JohnStOnge wrote:UNI88 wrote:And where would we be if Muslims hadn't saved all of the classical knowledge when it was essentially destroyed in Europe during the Dark Ages? How much of what the West created was built off of findings that Marco Polo and other explorers brought back from China and elsewhere? Yes, white people contributed a hell of a lot but it wasn't done in a vacuum.
I don't think it was Muslims that saved most of the classical knowledge. I think it was Catholic monks.
Otherwise, of course there is no vacuum. Civilizations build upon each other. But I don't think we'd have anything like the advanced society we have right now if you left everybody else in place and removed what we call Caucasians. Aircraft. Automobiles. Calculus. Space travel. Physics. Computers. Elevators. Air Conditioners. Traffic lights (no, that did not come from a Black guy like you hear every year during Black History month), the Scientific Method as we know it. And yes, by any reasonable standard of what "Modern Medicine" is, Modern Medicine. All that came from Caucasians. And a lot more.
A couple of points to consider John ...
One - yes there were probably a limited number of documents containing classical knowledge that survived the Dark Ages in Catholic monasteries but the reality is that there weren't enough to help spread that knowledge and kick start the Renaissance. That information was in the hands of other Christian monks (Orthodox) and in places like Bagdad. It started making its way back to Europe during the Crusades and with the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans.
Two - yes, caucasians have done a whole hell of a lot to help advance knowledge since the Renaissance but they didn't start from scratch, they were lucky they were in a position to do so and people with darker skin contributed to that advancement as well. Trace the lines of history back through the civilizations from Western Europe to Rome to Greece to Eqypt to Sumer. You talk about removing caucasians, what happens if you remove Sumer and/or Egypt? Does Western Civilization happen as we know it? What if you take away the advancements that the Chinese made long before Europeans? Europe's survival and growth also required a lot of luck. What if Ghengis Khan didn't die when he did? Would the Mongols have sacked Vienna and rampaged through Europe? Would Europeans have attained the dominant world position that they did?
Third - your theory that without caucasians those advancements wouldn't have happened is just that, a theory. While it may be reasonable, it can't be proven. A competing theory that without caucasians, people would have come up with similar and possibly better advancements is also valid. Is it possible that without caucasians, people would never have become so reliant on coal and gas and the Earth would be better for it? Yes.
Finally - African Americans have contributed to what you outlined above. A good observer factors in the variables that impacted their ability to contribute and the obstacles they faced were not insignificant - slavery, lack of access to a quality education, etc. I suggest you open your mind and see Hidden Figures, read about Benjamin Banneker, etc.