19 -Century

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Scientific Theories
 Early 19th Century Attitudes on non-Europeans

• When considering other cultures, Enlightenment society developed the ideals of

Enlightenment universalism: that all humans are born the same, and equal, despite
appearance.
• While Europeans saw their civilization as superior, they believed that all human
civilizations were on the same developmental path to social and technological
harmony.
• Thinkers like Rousseau valued and appreciated the accomplishments and progress of
other cultures like China and the Ottoman Empire.
• They also believed in cultural relativism: that other cultures should not be looked
down upon by other, different cultures but rather appreciated and respected for
differences.
• Europeans also saw it as their duty to spread civilization and help development in
parts of the world to non-Europeans, who were on the same path but at different
phases or took different approaches.
 Impact on Society

• As a result of Enlightenment universalism, European society began to see slaves as

innocent victims, and moved to rid the world of slavery.
• Abolitionism (particularly in Great Britain) became socially fashionable, as Christians and
elite women and men sanctioned the elimination of slavery in the early-mid 19 th century.
• Romantic poets attacked the institution of slavery with works such as The Heart of
Darkness
by Joseph Conrad in 1902; in his poem, Conrad narrated a voyage of the Congo River.
• Essentially Conrad’s work was the idea that there is little difference between so-called
civilized people and those described as ‘savages,’ thus raising questions about
imperialism.
• Due to cultural relativism, Europeans also began to Incorporate elements of foreign
cultural art forms, such as the East Asian inspired style known as chinoiserie.
• Adoption of the Japanese style of block print was also popularized by renowned artists
such as Vincent van Gogh.
Van Gogh
Block Print
Van Gogh
Block Print
19th-Century
Chinoiserie
 Positivism

• By the 19th century (1800s), advances in science, technology and industry had scientists and philosophers believing they were
progressively approaching a complete understanding of the universe.

• Europeans were on the verge of figuring out all of the universal laws that governed how the world worked, and how human society
worked; this outlook was known as positivism.

• Roughly speaking, positivism, they believed, progressed in three phases:

1. Theological stage (the phase in which the world is understood through more complex ideas and thoughts, usually guided by a
codified, universal set of beliefs and hierarchy) *Higher being/religious view
2. Metaphysical stage (the phase guided by rational and scientific thought, proof, and understanding through the physical
sciences) *Science and evidence
3. Positive stage (the phase in which the central idea of society is individual rights through the development and understanding of
social science) *Enligtenment

• Through the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions, life was becoming easier, and with the Enlightenment and capitalism, societies were
more affluent, free and safe—and in this regard, they were correct.

• This positive outlook was upheld until the scientific discoveries of the early 20 th century (1900s), as well as the use of industrial
technology for mass destruction and death and of course, World War I.
 Darwinism
• A new scientific system would change Europeans attitudes of sameness and cultural
relativism to European superiority and domination: Darwinism.

• In his book, The Origin of Species in 1859, Charles Darwin provided a biological explanation
for the evolution of species that operated on universal laws of survival.

• According to Darwin, variations in species make some more fit to survive; this concept is
known as natural selection—that those best equipped to survive (genetically superior), will
thrive and the rest will perish as the dominant species’ population breeds and grows.
• Survival of the Fittest

• This theory became widely accepted as a natural process: that the genetically fit and strong
were meant to survive, and the weak tend to adapt or perish.

• Europeans quickly exaggerated this concept and applied it abstractly to human beings, and
their civilizations, using it to justify the mistreatment and subjugation of non-Euros.

• Known as Social Darwinism, many Europeans believed that the domination of their
economies and culture were inevitable, justified and simply a universal scientific law.
 Social Darwinism

• By extending the theory of natural selection to human populations on a societal level, many
Europeans genuinely believed their technological and economic superiority in the 19 th
century, was evidence that their civilization, and by extension the races of Europe were
genetically superior to the other civilizations and inhabitants of the world.
• Consequentially, Europeans broke away from the idea of common human race & development,
arguing instead for biological superiority of successful individuals and civilizations.
• Europeans began to see poor and primitive people as genetically inferior and incapable of ‘improvement,’
thus viewing the exploitation of the working class and weaker countries as a natural scientific process.
• Furthermore, Europeans felt it was the duty or ‘burden of the White Man’ to forcibly spread their
civilization & economic institutions across the world to ‘lift up’ and improve the civilizations and well-being
of inferior peoples.
• They saw themselves as the beacons of civilization, bringing technology in order, and ending barbaric
practices.
• The British, for example, took it upon themselves to ban the ‘sati’ (The practice of
widows throwing themselves on their deceased husband’s funeral pyre) in 19 th-century India.
• This view essentially justified the exploitation of imperial powers by late 19 th century Europeans.
19th-Century Political Cartoon
19th-Century Political Cartoon
19th-Century Image of Sati Practice