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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]What we have here are some not unreasonable questions about empirical evidence but underlying it is the intent to challenge the questioning of what has been conventionally accepted as factual in certain countries and cultures. The reality is that in much of Asia and Africa there is not always what the West has viewed as incontrovertible proof and so such traditions and claims are automatically dismissed.

My British background provided ample examples of this phenomenon combined with the colonial mentality that is part of Britain's history. For example, when I went to school it was standard fare to be taught that Columbus "discovered" America and that Vasco Da Gama "discovered" India and Marco Polo "discovered" China, etc which by implication seemed to suggest that these countries and cultures were non-existent before they were "discovered" by Europeans - an obviously absurd and utterly ludicrous proposition. But we were taught this and it was accepted without challenge by anyone. The fact that these civilizations predated much of the West by centuries is viewed as inconsequential. It was never suggested that Columbus, da Gama and Marco Polo were the first Europeans to come to these countries. No, the countries were "discovered" by them.

In fact, the same rejection of what was deemed acceptable evidence was cited in the case of Alex Haley's claims in "Roots". The [i]griot[/i] who narrated the oral history was deemed unreliable because it did not fit into accepted norms - acceptable, of course, to the West.

This cultural bias surfaces in so many ways both in terms of religious and non-religious subjects. In England, the conversion of Indians by St Thomas in the first century was rejected and still is by many in the West because it is based primarily on the lack of proof as defined by the West.

One of the most glaring examples is in the field of mathematics where if you ask the average westerner - or even those proficient in math - you will find that they are totally ignorant of any of the major contributions by other cultures whether it is Chinese, Islamic, Indian, Mayan,etc. Most cannot name a single mathematician of renown from these cultures though they predate mathematics in the West. Any suggestion that certain fundamental concepts in mathematics were in use in these cultures well before they came known in the West are ignored or minimized.

Much of the above is not directly related to this thread but is [b]relevant in the context of rejecting anything that does not comport to standards of acceptable verification as defined by the West.[/b][/quote]

Not really, it seems more like a justification for continuing to believe things for which there is not good evidence.

While I was taught that Columbus "discovered" America, (for Spain), I was also taught that he was greeted by natives who were obviously here first.  They became known by europeans as indians, because Columbus thought he'd traveled a western route to India.  I think there's a famous painting of it.

Also, irrespective of how different people interpret what Columbus did, there is a lot of reliable evidence, recorded at the time and verified since then, that he did it.  The same cannot be said of the Jews in India.[/quote]

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