Essay on Eurocentrism
The Myth of European and Chinese Values
Auteurs : Dr. Gerrit De Vylder, Lessius University College, Antwerp, Belgium
What are the most recurring values in European history which persist today and may persist in the future? I agree with the analysis of the famous historian Fernand Braudel, one of leading lights of the famous journal Annales that introduced a multidisciplinary approach to the science of history. In his “Grammaire de Civilisations” (1963) he identifies humanism (within a Christian tradition), freedom (liberty, rights and private property), scientific thought (allowing industrialization) and socialism as the main values and concepts. However, despite the fact that Braudel was genuinely trying to open up the French school system for the multiplicity of the world’s civilizations, he considered these values as only typical of European history. Therefore, I argue that Braudel himself was also a result of yet another characteristic of European history which is Eurocentrism. It is this phenomenon which I would like to focus in this essay.