in East Asia makes relative judgements easier, in America it is absolute judgements that are easier.

Politically, having the relative form of the gene encourages more community thinking while the absolute encourages more individualism. This leaning holds within whatever society you're in. But when a culture is dominated by one form of the gene, it will naturally shift the entire society.

I learned this from pages 183-186 of https://www.amazon.com/Whos-Charge-Free-Science-Brain/dp/006... and I've wondered ever since how many of my opinions are reason (as it feels) versus genetics.

If you're interested in these questions, you should read http://www.amazon.com/Whos-Charge-Free-Science-Brain/dp/0061... to learn more about how brains work.

There is good evidence that different parts of our brain think in very different ways, and we suppress awareness of how different they are. Verbal thinking in particular relies heavily on a section of the brain that is very good at making rationalizations, and is not necessarily well connected to the parts of your brain that are making the decisions you are trying to understand. Therefore our verbal descriptions of thinking is interesting, but not particularly reliable or informative.

It is worth noting that many negative reviews come from people who think that current thought from philosophical schools should have been included. Given my temperament and beliefs, I took this as a buy recommendation and am happy that I did.