Showing posts with label eurocentric. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eurocentric. Show all posts

Friday, April 25, 2008

Isn't It Great to be Eurocentric?

There are certain beliefs, valid or otherwise, that have led Eurocentric thinkers toward ignoring, undervaluing, or condemning non-European societies. There is a wide range of these, some applying more broadly in chronological terms than others. They include the following:

Non-European societies tend to be despotic and servile, as against the West's freedom and individualism.
Non-European societies are Islamic, or pagan, or believe in strange religions, which are inferior to Christianity, or lack its truth.
Non-European societies are cruel and lack concern for human life. They practice barbaric customs toward women, such as female genital mutilation (north Africa), widow-burning (sati, India) or foot-binding (China).
Non-European societies are inflexible and unchanging. Some European thinkers have attributed this lack of change to topography or climate, for instance extreme dependence on a major river, such as the Nile or the Yellow River, or extreme heat or dryness.
Non-European societies are poor, backward, and underdeveloped, as opposed to the industrialized, progressive, and rich West.
Non-European societies lack rational modes of thinking and scientific approaches.


I would just like to know which one of those things isn't true.