Perhaps the huge difference was that the West was more humane: it provided anesthesia for its patients, while the East, taking suffering as something to understand, rushed to the future nightmare with maximum indifference to pain.
The quote from Paul Bowles' "The Spider's House" highlights a stark contrast between Western and Eastern approaches to suffering, particularly in medical practices. Bowles suggests that the West adopts a more compassionate stance, utilizing anesthesia to alleviate pain for patients. This reflects a broader humanitarian approach that strives to minimize suffering, emphasizing comfort and care in the face of adversity.
In contrast, the East is depicted as embracing suffering as an...
