It's a tough one though . . . the Enlightenment makes a claim to universality, but it cannot be denied that it arose within a somewhat culturally-specific context. For a good couple of hundred years plus, nobody operating within it had much of a problem with declaring not only the ideas but the culture that produced it superior to all others. Nobody had much hesitation about essentially spreading the principles of the enlightment via European culture "at the point of the sword". Nobody had any hesitation forcing Stanford undergraduates to survey "Western Civilization" as the foundation of their career in higher education.
No more obviously. While some may make the case that Enlightenment principles are universal and superior, hardly anyone is ready to make that case for the culture from which it arose. Basically nobody is arguing that that culture should be spread and/or maintained even in Europe itself by force of arms, much less anywhere else. Realistically, I don't see it happening any other way.
It's a tough one though . . . the Enlightenment makes a claim to universality, but it cannot be denied that it arose within a somewhat culturally-specific context. For a good couple of hundred years plus, nobody operating within it had much of a problem with declaring not only the ideas but the culture that produced it superior to all others. Nobody had much hesitation about essentially spreading the principles of the enlightment via European culture "at the point of the sword". Nobody had any hesitation forcing Stanford undergraduates to survey "Western Civilization" as the foundation of their career in higher education.
No more obviously. While some may make the case that Enlightenment principles are universal and superior, hardly anyone is ready to make that case for the culture from which it arose. Basically nobody is arguing that that culture should be spread and/or maintained even in Europe itself by force of arms, much less anywhere else. Realistically, I don't see it happening any other way.
Could you name any culture that hasn't tried to spread its culture by force of arms?
No. I suspect that any such culture would be unknown to us for obvious reasons!