Enlightenment Values Belong to the Declining West - Essay Example

Enlightenment Values Belong To the Declining West: Other Values Are More Relevant For Todays Up-And-Coming s Submission Enlightenment ideas include beliefs of intellectuals such as social progress, the coupling of scientific and social progress, the objectivity of humanity, the evolution of humanity from East to West, and from a state of oppression to freedom. These values are intertwined into the cultural and political fabric and the history of the so-called modern West (Halliday 1999, p. 27). The enlightenment values encompass democracy, freedom, critical thinking, tolerance, and social justice. In the West, Enlightenment values are at the root of a secular creed – faith in the ultimate value of the individual, freedom, progress and reason (Grayling 2009, p. 76). The enlightenment values are not bad but the way the West expresses them as political and social theory and at times implements them is what needs to be re-examined and a challenge issued. For instance, enlightenment principles of social thinking have repeatedly contributed to buttressing the dominance of the west over the East, men over women, a society of experts over the common people, the employers over workers, and White culture over non-White cultures (Angel 1994, p. 90). This paper is neither against enlightenment values such as freedom and rule of law nor is it against the modern bureaucracy of the West, urbanism and industrialism. Enlightenment values belong to the declining west; other values, such as postmodern perspectives, are more relevant for emerging and up-and-coming states because the culture of enlightenment is failing its social and historical vision in the very West they originated. Enlightenment is the emergence and emancipation of human from his self-incurred naivety, ingeniousness and immaturity. Enlightenment values can be defined are ideals that develop because of major historical transitions towards modernity –the renaissance and reformation, and the European revolution. They include abstract universalism, individualism, relentless rationalism, certainty, predictability, absolute truths and order (Angel 1994, p. 56). The West is a particular set of countries that exemplify the shared values of the enlightenment age –unassailable faith in science, progress and rationality. They are considered the pinnacle of human advancement. Various individuals equate it with freedom and democracy, most others with Christianity, and others with secular rationalism. In this context, other values means non-western values that are practiced in other countries especially those of the East, and include orientalism and postmodern values (Deutsch 1991, p. 95). Examples include inter-determinacy, hierarchy and structure, relationships, uncertainty, fluidity, chance, and deconstruction. The values and social hopes of the culture of Enlightenment have failed in their principal historical and historical vision. For instance, the science that the West acclaims so much seems to have lost a great deal of its aura of truth and progress (Gray 2007, p. 39). As science is integrated into commerce and the military, as it is used to manufacture basic commodities and weapons such as bombs, enlightenment perceptions of science as pure knowledge and as a force of social good seems naïve today. The postwar generation is particularly conversant with the evils and devastating dark side of science such as Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Stalinism, Nazism, scientific torture, mental asylums, genocide, medical dehumanization and the role of science in pathologizing gays, Blacks and women (Fitzpatrick 2004, p.87). It is apparent that science and the wider culture of Enlightenment have lost their innocence. The West, before advocating and demanding the up-and-coming states to adopt these enlightenment values they should preserve the core ethical convictions or values of the Enlightenment and its hope for a better world. Some enlightenment values in the West, when applied to the context of the East and up-and-coming states could result in friction against traditional cultural structure and values that are reflected in the entrenched economics and political interests. Enlightenment usually takes the form of edification, expertise and skills, and opportunity, which are normally good. It can also be through the development of new approaches of convenience that improve opportunities for convenience. Not all that is new is necessarily good. In up-and-coming countries, the prevailing cultural structure usually involves cultural values customary over time as well as the politics and structural economics that have shaped them. Enlightenment values from the West characteristically encompass positive and negative rudiments that could be a hindrance to adaptability and critical change (Deutsch 1991, p. 135). The problem of enlightenment emerged most forcefully in the aftermath of the French revolution, in a continent haunted by the spectacular of the terror, new forms of international war, and civil breakdown ((Bates 2002, p 107). Many scholars identified enlightenment itself as the pathogen that led to extreme and disruptive violence in France and beyond. After the advent of enlightenment, numerous movements have sprung up advocating for civil rights and several revolutions have changed the social outlooks of sexuality, race and gender. The enlightenment has also led to a growth in the philanthropic organizations committed to alleviate human suffering. In the name of enlightenment, the west is slowly colonization and occupying up-and-coming countries sometimes with the use of excessive, unnecessary force. An example if the US-led invasion of Iraq in the false claims of possessing and propagating weapons of mass destruction. The West should first address enlightenment issues they are facing (Anderson 2003, p. 99). Up-and-coming states ought to learn from the west of which way to go rather than embracing enlightenment values that moves in a cycles creating more problems. After half-century into post war era, levels of inequalities have escalated in the West; tensions between various ethnicities care escalating and have shifted to a completely new dimension. In the United Kingdom, the United States and Europe, for instance, strong sentiments against immigrants have escalated, demonstrating a failure by the authorities in the West to balance the essentials of enlightenment for the disadvantaged individuals and families affected by the change (Israel, 2011, p. 109). Even though crime has dropped in the United Kingdom over the years, there is a prevalent and vicious gang ethos amongst youngsters in underprivileged regions. There are trepidations about developments signifying that the younger generation lives more in the virtual and online realm than the reality one (Seidman, 2011, p. 56). The increased competition and enlightenment principles of competitive nature of enlightened society could also be a cause. The up- and-coming states should not adopt enlightenment values of the West, as they will only create more problems in the long-term. They should instead be left to find the best values and practices unique and relevant to their distinct environment. Enlightenment is not universal, and does not last long. In Athens, most democratic of the Greek city-states, citizenship was only enjoyed by few (Outram 2005, p. 36). Slavery remained the life-blood of the economy and tyrant was never far from power. Newly emerging theories of sciences and philosophy met with resistance from sophist and priests alike and, by modern standards, democratic and aspirations remained embryonic. Even so, prior to the general intellectual deterioration brought about by roman expansion, the Athenian enlightenment was different from all revolutions in history. The inevitable decline was neither immediate nor absolute. In Greece, as elsewhere throughout the roman world, engineering continued to be important for centuries, and roman artists, like roman architects, soldiers, lawyers and accountants, continued to be well-paid (Stove &Irvine 2003, p. 86). However, with the roman roads, came the spread of Christianity and with Christianity came the re-emergence of superstition and an increasing indifference to the democratic principles upon which Athenian civil society had been based. By 529, when emperor Justinian finally ordered the closure of Plato academy, clearly an era had ended. As Gibbon narrates, despite Plato’s anti-democratic views, Justinian’s actions not only eliminated the last center of pagan learning within Christian world, it also terminated the reign of Grecian philosophers, who were highly acclaimed, despite their shortcomings, as the most astute and upright of their equals (Seidman 2001, p. 94). Similar to the enlightenment of ancient Greece, the enlightenment of west emphasized equality, liberty, rationalism and the association between human well-being and knowledge. Traditional sources of authority, such as the crown and church were viewed, not just with suspicion, but also with hostility. Experience and reason, not feudalistic revelation, were championed as the only legitimate sources of human knowledge. Horrible burdens such as hunger, disease, and even war were to be eliminated through advances in science and redistribution of political power. In post-revolutionary Britain, France and United states, the rise of democracy brought with it the spread of liberty and equality, and human happiness quickly developed into benchmark by which political, ethical, and scientific progresses were to be measured (Outram 2005, p. 111). By the end of the 18th century, science and democracy were once again in the process of triumphing over religion and feudalism (Stove & Irvine 2003, p. 78). The newly initiated industrial revolution stood ready to tame a recalcitrant nature, and a new age of individual rights and liberties had begun to dawn. The perfectibility of man was no longer assumed merely as an abstract goal, but as nearly actual reality. Still in one sense, this new European enlightenment ended as quickly as had the enlightenment of ancient Greece. The high degree of violence associated with the French revolution served to discredit many enlightenment ideals, at least in the short term. The up-and-coming states should leave the enlightenment values to the West for with time this enlightenment era will pass. For instance, the crisis in the world brought about by capitalism is a clear attestation to the signs of the decline. The rise of China despite not emulating all enlightenment ideals of the West is also a testimony to this (Israel 2011, p. 101). In conclusion, enlightenment ideals of the West make us believe that human happiness and prosperity are directly related to the spread of democracy. This opening of the political process to all citizens thus not only increases human freedom, it also improves the quality of decision-making. Nevertheless, there are numerous negative trends associated with uncritical endorsement of enlightenment values. Up- and- coming countries should not emulate all the values blindly. References Anderson, W. (2003). The next enlightenment: integrating East and West in a new vision of human evolution. St. Martin’s Press. Angel, L. (1994) Enlightenment east and west. New York: State University of New York, Albany. Bates, D. W. (2002). Enlightenment Aberrations: Error and revolution in France. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press. Deutsch, E. (1991). Culture and modernity: East-West Philosophic perspectives. Mason, OH: Pearson education, Inc. Fitzpatrick, M. (2004). The enlightenment world. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Gray, J. (2007). Enlightenment’s wake: politics and culture at the close of the modern age. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge Classics. Grayling, A. C. (2009). Liberty in the age of terror: a defense of civil liberties and enlightenment values. London, England: Bloomsbury paperbacks. Halliday, F. (1999). The potential of enlightenment. Review of International Studies 25: pp. 105-125 Israel, J. (2011). Democratic enlightenment: social theory today. New York: Prentice Hall. Seidman, S. (2011). Contested Knowledge, fourth edition. Malden, MA: Blackwell publishing. Stove, D. C. and Irvine, A. D. (2003). On enlightenment. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. Outram, D. (2005). The enlightenment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Read More