Western Interpretations of Eastern Spirituality: So-cial Cognition in the Reception of Siddhartha
Institute of Malaysia and International Studies (IKMAS), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia
Abstract
This study examines Western interpretations of Eastern spirituality through the reception of Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha. Although the novel is widely read as a literary representation of Buddhist philosophy, scholars have suggested that its spiritual vision reflects a Western reinterpretation of Eastern traditions rather than an accurate representation of Buddhist doctrine. Drawing on Orientalism theory, social cognition theory, and cross-cultural communication perspectives, this study explores how Eastern spiritual ideas are represented in literary form and interpreted by Western readers. The research adopts a qualitative design combining interpretive textual analysis with reader reception analysis. The textual analysis focuses on key philosophical themes in Siddhartha, including enlightenment, self-discovery, individuality, and the relationship between humanity and nature. In addition, approximately 200 reader reviews from online literary platforms were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify recurring patterns in reader interpretation. The findings indicate that the spiritual philosophy presented in Siddhartha reflects a hybrid framework shaped by both Eastern traditions and Western individualistic thought. Reader responses further show that Western audiences frequently interpret the novel as a narrative of personal self-realization rather than as an expression of Buddhist doctrine. These results suggest that Eastern spiritual ideas are actively reconstructed through literary representation and culturally shaped interpretive frameworks.
Keywords:
Siddhartha; Eastern spirituality; Orientalism; social cognition; reader receptionCopyright Notice & License:
This article is published in the Journal of Social Cognition and Communication under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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