Most of the "the West" is definitely not materialist - the problem is that they conflate their mythos with their logos and expect certainty when there is and can be none. And they're afraid to say "I don't know".
the world is what it is
But WHAT is it? I don't think we know. A metaphysics is one's underlying model for everything. Are there metaphysics that actually work?
This as an inquiry, not angst.
And they're afraid to say "I don't know".
"Don't know" is the starting point for Zen: It is okay not to know--not at all the worst place to be. ;) The Fates are kind.
Are there metaphysics that actually work?
But WHAT is it?
I've always had a fondness for an 'answer' provided in the Yoga Vasistha (India, 500 CE).
"The world is an impression left by the telling of a story."
My problem with such metaphors is that instead of being compelling for some insight, they are compelling for being antropomorphic, that is, referring to stuff we have 'innate sense of' and don't immediately think of something whose meaning could be philosophically (or metaphysically) complicated itself. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
In the classical Indian scheme, there are 6 complementary views... none of which paints the whole picture... these views are called:
Nyaya: Sets forth the rules and limits of thought/logic/language Vaisheshika: Analysis (an ancient atomic theory is part of this approach) Samkhya: An atheistic, dualistic approach which posits an essential difference between matter and mind Yoga: Gnosis Mimamsa: A theistic approach Vedanta: Posits an essential non-duality
These are considered complementary approaches.
