StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Western Civilization.The modern era - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Western civilization is a term used to refer to cultures of European origin. This term sprang up as a way of depicting the difference between the Graeco-Roman culture and its offspring, is in distinction to the older neighboring civilizations of the Middle East…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER91% of users find it useful
Western Civilization.The modern era
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Western Civilization.The modern era"

Western Civilization Introduction: Western civilization is a term which is used to refer to cultures of European origin. This term sprang up as a way of depicting the difference between the Graeco-Roman culture and its offspring, is in distinction to the older neighboring civilizations of the Middle East. This sustained to provide as a replica of civilization in the "west" for a long time. In Ideas, Peter Watson concludes that the mix, in contemporary culture, of Enlightenment-stytle scientific rationalism and 19th-century Romantic idealism creat what he calls "the modern incoherence": Watson argues that Enlightenment science and Romantic art, Enlightenment empiricism and Romantic fundamentalism, propose inherently irreconcilable views of human experience and of the world. (Peter, Watson 2006) Definition of Western Civilization: "There are three major themes whose development and interplay have shaped the distinctive characteristics that set Western civilization apart from the other great historic cultures. They are the growth of a tradition of rational scientific inquiry, the persistence of a tension between Judaeo-Christian religious ideals and social realities, the emergence of constitutional forms of government." (Brian Tierney, Donald Kagan and Pearce Williams L p.xi). The theory of Western culture is normally connected to the classical explanation of the Western world. In this definition, "Western culture is the set of literary, scientific, political, artistic and philosophical principles which set it apart from other civilizations. Much of this set of traditions and knowledge is collected in the Western canon."( Jones, Prudence and Pennick, Nigel, 1995). Henry, Boren, C remarks that Western civilization is "still the most dynamic element in the modern world." He further remarks that Western civilization is successor to previous civilizations that urbanized out of the Mediterranean region. In its most wide definition, Western civilization is that accumulation of political, economic, social, and intellectual traditions that has developed for 5,000 years since the appearance of the first civilizations in the ancient Near East. Today, Western civilization is primarily regarded as centering on the Atlantic community or Western Europe and those societies in the Western Hemisphere and Australasia that are offshoots of European tradition and culture (p xiv). The Modern Era Religion in the meantime has waned considerably in Western Europe, where many are agnostic or atheist. Nearly half of the populations of the United Kingdom (44-54%), Germany (41-49%), France (43-54%) and the Netherlands (39-44%) are non-theist. Religious belief in the United States is very strong that is about 75-85% of the population are religious (Zuckerman, P 2005). As Europe discovered the wider world, old concepts adapted. The Islamic world which had formerly been considered "the Orient" ("the East") more specifically became the "Near East" as the interests of the European powers for the first time interferred with Qing China and Meiji Japan in the 19th century. (Davidson, Roderic H 1960) Thus, the Sino-Japanese War in 1894-1895 occurred in the "Far East", while the troubles surrounding the decline of the Ottoman Empire simultaneously occurred in the "Near East" (Hogarth, D G1902). The uncovering and innovation of new classes of energy bring about key change. The tackling of fire contributed to cooking, ceramics, and smelting. The toggle from oxen to horses and into watermills assisted in creating the 12th-century Renaissance. The acceptance of Arab-Latin rigging on Mediterranean ships helped them to get the most of the wind and discover the more unsafe and mysterious Atlantic. Right from the beginning of 18th century, electrical gadgets began to come out, though electricity demanded other forms of energy to produce it. The growth of steam control brought about the Industrial Revolution. The discovery of the electron created 20th-century technology, culminating in the internet (Peter, Watson 2006). Most big ideas are generated according to the local circumstances and situations which later on had global effects. The Israelites devised ethical monotheism because they were small people bordered by mighty neighbors. They required explaining to themselves why they should have faith in themselves. Early Christianity was a religion absolutely suited for poor people who required hope for the future, precisely the same request as Marxism had immediately when there was poverty in the new metropolises (Peter, Watson 2006). Sometimes it happened that more than one person had a new idea at approximately the same time. For instance Alfred Russell Wallace and Charles Darwin with natural selection; Ernst Mach and Albert Einstein with relativity got the same ideas at the same time. According to Thomas Kuhn, in the 1840s at least 12 people were moving toward the idea of the conservation of energy. Alban Berg and Arnold Schoenberg with atonality; Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung with the unconscious; Wassily Kandinsky, Frantisek Kupka, Konstantine Ciurlionius with abstraction; Hans von Ohain and Frank Whittle with the jet engine all about came at the same time. It is not magical game that ideas come actually they are responses to circumstance (Peter, Watson 2006). All through history, ideas have accompanied trade. Yet epochs where novel thoughts, technological and philosophical, grow, such as the 12th century Renaissance, looks to rise when situations give greater freedom for individuals-in cities and in new professions. Such freedom also sprang up from new social arrangements, new forms of cooperation when needed, or when a new psychology is generated and great individuality is allowed (Peter, Watson 2006). All the same, one thing has occured and another thing may be about to occur which could change all that. The hereditary research since World War II has demonstrated that we are all one people who began in Africa around 150,000 years ago. This includes the Internet and globalization. I period of speeding up came with the first cities in Mesopotamia, the II with the cathedrals and universities in Europe in the 12th-13th centuries. Such speed for the third time came with the metropolises of the 19th-early 20th centuries. The next step in this advancement is globalization which is bringing vast numbers of people together, even though it is only in a virtual way. Apart from the PC and the transistor, all our so-called novel technologies were devised before World War II. We are actually living in an age of consolidation, not an age of novelty (Peter, Watson 2006). Conclusion: Thus new ideas sprang up depending on the situations and circumstances in which man found him. Such ideas gave birth to inventions and revolutions. When Max Planck wanted to learn physics in the late 19th century, he was advised by his teacher not to anticipate much, because physics was more or less complete. The real inventions degenerating from globalization have yet to come. The world is preoccupied with speed and smallness, but if discovery of quantum computer comes true, then: (1) The world will ultimately be able to be in two places at once. (2) Effect will precede cause. These are really new ideas. The world does not understand that it is these changes have echoes of Grossestest, Copernicus, Schoenberg, and Planck. Refeences: 1. Jones, Prudence and Pennick, Nigel 1995, A History of Pagan Europe, Barnes & Noble ISBN 0-7607-1210-7. 2. Stearns, P N (2003), Western Civilization in World History. New York: Routledge. 3. Brian Tierney, Donald Kagan and Pearce Williams L 1992, Great Issues in Western Civilization, 2 vols, N.Y.McGraw-Hill. 4. Zuckerman, P. 2005, "Atheism: Contemporary Rates and Patterns" Pitzer College. Retrieved: 2006-06-21. 5. Davidson, Roderic H. (1960). "Where is the Middle East" Foreign Affairs 38: p. 665-675. 6. Peter, Watson 2006, Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention, from Fire to Freud, Harper Perennial. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Western Civilization.The modern era Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words”, n.d.)
Western Civilization.The modern era Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/history/1514670-western-civilizationthe-modern-era
(Western Civilization.The Modern Era Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 Words)
Western Civilization.The Modern Era Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 Words. https://studentshare.org/history/1514670-western-civilizationthe-modern-era.
“Western Civilization.The Modern Era Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/history/1514670-western-civilizationthe-modern-era.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Western Civilization.The modern era

Rise and Fall of Civilizations During Pre-History to 1500 CE

It can be said that most of the modern practices in the political diplomacy are inspired by the Byzantine Empire1.... on made to the modern political practices of diplomacy, the Byzantine Empire ultimately led to its dissolution in the long run2 Anglo-Saxon Empire Contribution to Democracy: By going through the history of the Anglo-Saxon Empire, it becomes easy to understand that common language and the control of the ancestors on the tradition of a community can create a balance in the community....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

Description of Western Civilization

The Western Roman Empire which ruled the modern states of Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and England for centuries had collapsed as a result of combination of a number of factors.... (Hobsbawm, 1992) Therefore with the fall of the empires there was increased rise of the modern sovereign states.... The fall of the Western Roman Empire led to the formation of the modern day states of France, Spain, Portugal, England and Italy.... This term has been used to describe the various heritages in social norms, ethical values, and change in tradition customs, the rise of various religious beliefs… western civilization has been described in the western culture that is found in the scientific, political, artistic and the philosophical principles that were adopted by people at that time....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

The Clash of Civilizations of the Coming of the New World Order

civilization as a term in historical discourse can be difficult to define, but Huntington narrows down the scope of this term.... According to the author, of all the constituent elements that comprise a particular civilization, its identification with religion, ethnicity and culture form the core.... A civilization's affiliation with these elements is more enduring and resistant to change than its propensity for change, say, in the economic and ideological domains....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order

10)What is the latent psychology of these cultural civilization groups that are part of a Nation?... Is this civilization identity conflict-oriented or friendship-oriented?... “For the first time in history global politics is both multipolar and multicivilizational; modernization is distinct from Westernization and is producing neither a universal civilization in any meaningful sense nor the Westernization of non-Western societies.... They are western, Eastern Orthodox, Latin American, Islamic, Japanese, Chinese, Hindu and African....
10 Pages (2500 words) Coursework

The Influence of the Mesopotamia Civilization

This gave them a more The size and domain of this civilization was so large that the modern day states such as Iraq, Syria, Kuwait and other adjoining states make up for the part of the once rich Mesopotamia civilization (Fairmont, 51).... The influence of Mesopotamia civilization was so grand that it is safely being said that the Western civilizations took up to the incumbent civilization in adopting the new patterns of life, living together as a social unit and paving way towards the modern times based on advanced social co existence and societies....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The Domestication of Animals and its Impact on World Civilizations Over Time

From the era of foraging to the 1450s, humans created ideas that helped shape the world today as shown through the study of complex civilizations.... … The domestication of animals positively impacted civilizations in ways that affected their development, helped them become a more complex civilization, and produced a wide variety of cultures around the world.... Both Eastern and western hemispheres experienced huge progress in uniquely different ways....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Political Cultural Perspective Of Islam And West

The differentiating factors of Islamic and western civilization are history, culture, language, tradition, and religion (Huntington).... The contemporary world can be divided into two distinct civilizations: the Islamic and the western.... hellip; Research reveals that while western countries like the USA boasts of a literacy rate of almost 99% for both men and women, an Islamic nation like Saudi Arabia holds a literacy rate of only 84.... Social, cultural and religious issues have always remained a dividing line between the Islamic and the western countries....
5 Pages (1250 words) Term Paper

Significance of Mehmet Ali

Historically it is evident that relations between East and west through Egypt had also turned successful only during this era which passed till mid of the nineteenth century.... Historically it is evident that relations between East and west through Egypt had also turned successful only during this era which passed till mid of the nineteenth century.... Mehmet Ali had been a successful emperor for a long time, succeeding to establish his dynasty to work for future and to take Egypt towards the upcoming new era of modernism (Vatikiotis, 1991, p....
10 Pages (2500 words) Term Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us