2 - Eurocentrism and the Contemporary Social Sciences
Corresponding Author(s) : Lansana Keita
Africa Development,
Vol. 45 No. 2 (2020): Africa Development
Abstract
The contemporary social sciences emerged in the West from the eighteenth century as new modes of technology and scientific research developed. There is no doubt that technological advances led to the triumph of empiricism over metaphysics. This was the basis for the transformation of the nomenclatures of natural philosophy and moral philosophy into natural science and moral science respectively. As the empiricist methodologies of the natural sciences became successful, the social sciences chose to emulate their techniques. Thus, the methodological claim was made that that the social sciences and their division of labour compartmentalisation of the social world reflected that world in objectivist terms. But the fact that humans themselves were involved in describing and explaining the behaviours of other humans meant that a subjective element would be always be involved unless serious attempts were made for cognitive correctives and a self-conscious regard for consistent objectivity. While research in archaeology is relatively objective in its scientific findings, this is not the case with the other social sciences – especially anthropology and history. There has been an arbitrary Eurocentric creation and reification of theories and terms founded on whimsical and unsupported claims concerning the evolutionary status of Homo sapiens Africanus.
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- Acemoglu, D. and Robinson, J., 2012, Why Nations Fail, New York: Random House.
- Ake, C., 1995, Democracy and Development in Africa, Washington DC: Brookings Institute.
- Amin, S., 1977, Unequal Development, New York: Monthly Review Press.
- Amin, S., 1988, ‘The Construction of Eurocentric Culture’, in Amin, S., Eurocentrism, New York: Monthly Review Press.
- Aristotle, 300 BC, 1927, Physiognomica, ed. E. S. Foster, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Aristotle, c. 300 BC, 1927, Problemata, ed. E. S. Foster, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Cambridge History of Africa, 1975– 1986, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Diamond, J., 1997, Guns, Germs, and Steel, New York: W. W. Norton.
- Diop, C. A. 1977, La Parente genetique de l’egyptien pharaonique des langues negro- africaines, Dakar: Nouvelles editions africaines.
- Diop, C. A., 1987, Black Africa: The Economic and Cultural Basis for a Federated State, Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books.
- Easterly, W., 2006, The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done so Much Ill and so Little Good, New York: Penguin-Random House.
- Ehret, C., 1995, Reconstructing Proto-Afroasiatic: Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
- Greenberg, D., 1963, The Languages of Africa, Bloomington, IN: University of Indiana Press.
- Gobineau, A., 1853, 1966, The Inequality of the Races, Los Angeles: The Noontide Press.
- Herodotus, 430 BC, 2004, The Histories, New York: Barnes and Noble.
- Hegel, G. W., 1837, 2001, Lectures on the Philosophy of History, New York: Cambridge University Press.
- Linnaeus, C. 1735, 1806, Systema Naturae, London: Lackington, Allen and Co.
- Meinhof, C., 1912, Die Sprachen der Hamiten, Hamburg: L. Friederichsen & Co.
- Nkrumah, K., 1963, Africa Must Unite,New York: Praeger Press.
- Obenga, T. 1993, Origine commune de l’egyptienne ancient, du copte et langues negro- africaines – introduction a la linguistique africaine, Paris: L’Harmattan.
- Petrie, F., 1896, Naquada and Ballas, London: Bernard Quaritch.
- Pugach, S. 2012, Africa in Translation: A History of Colonial Linguistics in Germany and Beyond, 1815–1945, Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
- Reinert, E. 2007, How Rich Countries Got Rich and Why Countries Stay Poor, New York: Public Affairs.
- Robbins, L., 1932, An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science, London: Macmillan.
- Rowan, K., 2006, Meroitic: A Phonological Investigation. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
- Seligman, C. G., 1930, 1957, The Races of Africa, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Stringer, C., 2003, ‘Human Evolution out of Ethiopia’, Nature, Vol. 423, pp. 693–5.
- Toynbee, A., 1934–1961, A Study of History, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Trevor-Roper, H., 1969, ‘The Past and the Present: History and Sociology’, The Past and the Present, Vol. 42, Issue No. 1, 3–17.
- UNESCO General History of Africa, 1981–1993, Paris: UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).
References
Acemoglu, D. and Robinson, J., 2012, Why Nations Fail, New York: Random House.
Ake, C., 1995, Democracy and Development in Africa, Washington DC: Brookings Institute.
Amin, S., 1977, Unequal Development, New York: Monthly Review Press.
Amin, S., 1988, ‘The Construction of Eurocentric Culture’, in Amin, S., Eurocentrism, New York: Monthly Review Press.
Aristotle, 300 BC, 1927, Physiognomica, ed. E. S. Foster, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Aristotle, c. 300 BC, 1927, Problemata, ed. E. S. Foster, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Cambridge History of Africa, 1975– 1986, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Diamond, J., 1997, Guns, Germs, and Steel, New York: W. W. Norton.
Diop, C. A. 1977, La Parente genetique de l’egyptien pharaonique des langues negro- africaines, Dakar: Nouvelles editions africaines.
Diop, C. A., 1987, Black Africa: The Economic and Cultural Basis for a Federated State, Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books.
Easterly, W., 2006, The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done so Much Ill and so Little Good, New York: Penguin-Random House.
Ehret, C., 1995, Reconstructing Proto-Afroasiatic: Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Greenberg, D., 1963, The Languages of Africa, Bloomington, IN: University of Indiana Press.
Gobineau, A., 1853, 1966, The Inequality of the Races, Los Angeles: The Noontide Press.
Herodotus, 430 BC, 2004, The Histories, New York: Barnes and Noble.
Hegel, G. W., 1837, 2001, Lectures on the Philosophy of History, New York: Cambridge University Press.
Linnaeus, C. 1735, 1806, Systema Naturae, London: Lackington, Allen and Co.
Meinhof, C., 1912, Die Sprachen der Hamiten, Hamburg: L. Friederichsen & Co.
Nkrumah, K., 1963, Africa Must Unite,New York: Praeger Press.
Obenga, T. 1993, Origine commune de l’egyptienne ancient, du copte et langues negro- africaines – introduction a la linguistique africaine, Paris: L’Harmattan.
Petrie, F., 1896, Naquada and Ballas, London: Bernard Quaritch.
Pugach, S. 2012, Africa in Translation: A History of Colonial Linguistics in Germany and Beyond, 1815–1945, Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
Reinert, E. 2007, How Rich Countries Got Rich and Why Countries Stay Poor, New York: Public Affairs.
Robbins, L., 1932, An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science, London: Macmillan.
Rowan, K., 2006, Meroitic: A Phonological Investigation. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
Seligman, C. G., 1930, 1957, The Races of Africa, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Stringer, C., 2003, ‘Human Evolution out of Ethiopia’, Nature, Vol. 423, pp. 693–5.
Toynbee, A., 1934–1961, A Study of History, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Trevor-Roper, H., 1969, ‘The Past and the Present: History and Sociology’, The Past and the Present, Vol. 42, Issue No. 1, 3–17.
UNESCO General History of Africa, 1981–1993, Paris: UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).