There were parallel enlightenment/renaissance periods in India and China that I know about. I will try to post some references later in the weekend. I have heard about similar periods in sub-Sahara Africa but know little about them. Archeology suggests that there might have been a very advanced, if not enlightened, civilization in the "Green Sahara" about 10,000 years ago when North Africa was a land of lakes, rivers, and forests.
davew On Fri, Sep 10, 2021, at 5:03 PM, uǝlƃ ☤>$ wrote: > Yeah, I thought that, too. But either way, this is the only recent > article I've found that talks about how the enlightenment isn't a > Western Exceptionalist thing. I've heard some black radicals claim that > several other cultures have had something similar at other times and to > other extents. But I'm not well read enough to know where, when, who, > etc. > > > On 9/10/21 3:58 PM, Prof David West wrote: > > It seems somewhat limiting to, even partially, equate 'enlightenment' with > > critical philosophy as this article does. The efflorescence of ideas, of > > sciences (especially astronomy, math, and medicine), and arts that occurred > > in the Islamic world long before the European Renaissance would seem a > > better foundation to conclude that Islam was already enlightened during > > (and before) the European Middle Ages. > > > > davew > > > > > > On Fri, Sep 10, 2021, at 2:26 PM, uǝlƃ ☤>$ wrote: > >> > >> Are Islamic philosophers critical of authority? > >> https://www.newstatesman.com/international/2021/09/are-islamic-philosophers-critical-authority > >> > >> "All this sheds an interesting light on a frequently asked question, > >> which is why the Islamic world never experienced something like the > >> European Enlightenment. Of course, that's a complicated issue. But part > >> of the answer might simply be this: to the extent that 'enlightenment' > >> involves the emergence of intellectuals who step back from the typical > >> views of their society, and critically evaluate prevailing religious > >> and philosophical ideas, the Islamic world was already 'enlightened' > >> during the European Middle Ages." > > > -- > ☤>$ uǝlƃ > > - .... . -..-. . -. -.. -..-. .. ... -..-. .... . .-. . > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Zoom Fridays 9:30a-12p Mtn GMT-6 bit.ly/virtualfriam > un/subscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ > archives: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/ > - .... . -..-. . -. -.. -..-. .. ... -..-. .... . .-. . FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Zoom Fridays 9:30a-12p Mtn GMT-6 bit.ly/virtualfriam un/subscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ archives: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
