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Historicism = Histrionics

Reader comment on item: Dante, Chaucer, Shakespeare – and Me

Submitted by Pied Piper (United States), Jul 23, 2015 at 11:56

"...Vico, Hegel, Marx, and others." may have been Eurocentric in their outlook and conception of civilization (writ large), but they were far from being unique in this regard. Almost every civilization/culture of any significance has thought of itself as the center of the universe, let alone as the center of mankind.

China, for example, has long seen itself as the Jung Gwo-the Middle Kingdom- the center of civilization, whose Emperor held a "Mandate from Heaven" and that non-Chinese were simply worthless barbarians.

The ancient Greeks were so enamored of themselves that they contributed their Hellenic term βάρβαρος (barbaros) to countless lexicons throughout Europe and beyond to describe uncivilized foreigners.

The Arabs too, have had their dose of narcissism as exemplified by the Koranic Surat Aal Imraan (3:110) which brazenly declares: "You (the Arabs) are the Greatest of people and were put on this Earth as an exemplary model for the rest of Mankind." (my translation)

Proof again that Edward Said never saw the forest for the trees. Further, any book, such as Imperialism Past and Present whose thesis is based on Said's ghoulish misinterpretations, has to be deeply flawed.

Submitting....

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

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Reader comments (10) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
1The Dinosaurs, Michael S, and the Wicked Witch of the West [117 words]Michael SJul 30, 2015 16:15224497
3All Those White Guys Are All Alike [132 words]DaveJul 23, 2015 17:19224391
1working in call centers [33 words]SevaAug 11, 2015 19:56224391
3Historicism = Histrionics [189 words]Pied PiperJul 23, 2015 11:56224386
2Does Allah like the Arabs? He cannot make up his mind as usual [214 words]dhimmi no moreJul 26, 2015 07:03224386
Anti-Eurocentrism and African nationalism [88 words]Peter C.Jul 23, 2015 11:46224385
2Mazel Tov [104 words]Daniel L RemlerJul 23, 2015 10:02224383
The company you keep ... [20 words]David KoralJul 23, 2015 09:39224382
3eurocentric a contradiction and the oriental Descartes [115 words]mythJul 23, 2015 07:18224381
1Imperialism& Imperialism. Short memories? [18 words]steven LJul 22, 2015 20:22224376

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Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

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