East and West: some immanent thoughts on paradigmatic intersection.

As a result of its long history under the weight of political, economical, and cultural imperialism, Latin America still suffers in many ways from West-centric cultural colonization. This influence is notably strong in the academic milieu. Following Shi-xu's suggestion that new and more inclusive Eastern paradigms should be constructed out of the dialogue between Eastern and Western thought, this paper aims to elaborate a paradigmatic co-existence, stressing its philosophical aspect. For this purpose I use Chinese Daoism and Afro-Brazilian danza de orixas as 'conceptual tools' to visualize some of the dominant Western patterns that shape our present academic procedures and general standpoints. I argue in favor of a philosophy of immanence as the proper frame for paradigmatic dialogue and construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]