"In the West, theology has been primarily a dialectical exercise, while in the East, it has been perceived primarily as an ontological process, an existential experience, that is, the theology must be shaped by a living encounter, an actual experiencing in contemplative prayer (theoria) of the object of the theologizing."
This is a better wording of what I meant to say above.
"In the West, theology has been primarily a dialectical exercise, while in the East, it has been perceived primarily as an ontological process, an existential experience, that is, the theology must be shaped by a living encounter, an actual experiencing in contemplative prayer (theoria) of the object of the theologizing." The problem with a statement like this is that you are trying to pigeonhole two "groups" in nice little packages that divide them - even where a division doesn't exist.
Do you really believe that contemplative prayer has been lacking in Western Christianity. This does absolutely no justice to the many mystics in the West.
Besides, St. Thomas Aquinas was in fact a greater mystic than Schoolman, though he is more well known for his Summa.