Can Yin-Yang Guide Chinese Indigenous Management Research?

Xin Li

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

    Abstract

    In this article, I argue that it is misleading to dichotomize the West as being either/or and the East as being both/and. The West has thought dialectically since ancient Greece. I offer a typology to compare and contrast three dialectical or non-either/or logical systems or ways of thinking: Chinese Yin-Yang philosophy, Hegel's dialectic, and Niels Bohr's complementarity principle, as well as Aristotle's formal (either/or) logic. I show that the four logical systems have differences and similarities and show that Westerners can and do think dialectically. I also argue that Chinese Yin-Yang philosophy, while useful and powerful in some situations, is not always superior to the other logical systems and philosophies. My purpose is to alert Chinese management scholars to the dangers of overconfidence and to stimulate discussion and debate on the true value of Yin-Yang in particular and the promotion of Chinese indigenous management research in general. To that end, I present my opinion on the merits and drawbacks of Yin-Yang and posit that it may inspire but cannot guide Chinese indigenous management research because Chinese philosophy lacks a well-defined methodology and operationalizable methods.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalManagement and Organization Review
    Volume10
    Issue number1
    Pages (from-to)7-27
    ISSN1740-8776
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2014

    Cite this

    Li, Xin. / Can Yin-Yang Guide Chinese Indigenous Management Research?. In: Management and Organization Review. 2014 ; Vol. 10, No. 1. pp. 7-27.
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    title = "Can Yin-Yang Guide Chinese Indigenous Management Research?",
    abstract = "In this article, I argue that it is misleading to dichotomize the West as being either/or and the East as being both/and. The West has thought dialectically since ancient Greece. I offer a typology to compare and contrast three dialectical or non-either/or logical systems or ways of thinking: Chinese Yin-Yang philosophy, Hegel's dialectic, and Niels Bohr's complementarity principle, as well as Aristotle's formal (either/or) logic. I show that the four logical systems have differences and similarities and show that Westerners can and do think dialectically. I also argue that Chinese Yin-Yang philosophy, while useful and powerful in some situations, is not always superior to the other logical systems and philosophies. My purpose is to alert Chinese management scholars to the dangers of overconfidence and to stimulate discussion and debate on the true value of Yin-Yang in particular and the promotion of Chinese indigenous management research in general. To that end, I present my opinion on the merits and drawbacks of Yin-Yang and posit that it may inspire but cannot guide Chinese indigenous management research because Chinese philosophy lacks a well-defined methodology and operationalizable methods.",
    keywords = "Chinese, Dialectic, Indigenous, Management research, Overconfidence, Yin-Yang",
    author = "Xin Li",
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    Li, X 2014, 'Can Yin-Yang Guide Chinese Indigenous Management Research?', Management and Organization Review, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 7-27. https://doi.org/10.1111/more.12042

    Can Yin-Yang Guide Chinese Indigenous Management Research? / Li, Xin.

    In: Management and Organization Review, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2014, p. 7-27.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

    TY - JOUR

    T1 - Can Yin-Yang Guide Chinese Indigenous Management Research?

    AU - Li, Xin

    PY - 2014

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    N2 - In this article, I argue that it is misleading to dichotomize the West as being either/or and the East as being both/and. The West has thought dialectically since ancient Greece. I offer a typology to compare and contrast three dialectical or non-either/or logical systems or ways of thinking: Chinese Yin-Yang philosophy, Hegel's dialectic, and Niels Bohr's complementarity principle, as well as Aristotle's formal (either/or) logic. I show that the four logical systems have differences and similarities and show that Westerners can and do think dialectically. I also argue that Chinese Yin-Yang philosophy, while useful and powerful in some situations, is not always superior to the other logical systems and philosophies. My purpose is to alert Chinese management scholars to the dangers of overconfidence and to stimulate discussion and debate on the true value of Yin-Yang in particular and the promotion of Chinese indigenous management research in general. To that end, I present my opinion on the merits and drawbacks of Yin-Yang and posit that it may inspire but cannot guide Chinese indigenous management research because Chinese philosophy lacks a well-defined methodology and operationalizable methods.

    AB - In this article, I argue that it is misleading to dichotomize the West as being either/or and the East as being both/and. The West has thought dialectically since ancient Greece. I offer a typology to compare and contrast three dialectical or non-either/or logical systems or ways of thinking: Chinese Yin-Yang philosophy, Hegel's dialectic, and Niels Bohr's complementarity principle, as well as Aristotle's formal (either/or) logic. I show that the four logical systems have differences and similarities and show that Westerners can and do think dialectically. I also argue that Chinese Yin-Yang philosophy, while useful and powerful in some situations, is not always superior to the other logical systems and philosophies. My purpose is to alert Chinese management scholars to the dangers of overconfidence and to stimulate discussion and debate on the true value of Yin-Yang in particular and the promotion of Chinese indigenous management research in general. To that end, I present my opinion on the merits and drawbacks of Yin-Yang and posit that it may inspire but cannot guide Chinese indigenous management research because Chinese philosophy lacks a well-defined methodology and operationalizable methods.

    KW - Chinese

    KW - Dialectic

    KW - Indigenous

    KW - Management research

    KW - Overconfidence

    KW - Yin-Yang

    U2 - 10.1111/more.12042

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    Li X. Can Yin-Yang Guide Chinese Indigenous Management Research? Management and Organization Review. 2014;10(1):7-27. https://doi.org/10.1111/more.12042

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