http://www.aei.org/news/filter.,newsID.17821/news_detail.asp
Excerpts:
The End of European Dominance?
I have gone to considerable lengths to document facts about the
geographic and chronological distributions of human accomplishment
that are controversial mainly because of intellectual fashions, not
because the facts themselves can be disputed. Now is the time to
introduce some cautions about the interpretation of those
distributions.
The first caution is directed to those of us in the United States.
Many Americans combine our civilization with that of Europe under
the broad banner of "the West," but this is presumptuous. In his
landmark Configurations of Culture Growth, written during the 1930s,
anthropologist A.L. Kroeber observed that "it is curious how little
science of highest quality America has produced"-a startling claim
to Americans who have become accustomed to American scientific
dominance since 1950. But Kroeber was right. Compared to Europe, the
American contribution was still small then. In the arts as well, a
large dose of American humility is in order. Much as we may love
Twain, Whitman, Whistler, and Gershwin, they are easily lost in the
ocean of the European oeuvre. What we Americans are pleased to call
Western civilization was overwhelmingly European civilization
through 1950.
The second caution is not to place too much weight on the numbers.
The number of lost works and forgotten artists in the period before
1400 would, if taken into account, increase the pre-1400 proportion
somewhat. Not a lot-even very generous estimates of the bias created
by lost works only modify the dominance of modern Europe-but some.
It is also important to remember that the period prior to 1400 may
have had comparatively few significant figures, but it was rich in
giants.
Furthermore, much of that genius came from outside Europe. Aristotle
had different insights into the human condition than Confucius and
Buddha, but not necessarily more profound ones. Those who are in a
position to make such judgments describe the greatest poetry from
China as among the greatest poetry ever written. A fine Japanese
rock garden or ceremonial tea bowl expresses an aesthetic
sensibility as subtle as humans have ever known.
The third caution is to remember that many civilizations arose
independently of Europe, and rose to similar technological levels-
developing tools and techniques that enabled them to build large
structures and road networks, develop complex agricultural practices
and distribution mechanisms, conduct commerce, and build thriving
cities. Evidence scattered from Angkor Wat to Machu Picchu attests
to the ability of human beings throughout the world to achieve
amazing technological feats.
And yet the underlying reality is that Europe since 1400 has
overwhelmingly dominated accomplishment in both the arts and
sciences. The estimates of the European contribution are robust. I
write at a time when Europe's run appears to be over. Bleaker yet,
there is reason to wonder whether European culture as we have known
it will even exist by the end of this century. Perhaps this is an
especially appropriate time to stand back in admiration. What the
human species can claim to its credit in the arts and sciences is
owed in astonishing degree to what was accomplished in just a half-
dozen centuries by the peoples of one small portion of the
northwestern Eurasian land mass.
Charles Murray is a senior fellow at AEI.
Source Notes: This essay is adapted from the author's forthcoming
book, Human Accomplishment: The Pursuit of Excellence in the Arts
and Sciences, 800 BC to 1950.
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