Essay Example on Challenging the Social Science Theory: A Reflection

The intent of the article is inclined towards the admonishment that goes contrary to the social science theory. Social scientific theory offer guidance to scientific inquiries by enabling those participating in scientific researches to brainstorm about the topics which are key for investigations and how they are supposed to be measured. As such, it is a theory that attempts predicting and explaining the behavior in a given scenario. The argument of the writer is inclined towards the thoughts of the Western European Social dimension with the view of the values which are implied, even as the interest is pegged on Africa and its heritage. His argument goes further to mention that the existence of intimate connections between the European worldview and that of the European social theory, makes a scientific theory for the African descents. The intent of Dona Richards is, therefore, pegged on the critical view of the Western European social thoughts and how they relate with the Africans and the African heritage. The critique will further elucidate on the emotional and intellectual beginnings of the social thoughts of Western Europeans and anthropology and how it began.

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Don Richards begins by defining anthropology as a replica of the Western European culture and not the scientific approach that defines the man. The definition is biased because it alienates the Africans and their heritage from the direct hierarchy of beings. Further support of the thesis has been provided with the view of the idea of the "Great Chain of Being." The idea can be traced from the Platonic theory and has anchored numerous models of the Western European scientific arguments. It puts the white man at the center of the world's operations where he is ranked the highest in the hierarchy of beings with the inclusion of the Africans who are considered as inferior. A detailed view of the Great Chain of Being," images the white European person as one who is most advanced and superior to other ordinary beings.

The advancement of the white man also put him in a position where he can ensure control and order through exploitative approaches: such include; neocolonialism, slavery, colonialism, and the expansionistic imperialism. Africa and Africans, therefore, find themselves as the victims of exploitations. Their minds are set to believe that the victimizations they are subjected are just following their primitive, underdeveloped, and backward heritage. The argument, therefore, images scientific theories as not being entirely distinct but rather dominated by one ideological construct. Their primary aim is on creating a spectrum that brings all the races and cultures to judgment with the European culture retaining the most valued position.

Ethos has equally been used from the "Idea of progress," to that of the "Great Chain of Being," and to the elucidation of anthropology to mention but a few. They have primarily been used to bring out the worldview hierarchy where the Africans are placed in a hopeless position while the Europeans hold the highest ranking.

As a way of providing the solution with the view of the irrelevance brought by the contemporary white anthropologists, the author insists on the creation of a new anthropology that connects the ties between the ideology of the white supremacist and those of social theory. Africans must also emphasize the political importance of the concept of culture. They must also focus on the ties between value, group commitment, and the mobilization of human energy; the focus will guarantee their political commitment and the advancement of the African self-determination agenda.

The critical analysis can also be viewed based on its applicability to life span development. The kind of development (Life Span) gets noted as the full process through which a human being develops. It is mostly from conception to death. It can also be noted as the holistic approach to the synthesis of the cognitive, emotional, physiological, and emotional changes that people encounter. On the part of the comparison, both the article and life span development images the development of human beings. The contrast comes on the details of depiction. For example, life span development does not borrow any white European social argument on matters superiority and primitivism. However, the article is concerned about the distinctions of the development of the human race. It borrows from the ideas of the white anthropologists which are presented in the form of the social scientific theories. The ideas depict Africans and their heritage as undeveloped and primitive. They are equally noted as people who are inferior in the hierarchy of the human race, as noted herein.

Conclusion

In summary, repudiating the images of Africa is not enough, and as such, the African social anthropologists must get concerned with the rhetorical assumptions and the reconstruction of the disciplines in which they have received training for. They must equally be careful not to incorporate the mythical and the theoretical, ideological models of the white social scientific approaches into their methodologies. Lastly, the Western European social thoughts do not relate with the Africans and the African heritage from an equal standpoint but rather from a toxic dimension with the white supremacist making loud arguments of the Africans' inferiority.