Western Civilization.The modern era Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Western Civilization.The modern era - Essay Example 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. 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)"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)