Perhaps the author should take a good hard look at the colonised countries in Africa and SE Asia now that the colonists have gone home. The governments have all disintegrated into corruption and chaos. I would challenge you to name one country where this has not happened.

David.

I'm rather sceptical as to the degree that Western Civilisation's 'core values' are "Judaeo-Christian", the legacy of Classical civilisation is probably more important. The West experienced a thousand years of torpid Judaeo-Christian culture until the re-discovery of Classical civilisation during the Renaissance, seems more than a coincidence, and luckily Islam has had a minimal influence.

Rhian,

"And of course we should always ask the question “ 'dark history' … compared to what?”"

Yes, indeed and what of the present?

Western Imperialism doesn't really differ in any major qualitative degree from the Islamic, or Mongol variety for example, the West is just more efficient.

So let me get this straight, you guys believe that all the world has bee traumatised by Western aggression even though the truth is that our people have been on the defensive against Islam and losing ground for 1400 years? Could it be that our people are actually the ones who are traumatised by the constant relentless attacks upon us? Could that be the real be the reason you're all so scared of the hearing truth? Could it be the case that resource starved European powers had to expand westward and southward because trade with the East via the Mediterranean and the Black Sea was impossible due to the predation of the Islamic caliphs and the fact that by the 10th century the soldiers of Allah had destroyed all the productive economies in the Near East?

Mac, the Golden Horde (Mongols) were Muslims from the 13th century, they were the ones who raped, pillaged and murdered their way across Eastern Europe, so no, no difference.
You'll notice that their successors still control all of the lands south of the Caucasus? So the terrible, awful European aggression into that area has been hopelessly ineffective and it's no wonder that the Russians and their neighbours are still terrified of Islam and why the Soviet Union and even the Nazis still Kowtowed to the Descendants of the Khans. (Fun fact:Kowtow means to prostrate oneself before the Khan and smack one's forehead on the floor hard enough to make a sound audible to the ruler)
As the video in my link clearly demonstrates, in 1400 years Europe has only had 120 years in total without a full blown Jihad being waged on it's borders, Islam is the religion of aggression 90% of the time and the religion of peace the other 10% of the time.

Why is it assumed that examining the ‘dark’ side of the West’s history is an insult to Western civilisation?

In psychological terms, taking responsibility for one's own past mistakes and foibles is a sign of healthy maturity. Not so, it seems, when it comes to the collective psyche of civilisations. Most progressives have no problem reconciling the bad with the good in our past. It seems to be conservatives who fear and loathe historical self-criticism.

The more I view the dark side of Western history, the more I admire it - especially the resilience and human spirit of the West's common folk who stoically endured the relentless power struggles of their feudal warlords (and still do) ... and yet managed to hang onto their capacity to love, build communities, raise families and even be happy.

The main point of this article is that western civilisation is not special.

Yes, they all do it (when they can): they all hate the other tribes, colonise, genocide, exclude, fight - that's just part of the human nature: apes with a bigger brain.

The solution is to keep society small, so harm is minimised and localised.

Dear David,

The curse of capitalism is the product of human greed: I wish we could discard it as "psychotic", but in fact it is completely normal as it serves the survival instincts of our genes and the competition for the "survival of the fittest". The dark side of civilisation is simply a reflection of the dark side of biology. Attempting to forcibly curb capitalism would only result in a different form of violence, fighting darkness with darkness: capitalism is unfortunately a price we must pay for freedom - true, many may be undeserving of freedom, but as laws are blind, having everyone free is the only way to keep free those few who do deserve it.

Were the Western nations under attack from Islam when they invaded and colonized the Americas, the various Asian countries including India, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and much of Africa. And later on when they carved up much of Africa in the late 19th century. Was King Leopold of Belgium defending the West against Islam when he brutalized Belgium? Were the Germans resisting Islam in South West Africa when they were exterminating the natives? Were the British resisting Islam when they were doing what is described in the book Britain's Empire by Richard Gott?

We now live in a Quantum world in which everything is instantaneously interconnected. As such we have no choice but to be completely honest about where the the humanly created world is at and how it came to be.
What does the name university imply?
Universal of course and not just one-dimensional Western provincialism.
It seems that some people want to retreat into a one-dimensional Western provincialism thereby turning universities into Western MIND FACTORIES.
They thus seem to object that Western universities should allow and promote comprehensive critical studies of every aspect of Western culture, religion, philosophy, history and its applied politics.

But good Western universities have quite rightly been doing these critical investigations for a long time now. Any serious person knows that there is something profoundly wrong with Western culture(in particular). Didnt the two World Wars and the history of the 20th century, especially in the last few decades tell us that.

My favorite Philosopher points out that a Real education should challenge and thus disavow you of all of your cultural provincialism. Challenge you to thoroughly investigate ALL of your culturally inherited presumptions about quite literally everything. He calls that process Zero Point Education.