Understanding
Western Culture
Where did it all begin?
Make a time line of events which influence western civilization
Mesopotamia
Modern Day
Birthdays, Weddings, Funerals,
4th of July, Thanksgiving, etc
What is Culture?
Traditions
Freedom of and freedom from.
Separate from Gov’t
Work, fairness, killing bad,
honesty, etc
Ethical
Values
Religion
* Each category
is perceived and
valued differently
based on these 4
criteria
Society
Trusted, valued,
encouraged, etc
Science &
Technology
Politics
Age
Education
Philosophy
Rugged Individualism,
Social mobility
Logic and reason
Art &
Literature
Gov’t system,
checks and
balances, voting,
term limits, etc
Valued, appreciated,
controversial, accessible
Social Class
Political Affiliation
Western culture ≠ Western Film / TV
(not completely accurate, but does influence it)
Egypt and Mesopotamia
The beginnings of Western civilization can be
traced back to the ancient Near East, where
people in Mesopotamia and Egypt developed
organized societies and created the ideas and
institutions that we associate with civilization.
Around 3000 B.C.E, people in Mesopotamia
and Egypt began to develop cities and wrestle
with the problems of organized states. They
developed writing to keep records and created
literature. They developed new political, military,
social, and religious structures to deal with the
basic problems of human existence and
organization.
These first literate civilizations left detailed
records that allow us to view how they grappled
with three of the fundamental problems that
humans have pondered:
1. the nature of human relationships,
2. the nature of the universe, and
3. the role of divine forces in our destiny and
daily acts.
“Who am I, why am I here, what “role”
am I supposed to play.
Destiny or free will or somewhere in
between?
Am I significant or insignificant?
Is this the only plane of existence or is
there more.
Is this my current physical state, will I
return as something different?
How do I treat other people, how are
decisions made, Etc, Etc, Etc.
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle establish the foundations of Western Philosophy
Who made Me? Why am I here? What is my purpose in Life?
Originates from Ancient Greece (Europe)
Greek Contribution to Western Civilization
•The arts, philosophy, and architecture.
•The Greeks introduced our cherished concepts of citizens'
rights, democracy, and freedoms of speech and religion.
•They excelled in mathematics, physics and astronomy.
•The Greeks had a highly developed spiritual life, imparting
human traits to their many gods and goddesses.
•Bad stuff –
•Vacuum (Nature abhors a Vacuum)
•Momentum – energy applied at initiation,” runs out”
when object stops
Socrates
• 1.- The dialectical method is dialogue between two
or more people holding different points of view
about a subject, questions are posed to filter out the
truth. (Legal system today, lawyers can only “ask
questions” of defendants)
• 2.- Irony - In the case of Socratic irony, Socrates
might pretend to think his students wise or he might
denigrate his own intelligence, as by pretending he
doesn't know the answer. This allows the truth to be
revealed by the other person (teacher) or the
falsehood of the idea to be revealed by the person
talking.
• 3. – Knowing that you know nothing, …coming from
a position of limited or no understanding rather
than a position of arrogance, opens the mind to new
knowledge
Plato (Student of Socrates)
These prisoners live in ignorance with
their idea of reality being simplistic
shadows cast upon walls, but they know
nothing else.
Is it wrong that their perception of life is
different than those who have been let
out of the cave?
That all depends on whether or not you
think ignorance is bliss.
By living in ignorance and leading a
shallow life these prisoners don’t know
what they’re missing out on in the world
above; the shadows are all they know.
They may have a superficial glimpse of
the world, but they may be happy in their
shallow mindset.
The idea is….people should continually question and seek the truth, rather than believing
only what they perceive. (“seeing is believing” is not good)
Establish law, engineering, and gov’t beyond their immediate borders = acquire
cultural aspects from surrounding areas
Spread by Roman Empire (1st Century A.C.E.)
In AD 313, the Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal and for the
first time, followers of the Christian Faith were allowed to openly worship.
Churches were quickly built not just in Rome but throughout the empire.
In AD 391, the worship of other gods was made illegal.
Made the official state religion of the Roman Empire, and the
Roman Catholic church played a vital role in the development of the new
European civilization
Religion viewed science as a means to disprove faith,
and was therfeore not valued
Influenced by Christianity (4/5th Century)
Germanic Kingdoms Emerge
• His reign was based on harmony which
developed between three elements:
the Roman past, the Germanic way of
life, and Christianity.
• The Concept of Government Changes
– Germans held together by family ties
and loyalty, not government
– Small communities are governed by
unwritten rules and traditions
– Germanic warriors pledge loyalty to
their chief
Charlemagne
Unification under Christianity of
most of Europe
Because Charlemagne's armies were always fighting, he began to
give his warriors land so they could support and equip
themselves.
With this in mind, Charlemagne was able to secure an army of
warriors who were deeply devoted and loyal to him.
By the year 800, the Frankish kingdom included all of modern
France, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, almost all of Germany and
large areas of Italy and Spain.
Invasions of Western Europe
• The Decline of Learning
– As cities are abandoned, level of learning declines
– Knowledge of Greek language and culture is
almost completely lost
– Church was the only connected institution
throughout the region
General view of life
In general, Christian values stood directly opposed to those
values of classical thought, that is, of the Greco-Roman
tradition.
This tradition taught that man ought to seek the good life
today, here in this world, in the present world, and for the
Romans, that meant the Empire.
Christianity our life on earth was temporary, a stopping off
point before the journey into eternal life.
Latin Language of the Greeks is lost to the common people
and only retained by the church.
Inability to read keeps people in their place and away from
knowledge (scientific)
Because religion distrusted science, cultural
development essentially stopped
Stagnated during Dark Ages (5/6th Century)
Renaissance - it encompassed a resurgence of learning, art, and widespread
educational reform..Its influence affected literature, philosophy, art, politics,
science, religion, and other aspects
Rebirth: Renaissance (14 – 17th Century)
Woodblock
Automated
Metal
The world's first movable type printing technology was invented and developed
in China by the Han Chinese the years 1041 and 1048.
In Korea, the movable metal type printing technique was invented in the early
thirteenth century during the Goryeo Dynasty.
In the West, the invention of an improved movable type mechanical printing
technology in Europe is credited to Germany in 1450.
It was a period when new ideas in physics, astronomy, biology, human anatomy,
chemistry, and other sciences led to a rejection of ideas from Ancient Greece and
laid the foundation of modern science.
New ideas: Scientific Revolution (17th Century)
Scientific Revolution
the Renaissance enabled a scientific revolution which let scholars look at
the world in a different light.
Religion, superstition, and fear were replaced by reason and knowledge.
Despite some challenges to religious views, however, most notable
figures of the scientific revolution—including Copernicus, Tycho
Brahe, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, Francis Bacon, René
Descartes, Isaac Newton
Copernicus - the Sun, rather than the Earth, at the center.
Tycho Brahe - that comets were also not atmospheric phenomena, as previously
thought.
Kepler - Application of geometry and other mathematical principles to planetary
movement
Galileo - improvements to the telescope , disputed the earth centered universe
concept
Bacon – created the scientific method
Descartes – “I think therefore I am” (father of philosophy)
Laws of motion, gravitational laws, invented calculus
A period of time characterized by the importance of logic and reason
“freedom to use one's own intelligence”
Separation from King + Religion
Common people got a voice
Basic challenges to the authority of the king, freedom of speech, press, and religion,
and the role of commoners in the government were revolutionary.
Logic & Reason: Age of Enlightenment (18th Century)
Setting the principles of our culture based on individual rights, freedom,
entrepreneurial invention, etc
Independence: American Revolution (Late 18th Century)
Leads to norms on workers rights, working conditions, hours per week, wages, age of
workers, social security, health care, etc
Industrial Revolution (19th Century)
Photo by Steve Rhodes
1st minority president = opportunity
Modern Civilization (Today)
Core Ideas
& Values
Recognizes the right of
private ownership, capital
accumulation, exchange
and profit
Individuals should be able
to act on their own reason
without interference from
others – i.e. freedom
Reality- or fact-based thought and
perception (Aristotle 384-322 BC)
Reason
Emphasis on the
individual person who
is independent and
self-reliant
Worldly happiness
should be the focus of
each person's life
We live in a multicultural world but,
Western Civ still has its roots dislayed everywhere
West of the Eastern and South Asian Civilization