Civilizational theory defined all non-Western peoples as inferior by default
Evidence
A widely accepted theory in the nineteenth century was that human society was divided into different and distinct civilizations which existed in isolation from each other, each driven by its own core set of values. This theory held that the West, as a unique civilization with roots in ancient Greece, had certain qualities that differentiated it from all other civilizations. These included “freedom, law, rationality, science, progress, intellectual curiosity, and the spirit of invention, adventure and enterprise.” Every other civilization was then defined in relation to this notion of a superior “West.” Predictably, the world of Islam was characterized as premodern, backward, primitive, despotic, static, undemocratic, and rigid. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 121
Categorization
- DEFINE: Defines the civilizational view of history and its self-referential definition of the superior West.
- XREF: connects to: Nineteenth-century Orientalism essentialized Muslims as intrinsically inferior during colonial expansion. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 201; Modernity’s logic defines those outside Western norms as less than human; Orientalist civilizational essentialism is a pillar of race making — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 1277 (+5 more)