Eurocentrism and Its Avatars

Eurocentrism is a product of the era when Europe was the leader of the West and was also the dominant power in the world. That age is gone for America now occupies that position. Eurocentrism describes an attitude which affirms Europe as the cradle of world civilization. To Afrocentric scholars, Eurocentrism means “not only denial but appropriation of African’s rich intellectual and scientific legacy to mankind”. Eurocentrism puts the European as superior to all other peoples and the best example for man.
Eurocentric ideas have proved very resilience and still have far-reaching consequences. Eurocentric ideas form the basic theories upon which the West views or thinks of its relationship with the rest of the world. Consciously or unconsciously, the western discourse and interaction with Africa remains premised on Eurocentrism and this has become a major obstacle to mutual understanding and peaceful co-existence between the two.
This paper examines the tenets of the Eurocentric and afrocentric theories which were advanced in support of, or which provided the intellectual justification for western domination of Africa and Africans. The modern expressions of these tenets are identified in the context of the debate on the existence of African philosophy. The reaction of Africans to Eurocentrism is also examined.

AFRICAN REACTIONS (Afrocentrist)
Africans have reacted to Eurocentricity in many ways. There is the African who believes the European vision of himself and who does all to adjust himself to fit this vision. Such Africans belong to those Blyden, “plays …. The part of the slave, ape or puppet”. There are others who rebel against Eurocentricity and western domination. This approach was manifested in the concept of Pan-Africanism which found expression in many diverse forms. Two of these – Negritude and Afrocentricity will be discussed here. In contemporary times, these ideas form the inspiration for those who are now trying to reclaim the human rights