Scholars in the fields of psychology and indigenous philosophy have noted that explanations of differences between East and West, such as individualism/collectivism, have relied almost exclusively on theoretical constructs generated in the contexts Western cultural epistemologies (Cheng, 1987; Peng and his colleagues argued that indigenous concepts need to be introduced into mainstream study, and that cultural differences between Western and Eastern peoples in the domains of thinking and reasoning can be attributed to differences between epistemologies popular Western and Eastern (Peng et al., 2006). Furthermore, communication theory can be explored from both Western and Eastern perspectives by introducing philosophical thoughts (Cushman & Kincaid, 1987). human and human understanding, philosophy can make contributions to contemporary communication theory by recognizing the crucial need for human context for communication (Cushman & Kincaid, 1987). Cheng (1987) noted that by introducing a philosophical perspective, the way of communicating can be understood in a much broader sense. For example, when comparing the differences between the West and China, scholars have pointed out that while Chinese thinking and reasoning are mostly guided by the popular version of Taoism and Ch'an Buddhism, Western thinking and reasoning are mostly Aristotelian in spirit (Cheng, 1987; Peng et al., 2006). The theoretical foundation of Taoist belief is the idea that two opposites are mutually dependent on each other (Peng et al., 2006). This mutual dependence can be found between form and substance, between knowledge and action, and between symbol and e...... middle of paper ......ive emphasizes altruism and submission to central authority as a means institutional to achieve unity and harmony between man and nature and this is the main objective of communication. In contrast, the Western perspective emphasizes self-cultivation and the submission of human and natural resources to individual control as the central means of achieving individual and group goal achievement. According to the Eastern perspective, an individual's participation in a collective institutional structure motivates human action and human communication, therefore satisfies the need for participation (Cushman & Kincaid, 2006). According to the Western perspective, an individual's desire for political, social and economic self-realization activates human action and human communication, therefore, serves the need for self-realization (Cushman & Kincaid, 2006).