Discussion Assignments regarding Lewis Mumford's The City in History - Research Paper Example

Throughout chapters 8 to 13, Mumford (1998) clearly de-emphasizes overreliance on technology as human’s defining success, arguing that communication and better understanding through a common language is a more important factor of civilization and that the ideal urban environment, where all sorts of ties could be fostered, was actually the primary discovery of society. In light of this, Mumford clearly supports the word "technics" over pure technology due to the former’s comprehensive nature.

Technics generally cover both the individual and social aspects of discovery, invention and development of cities. Therefore, Mumford was basically seeking to compare the general successes of the ancient world in which there was no significant technology, with a view to blending the culture with the modern one sidling towards progressivism, in which technology has increasingly become an important part of human civilization and urban development. Progressivism features prominently especially in chapter 13 of the book, where modern civilization tampers medieval culture.

Mumfords ideology epitomizes the route to progressivism at mid-twentieth century, providing fervent support for the American direct participation in the Second World War and the eventual withdrawal of the American soldiers from the fruitless Vietnam War. Nonetheless, Mumford is apparently among the pioneering philosophers reminding the West greater plans which they had put in place to expand the cities were not wholly positive. In light of this, Mumford’s analysis of the growth of towns was driven by the need to factor social goals in architectural designs.

In his chapters on “Cloister and Community” and “The Structure of Baroque Power”, it is arguable that Mumford’s perception of an ideal city was never tampered with the attractiveness of form; instead, he consistently