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'@@ -1,311 +1,42 @@ -{{short description|Norms, values and political systems originating in Europe}} -{{otheruses|Western culture (disambiguation)}} -{{pp-move-indef}} -{{pp-move|small=yes}} -{{Use American English|date=July 2020}} -{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}} -{{multiple image|align=right | direction=vertical|width=180 | image1=Da Vinci Vitruve Luc Viatour.jpg|caption1=[[Leonardo da Vinci]]'s ''[[Vitruvian Man]]''. Based on the correlations of ideal [[Body proportions|human proportions]] with [[geometry]] described by the ancient Roman architect [[Vitruvius]] in Book III of his treatise ''[[De architectura]]''. |image2=Plato Pio-Clemetino Inv305.jpg|caption2=[[Plato]], along with [[Socrates]] and [[Aristotle]], helped to establish [[Western philosophy]].}} -'''Western culture''', sometimes equated with '''Western civilization''', '''Occidental culture''', the '''Western world''', '''Western society''', and is the [[Cultural heritage|heritage]] of [[social norms]], [[ethical value]]s, [[tradition]]al customs, [[belief systems]], [[political system]]s, [[Cultural artifact|artifacts]] and [[technology|technologies]] of the [[Western world]]. The term also applies beyond Europe to countries and cultures whose [[history|histories]] are strongly connected to Western Europe by immigration, colonization, or influence. For example, Western culture includes determinated countries in the [[Americas]] and [[Oceania]]. Western culture is most strongly influenced by the [[Greco-Roman]] and [[Christian culture|Christian]] cultures.<ref name="PerryChase2012">{{cite book|author=Marvin Perry, Myrna Chase, James Jacob, Margaret Jacob, Theodore H. Von Laue|title=Western Civilization: Since 1400|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N6jytVCocwMC|date=1 January 2012|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1-111-83169-1|page=XXIX}}</ref> +'''Western Culture''' is composed of a triad of influences: ancient [[Greek]] Culture, ancient [[Roman]] culture and [[Christianity]]. It is knows by the phrase “Judeo-Hellenic-Christian culture”. -Ancient Greece is considered the birthplace of many elements of Western culture, including the development of a [[Democracy|democratic]] system of government and major advances in philosophy, science and mathematics. The expansion of Greek culture into the [[Hellenistic]] world of the [[eastern Mediterranean]] led to a synthesis between Greek and [[Near-East]]ern cultures,<ref name="Green"/> and major advances in literature, engineering, and science, and provided the culture for the expansion of early Christianity and the Greek [[New Testament]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Forgotten Revolution: How Science Was Born in 300 BC and Why It Had To Be Reborn|last=Russo|first=Lucio|publisher=Springer|year=2004|isbn=3-540-20396-6|location=Berlin|author-link=Lucio Russo}}</ref><ref name=eb>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/260307/Hellenistic-Age |title=Hellenistic Age |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |access-date=8 September 2012}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceC">{{cite book |title=Alexander The Great and the Hellenistic Age |page=xiii |last=Green |first=P |isbn=978-0-7538-2413-9|year=2008 }}</ref> This period overlapped with and was followed by [[Ancient Rome|Rome]], which made key contributions in law, government, engineering and political organization.<ref name="Daly2013">{{cite book |author=Jonathan Daly |title=The Rise of Western Power: A Comparative History of Western Civilization |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9aZPAQAAQBAJ |date=19 December 2013 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-1-4411-1851-6 |pages=7–9}}</ref> The concept of a "West" dates back to the [[Roman Empire]], where there was a cultural divide between the [[Greek East and Latin West]], a divide that later continued in Medieval Europe between the Catholic [[Latin Church]] west and the "Greek" Eastern Orthodox east. +The basis and foundation of Western Culture is the Greeks. They were very different from what came before and what existed around them. The ancient Greeks were marked by their masculinity and their reasoning which produced self-government. It begins with [[Homer]] who set the ideas of The Good and the Beautiful. [[Socrates]] caps this with the idea of truth. Truth is what every man should strive for and achieve; to live and die for the Truth. This formed the basis of the classical triad of truth, beauty and goodness. The Greek [[Paideia]] became the basis and foundation of Western Culture. -Western culture is characterized by a host of artistic, philosophic, literary and [[Western law|legal]] themes and traditions. [[Christianity]], including the [[Roman Catholic Church]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Spielvogel |first=Jackson J. |title=Western Civilization: A Brief History, Volume I: To 1715 |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-305-63347-6 |edition=Cengage Learning |page=156}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Neill |first=Thomas Patrick |title=Readings in the History of Western Civilization, Volume 2 |year=1957 |edition=Newman Press |page=224}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author-link=Gerald O'Collins|last1=O'Collins|first1=Gerald|title=Catholicism: The Story of Catholic Christianity |year=2003|isbn=978-0-19-925995-3|publisher=Oxford University Press |last2=Farrugia|first2=Maria |page=v (preface)}}</ref> [[Protestantism]]<ref>Karl Heussi, ''Kompendium der Kirchengeschichte'', 11. Auflage (1956), Tübingen (Germany), pp. 317–319, 325–326</ref><ref>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Protestant-Heritage-1354359/Protestantisms-influence-in-the-modern-world The Protestant Heritage], Britannica</ref> the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], and [[Oriental Orthodoxy]],<ref>{{cite book |last=McNeill |first=William H. |title=History of Western Civilization: A Handbook |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-226-56162-2 |edition=University of Chicago Press |page=204}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Faltin |first=Lucia |title=The Religious Roots of Contemporary European Identity |url=https://archive.org/details/religiousrootsco00falt |url-access=limited |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8264-9482-5 |edition=A&C Black |author2=Melanie J. Wright |page=[https://archive.org/details/religiousrootsco00falt/page/n99 83]}}</ref> has played a [[Role of Christianity in civilization|prominent role]] in the [[History of Western civilization|shaping of Western civilization]] since at least the 4th century,<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/507284/Roman-Catholicism Roman Catholicism], "Roman Catholicism, Christian church that has been the decisive spiritual force in the history of Western civilization". [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]</ref><ref name="Caltron J.H Hayas">Caltron J.H Hayas, ''Christianity and Western Civilization'' (1953), Stanford University Press, p. 2: That certain distinctive features of our Western civilization—the civilization of western Europe and of America—have been shaped chiefly by Judaeo–Graeco–Christianity, Catholic and Protestant.</ref><ref name="Orlandis">Jose Orlandis, 1993, "A Short History of the Catholic Church," 2nd edn. (Michael Adams, Trans.), Dublin:Four Courts Press, {{ISBN|1851821252}}, preface, see [https://books.google.com/books?id=KYdbpwAACAAJ], accessed 8 December 2014. p. (preface)</ref><ref name="How The Catholic Church Built Western Civilization">[[Thomas E. Woods]] and Antonio Canizares, 2012, "How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization," Reprint edn., Washington, D.C.: Regnery History, {{ISBN|1596983280}}, see [https://books.google.com/books?id=jYvmAgAAQBAJ, accessed 8 December 2014. p. 1: "Western civilization owes far more to Catholic Church than most people—Catholic included—often realize. The Church in fact built Western civilization."]</ref><ref name="Perry2012">{{cite book |author=Marvin Perry |title=Western Civilization: A Brief History, Volume I: To 1789 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U2pnv0Aoh2EC&pg=PA33 |date=1 January 2012 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-1-111-83720-4 |pages=33–}}</ref> as did [[Judaism]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Western civilization : beyond boundaries |last=Noble |first=Thomas F. X.|isbn=978-1-133-60271-2 |edition=7th |location=Boston, MA |pages=107 |oclc=858610469|date = 2013-01-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics, and Society, Volume I: To 1789 |author=Marvin Perry |author2=Myrna Chase |author3=James Jacob |author4=Margaret Jacob |author5=Jonathan W Daly |publisher=Cengage Learning |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-305-44548-2 |pages=105}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Judaism and Hellenism : studies in their encounter in Palestine during the early Hellenistic period |first=Martin |last=Hengel |date=2003 |publisher=Wipf & Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-59244-186-0 |location=Eugene, OR |oclc=52605048}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Early Christianity in its Hellenistic context. Volume 2, Christian origins and Hellenistic Judaism : social and literary contexts for the New Testament |date=2013 |publisher=Brill |last=Porter|first=Stanley E.|isbn=978-9004234765 |location=Leiden |oclc=851653645}}</ref> A cornerstone of Western thought, beginning in [[ancient Greece]] and continuing through the [[Middle Ages]] and [[Renaissance]], is the idea of [[rationalism]] in various spheres of life developed by [[Hellenistic philosophy]], [[scholasticism]] and [[Renaissance humanism|humanism]]. [[Empiricism]] later gave rise to the [[scientific method]], the [[scientific revolution]], and the [[Age of Enlightenment]]. +[[Plato]] (and Socrates) influenced much of Christian theological thought and formed much of medieval philosophy. His concept of the [[soul]] and the importance of cultivating it, is central to understanding Western Culture. -Western culture continued to develop with the [[Christianization of Europe|Christianisation of European society]] during the Middle Ages, the reforms triggered by the [[Renaissance of the 12th century]] and 13th century under the [[Islamic world contributions to Medieval Europe|influence of the Islamic world]] via [[Al-Andalus]] and [[Emirate of Sicily|Sicily]] (including the transfer of technology from the East, and [[Latin translations of the 12th century|Latin translations]] of [[Science in the medieval Islamic world|Arabic texts on science]] and [[Early Islamic philosophy|philosophy]]),<ref name="Haskins"/><ref name="Sarton"/><ref name="Burnett"/> and the [[Italian Renaissance]] as [[Greek scholars in the Renaissance|Greek scholars]] fleeing the fall of the [[Byzantine Empire]] after the [[Fall of Constantinople|Muslim conquest of Constantinople]] brought classical traditions and philosophy.<ref name="Geanakoplos, Deno John 1989">Geanakoplos, Deno John. Constantinople and the West: essays on the late Byzantine (Palaeologan) and Italian Renaissances and the Byzantine and Roman churches. Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1989.</ref> [[History of Christianity during the Middle Ages|Medieval Christianity]] is credited with creating the modern [[university]],<ref name="Rüegg, Walter 1992">Rüegg, Walter: "Foreword. The University as a European Institution", in: ''A History of the University in Europe. Vol. 1: Universities in the Middle Ages'', Cambridge University Press, 1992, {{ISBN|0-521-36105-2}}, pp. xix–xx</ref><ref name="harnvb|Verger|1999">{{harnvb|Verger|1999}}</ref> the modern [[hospital]] system,<ref name="Risse 59">{{cite book |title=Mending Bodies, Saving Souls: A History of Hospitals |url=https://archive.org/details/mendingbodiessav00riss |url-access=limited |last=Risse |first=Guenter B. |date=April 1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/mendingbodiessav00riss/page/n79 59] |isbn=978-0-19-505523-8}}</ref> scientific [[economics]],<ref name="Schumpeter 1954">{{cite book |title=History of Economic Analysis |last=Schumpeter |first=Joseph |year=1954 |publisher=Allen & Unwin |location=London}}</ref><ref name="National Review Book Service">{{cite web |title=Review of ''How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization'' by Thomas Woods, Jr. |url=http://www.nrbookservice.com/products/bookpage.asp?prod_cd=c6664 |work=National Review Book Service |accessdate=16 September 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060822150152/http://www.nrbookservice.com/products/BookPage.asp?prod_cd=c6664 |archive-date=22 August 2006 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> and [[natural law]] (which would later influence the creation of [[international law]]).<ref>Cf. [[Jeremy Waldron]] (2002), ''God, Locke, and Equality: Christian Foundations in Locke's Political Thought'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (UK), {{ISBN|978-0-521-89057-1}}, pp. 189, 208</ref> Christianity played a role in ending practices common among [[pagan]] societies, such as human sacrifice, slavery,<ref name="Chadwick, Owen p. 242">Chadwick, Owen p. 242.</ref> infanticide and polygamy.<ref name="Hastings, p. 309">Hastings, p. 309.</ref> The globalization by successive [[Colonial empire|European colonial empires]] spread European ways of life and European educational methods around the world between the 16th and 20th centuries.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}} European culture developed with a complex range of philosophy, medieval scholasticism, mysticism and Christian and secular humanism.<ref>Sailen Debnath, 2010, "Secularism: Western and Indian," New Delhi, India:Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, {{ISBN|8126913665}}.{{page needed|date=February 2015}}</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2015}} Rational thinking developed through a long age of change and formation, with the [[empiricism|experiments]] of the Enlightenment and breakthroughs in the [[sciences]]. Tendencies that have come to define modern Western [[societies]] include the concept of [[Pluralism (political philosophy)|political pluralism]], [[individualism]], prominent [[subcultures]] or [[counterculture]]s (such as [[New Age]] movements) and increasing cultural [[syncretism]] resulting from [[globalization]] and [[human migration]]. +[[Isocrates]] wrote of his culture that: -== Terminology == -{{further|Western world}} -[[File:Clash of Civilizations mapn2.png|thumb|left|upright=1.25|{{POV map|Talk|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Western_culture}}Post-1990 Huntington's major civilizations (Western is colored dark blue).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Huntington |first1=Samuel P. |title=The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order |date=2 August 2011 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-1-4516-2897-5 |pages=151–154}}</ref>{{efn|[[Latin America]], is either considered a part of the West or a distinct civilization intimately related to the West and descended from it.<ref>{{cite book|title=Clash of Civilizations|author=Huntington, Samuel P.|year=1991|isbn=978-0-684-84441-1|edition=6th|location=Washington, DC|pages=[https://archive.org/details/clashofcivilizat00hunt/page/38 38–39]|quote=The origin of western civilization is usually dated to 700 or 800 AD. In general, researchers consider that it has three main components, in Europe, North America and Latin America. [...] However, Latin America has followed a quite different development path from Europe and North America. Although it is a scion of European civilization, it also incorporates, to varying degrees, elements of indigenous American civilizations, absent from North America and Europe. It has had a corporatist and authoritarian culture that Europe had to a much lesser extent and America did not have at all. Both Europe and North America felt the effects of the Reformation and combined Catholic and Protestant culture. Historically, Latin America has been only Catholic, although this may be changing. [...] Latin America could be considered, or a sub-civilization within Western civilization, or a separate civilization, intimately related to the West and divided as to its belonging to it.|via=[http://www.mercaba.org/SANLUIS/Historia/Universal/Huntington,%20Samuel%20-%20El%20choque%20de%20civilizaciones.pdf El choque de civilizaciones (in Spanish)]|url=https://archive.org/details/clashofcivilizat00hunt/page/38}}</ref>}} ]] -The West as a geographical area is unclear and undefined. More often the ideology of a state's inhabitants is what will be used to categorize it as a Western society. There is some disagreement about what nations should or should not be included in the category and at what times. Many parts of the [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire]] are considered Western today but were considered Eastern in the past. However, in the past it was also the Eastern Roman Empire that had many features now seen as "Western," preserving Roman law, which was first codified by [[Justinian]] in the east,<ref name="The Cambridge Companion to Roman La">{{cite book |last1=Kaiser |first1=Wolfgang |title=The Cambridge Companion to Roman Law |date=2015 |pages=119–148}}</ref> as well as the traditions of scholarship around [[Plato]], [[Aristotle]], and [[Euclid]] that were later introduced to Italy during the Renaissance by [[Greek scholars in the Renaissance|Greek scholars]] fleeing the fall of [[Constantinople]].<ref name="Geanakoplos, Deno John 1989"/> Thus, the culture identified with East and West itself interchanges with time and place (from the ancient world to the modern). Geographically, the "[[Western world|West]]" of today would include Europe (especially the states that collectively form the [[European Union]], the United Kingdom, Norway, and Switzerland) together with extra-European territories belonging to the [[English-speaking world]], the [[Hispanidad]], the [[Lusosphere]]; and the [[Francophonie]] in the wider context. Since the context is highly biased and context-dependent, there is no agreed definition of what the "West" is. +“And so far has our city distanced the rest of mankind in thought and in speech that her pupils have become the teachers of the rest of the world; and she has brought it about the that the name “Hellenes” suggests no longer a race but an intelligence, and that the title of “Hellenes” is applied rather to those who share our culture than to those who share our common blood.” (1) -It is difficult to determine which individuals fit into which category and the East–West contrast is sometimes criticized as [[relativism|relativistic]] and arbitrary.<ref>Yin Cheong Cheng, ''New Paradigm for Re-engineering Education''. p. 369</ref><ref>[[Ainslie Thomas Embree]], [[Carol Gluck]], ''Asia in Western and World History: A Guide for Teaching''. p. xvi</ref><ref>Kwang-Sae Lee, ''East and West: Fusion of Horizons''{{page needed|date=February 2015}}</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2015}} Globalism has spread Western ideas so widely that almost all modern cultures are, to some extent, influenced by aspects of Western culture. Stereotypical views of "the West" have been labeled [[Occidentalism]], paralleling [[Orientalism]]—the term for the 19th-century stereotyped views of "the East". +Later, the [[Latin]] poet [[Horace]] would remark that: -It has been disputed by some [[philosophers]] whether Western culture can be considered a historically sound, unified body of thought.<ref name="Appiah2016">{{cite news|author=Kwame Anthony Appiah|title=There Is No Such Thing As Western Civilization|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/09/western-civilisation-appiah-reith-lecture}}</ref> For example, [[Kwame Anthony Appiah]] points out that many of the fundamental influences on Western culture, such as those of [[Ancient Greek philosophy|Greek philosophy]] are also shared by the [[Muslim world|Islamic world]] to a certain extent.<ref name="Appiah2016" /> Appiah argues that the origin of the Western and European identity can be traced back to the Muslim invasion of Iberia where Christians would form a common Christian or European identity.<ref name="Appiah2016" /> Contemporary Latin chronicles from Spain described the victors in the [[Kingdom of the Franks|Frankish]] victory over the [[The Umayyads|Umayyads]] at the [[Battle of Tours]] as Europeans according to Appiah, denoting a shared sense of identity.<ref name="Appiah2016" /> +“Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit et artes intulit agresiti Latio.” -As Europeans discovered the wider world, old concepts adapted. The area that had formerly been considered the [[Orient]] ("the East") became the [[Near East]] as the interests of the European powers interfered with [[Meiji Period|Meiji Japan]] and [[Qing China]] for the first time in the 19th century.<ref name="davison">{{Cite journal |author=Davidson, Roderic H. |title=Where is the Middle East? |journal=Foreign Affairs |volume=38 |issue=4 |pages=665–75 |year=1960 |doi=10.2307/20029452 |jstor=20029452 |s2cid=157454140 |url=https://semanticscholar.org/paper/b0f99025d232494803f84f1a4578d7a11dcf1be2 }}</ref> Thus the [[First Sino-Japanese War|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.{{efn|British archaeologist [[David George Hogarth|D.G. Hogarth]] published ''The Nearer East'' in 1902, which helped to define the term and its extent, including [[Albania]], [[Montenegro]], southern [[Serbia]] and [[Bulgaria]], [[Greece]], [[Egypt]], all [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] lands, the entire [[Arabian Peninsula]], and Western parts of [[Iran]].}} The term [[Middle East]] in the mid-19th century included the territory east of the [[Ottoman Empire]], but West of China—[[Greater Persia]] and [[Greater India]]—is now used synonymously with "Near East" in most languages. +“Greece, when captured, captured her savage conqueror and brought the arts into rustic Latium.” (2) -== History == -{{further|History of Western civilization}} -{{History of Western philosophy}} -The earliest [[civilization]]s which influenced the development of Western culture were those of [[Mesopotamia]]; the area of the [[Tigris–Euphrates river system]], largely corresponding to modern-day [[Iraq]], northeastern [[Syria]], southeastern [[Turkey]] and southwestern [[Iran]]: the [[cradle of civilization]].<ref name="Bronowski">Jacobus Bronowski; ''The Ascent of Man''; Angus & Robertson, 1973 {{ISBN|0-563-17064-6}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">Geoffrey Blainey; ''A Very Short History of the World''; Penguin Books, 2004</ref> [[Ancient Egypt]] similarly had a strong influence on Western culture. +The second formulative influence of Western Culture was the Romans. Roman law, Roman Architecture, and the Roman Army, play significantly in Western Culture. All western law proceeds from Roman law. Black’s Law Dictionary, which had wide influence, is of Roman influence. -The [[Greeks]] contrasted themselves with both their [[History of Anatolia|Eastern neighbours]] (such as the [[Troy|Trojans]] in ''[[Iliad]]'') as well as their Western neighbours (who they considered [[barbarians]]).{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}} Concepts of what is ''the West'' arose out of legacies of the [[Western Roman Empire]] and the [[Eastern Roman Empire]]. Later, ideas of the West were formed by the concepts of [[Greek East and Latin West|Latin Christendom]] and the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. What is thought of as Western thought today originates primarily from [[Greco-Roman]] and [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] influences, and includes the ideals of the [[Middle Ages]], [[the Renaissance]], and the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], as well as [[Christianity|Christian]] culture. +[[Cicero]] had a major influence, not only in his country, but throughout medieval times and even affected the Framers of the U. S. Constitution. -=== Classical West === -[[File:Alejandro Magno, Alexander The Great Bust Alexander BM 1857 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Alexander the Great]]]] -While the concept of a "West" did not exist until the emergence of the [[Roman Republic]], the roots of the concept can be traced back to [[Ancient Greece]]. Since [[Homer]]ic literature (the [[Trojan Wars]]), through the accounts of the [[Persian Wars]] of [[Greeks]] against [[Persia]]ns by [[Herodotus]], and right up until the time of [[Alexander the Great]], there was a [[paradigm]] of a contrast between Greeks and other civilizations.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Hanson|first=Victor Davis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XGr16-CxpH8C|title=Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power|date=2007-12-18|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-307-42518-8|language=en}}</ref> Greeks felt they were the most civilized and saw themselves (in the formulation of [[Aristotle]]) as something between the advanced civilizations of the [[Near East]] (who they viewed as soft and slavish) and the wild [[barbarians]] of most of Europe to the west. During this period writers like Herodotus and [[Xenophon]] would highlight the importance of freedom in the Ancient Greek world, as opposed to the perceived slavery of the so-called barbaric world.<ref name=":1" /> +The third formulative influence is Christianity. Jesus had the profoundest effect on Western Culture. His preaching of the golden rule, of salvation, redemption and immortality not only affected the lives of people but their art, literature, philosophy, and architecture. The [[Bible]] became a central piece of Western literature affecting all fields within Western culture; law, philosophy, education, and politics. With this, the Hebrew Scriptures, the [[Torah]], the psalms and prophets, coupled with the [[New Testament]] taught the people wisdom, maxims and precepts. -Alexander's conquests led to the emergence of a [[Hellenistic civilization]], representing a synthesis of Greek and [[Near-East]]ern cultures in the [[Eastern Mediterranean]] region.<ref name="Green">Green, Peter. ''Alexander to Actium: The Historical Evolution of the Hellenistic Age''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990.</ref> The Near-Eastern civilizations of [[Ancient Egypt]] and the [[Levant]], which came under Greek rule, became part of the Hellenistic world. The most important Hellenistic centre of learning was [[Ptolemaic Egypt]], which attracted Greek, [[Egyptians|Egyptian]], [[Jew]]ish, [[Persian people|Persian]], [[Phoenicia]]n and even [[History of India|Indian]] scholars.<ref>George G. Joseph (2000). ''The Crest of the Peacock'', pp. 7–8. [[Princeton University Press]]. {{ISBN|0-691-00659-8}}.</ref> Hellenistic [[science]], [[philosophy]], [[classical architecture|architecture]], [[classical literature|literature]] and [[art]] later provided a foundation embraced and built upon by the [[Roman Empire]] as it swept up Europe and the [[History of the Mediterranean region|Mediterranean world]], including the Hellenistic world in its conquests in the 1st century BCE. +With Christianity came a movement called [[Monasticism]]. Monasticism carried Christianity and science to all the countries of Europe and preserved Latin and Christian texts. They chanted the Psalms throughout Europe. Their [[Gregorian chant]] was heard by many of the peasants working in the fields. -Following the Roman conquest of the Hellenistic world, the concept of a "West" arose, as there was a cultural divide between the [[Greek East and Latin West]]. The Latin-speaking [[Western Roman Empire]] consisted of [[Western Europe]] and [[Northwest Africa]], while the Greek-speaking [[Eastern Roman Empire]] (later the [[Byzantine Empire]]) consisted of the [[Balkans]], [[Asia Minor]], [[Roman Egypt|Egypt]] and [[Levant]]. The "Greek" East was generally wealthier and more advanced than the "Latin" West{{Citation needed|date=October 2019}}. With the exception of [[Roman Italy|Italia]], the wealthiest provinces of the Roman Empire were in the East, particularly [[Roman Egypt]] which was the wealthiest Roman province outside of Italia.<ref>[[Angus Maddison|Maddison, Angus]] (2007), ''Contours of the World Economy, 1–2030 AD: Essays in Macro-Economic History'', p. 55, table 1.14, [[Oxford University Press]], {{ISBN|978-0-19-922721-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Herons von Alexandria Druckwerke und Automatentheater |author-last=Hero |author-link=Hero of Alexandria |translator=Wilhelm Schmidt |place=Leipzig |publisher=B.G. Teubner |date=1899 |language=el, de |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/heronsvonalexandhero#page/228/mode/2up |pages=228–232 |chapter=Pneumatika, Book ΙΙ, Chapter XI}}</ref> Nevertheless, the Celts in the West created some significant literature in the ancient world whenever they were given the opportunity (an example being the poet [[Caecilius Statius]]), and they developed a large amount of scientific knowledge themselves (as seen in their [[Coligny Calendar]]). +St. Augustine is premier, along with Plato, in forming the Christian mindset of Latin Christianity. He formed Western thought and Latin Christianity. -[[File:Christ, by Heinrich Hofmann.jpg|thumb|upright|Representation of [[Jesus of Nazareth]], central figure of Christianity.]] -[[File:Maison Carree in Nimes (16).jpg|thumb|left|The [[Maison Carrée]] in [[Nîmes]], one of the best-preserved [[Roman temple]]s.]] -[[File:Roman Empire Trajan 117AD.png|thumb|upright=1.25|The [[Roman Empire]] at its greatest extent.]] -For about five hundred years, the Roman Empire maintained the [[Greek East]] and consolidated a Latin West, but an east–west division remained, reflected in many cultural norms of the two areas, including language. Eventually, the empire became increasingly split into a Western and Eastern part, reviving old ideas of a contrast between an advanced East, and a rugged West. +==Renaissance== -From the time of Alexander the Great (the [[Hellenistic period]]), Greek civilization came in contact with Jewish civilization. [[Christianity]] would eventually emerge from the [[syncretism]] of [[Hellenism (Greek culture)|Hellenic culture]], [[Roman culture]], and [[Second Temple Judaism]], gradually spreading across the [[Roman Empire]] and eclipsing its antecedents and influences.<ref>Gordon, Cyrus H., The Common Background of the Greek and Hebrew Civilizations, W. W. Norton and Company, New York 1965</ref> The rise of Christianity reshaped much of the Greco-Roman tradition and [[culture]]; the Christianised culture would be the basis for the development of Western civilization after the fall of Rome (which resulted from increasing pressure from barbarians outside Roman culture). Roman culture also mixed with [[Celts|Celtic]], [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]], and [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] cultures, which slowly became integrated into Western culture: starting mainly with their acceptance of Christianity. +With the Christian church officially using Latin as the Liturgical language, the attack of barbarian hordes, the growth of banditry, Greek influence and works died out in Western Culture and a connection to the Eastern half of the Roman world. -=== Medieval West === -[[File:Sanvitale03.jpg|thumb|Mosaic of [[Justinian I]] with his court, circa 547–549, [[Basilica of San Vitale]] ([[Ravenna]], Italy)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fortenberry|first1=Diane|title=THE ART MUSEUM |date=2017|publisher=Phaidon|isbn=978-0-7148-7502-6|page=108|language=en}}</ref>]] -[[File:Slovakia region Spis 33.jpg|thumb|Two main symbols of the medieval Western civilization on one picture: the gothic [[Spišská Kapitula and St. Martin's Cathedral|St. Martin's cathedral]] in [[Spišské Podhradie]] ([[Slovakia]]) and the [[Spiš Castle]] behind the cathedral]] -[[File:Vezelay WLM2016 La basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine (3).jpg|thumb|upright|Stone bas-relief of [[Jesus]], from the [[Vézelay Abbey]] ([[Burgundy]], France)]] -[[File:Notre Dame de Paris 2013-07-24.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Notre-Dame de Paris|Notre-Dame]]'', the most iconic [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] cathedral,<ref name="CarlebachSchacter2011">{{cite book|author1=Elisheva Carlebach|author2=Jacob J. Schacter|title=New Perspectives on Jewish-Christian Relations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E90FkMEurOYC&pg=PA38|date=25 November 2011|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-22117-8|page=38}}</ref> built between 1163 and 1345]] +But with because of Islamic influence in [[Moor]] Spain and the first crusade which re-introduced the Greeks to the Latin West, [[Aristotle]] was re-introduced into Western Culture and caused profound effect and a re-flowering of Greek culture began at [[Florence]] and [[Venice]]. -The Medieval West referred specifically to the Catholic "Latin" West, also called "Frankish" during [[Charlemagne]]'s reign, in contrast to the Orthodox East, where Greek remained the language of the [[Byzantine Empire]]. +With the fall of [[Constantinople]], the flood of Greek influence increased greatly. It is significant that many of the Protestant reformers where Greek Scholars. The rebirth of Hellenism in the Western World is one of the causes of [[French Revolution]]. -After the [[fall of Rome]], much of Greco-Roman art, literature, science and even technology were all but lost in the western part of the old empire. However, this would become the center of a new West. Europe fell into political anarchy, with many warring kingdoms and principalities. Under the Frankish kings, it eventually, and partially, reunified, and the anarchy evolved into [[feudalism]]. +==References== -Much of the basis of the post-Roman cultural world had been set before the fall of the [[Roman Empire|Empire]], mainly through the integration and reshaping of Roman ideas through Christian thought. The Greek and Roman [[Religion in ancient Rome|paganism]] had been completely replaced by [[Christianity]] around the 4th and 5th centuries, since it became the official State religion following the baptism of the emperor [[Constantine I]]. [[Orthodoxy#Christianity|Orthodox Christian]] Christianity and the [[Nicene Creed]] served as a unifying force in Christian parts of Europe, and in some respects replaced or competed with the secular authorities. The [[Jewish Christian]] tradition out of which it had emerged was all but extinguished, and [[antisemitism]] became increasingly entrenched or even integral to Christendom.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Christian antisemitism : a history of hate |first=William |last=Nicholls |isbn=978-1-56821-519-8 |edition=1st Jason Aronson softcover |location=Northvale, New Jersey |oclc=34892303|year = 1995}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The origins of anti-semitism : attitudes toward Judaism in Pagan and Christian antiquity |last=Gager |first=John G.|date=1983 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-503607-7 |location=New York |oclc=9112202}}</ref> Much of art and literature, law, education, and politics were preserved in the teachings of the Church. The [[Orthodox Church|Church]] founded many [[cathedrals]], [[university|universities]], [[Monastery|monasteries]] and [[Seminary|seminaries]], some of which continue to exist today. +(1) ''Panegyricus'', Isocrates, The Loeb Classical Edition, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. sec 50; pg 149. -After the [[fall of the Roman Empire]], many of the classical Greek texts were translated into Arabic and preserved in the [[medieval Islamic world]]. The [[Transmission of the Greek Classics|Greek classics]] along with [[Science in the medieval Islamic world|Arabic science]], [[Early Islamic philosophy|philosophy]] and technology were [[Islamic world contributions to Medieval Europe|transmitted to Western Europe]] and [[Latin translations of the 12th century|translated into Latin]], sparking the [[Renaissance of the 12th century]] and 13th century.<ref name="Haskins">{{Citation|last=Haskins|first=Charles Homer|title=The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century|location=Cambridge|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1927|isbn=978-0-6747-6075-2|url=https://archive.org/details/renaissanceoftw00char}}</ref><ref name="Sarton">[https://archive.org/details/guidetohistoryof00sart George Sarton: ''A Guide to the History of Science''] Waltham Mass. U.S.A. 1952</ref><ref name="Burnett">Burnett, Charles. "The Coherence of the Arabic-Latin Translation Program in Toledo in the Twelfth Century," ''Science in Context'', 14 (2001): 249–288.</ref> -[[File:Carlo Crivelli 007.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Thomas Aquinas]], a [[Catholic philosopher]] of the [[Middle Ages]], revived and developed natural law from [[ancient Greek philosophy]]]] -[[History of Christianity during the Middle Ages|Medieval Christianity]] is credited with creating the first modern universities.<ref name="Rüegg, Walter 1992" /><ref name="harnvb|Verger|1999" /> The Catholic Church established a hospital system in Medieval Europe that vastly improved upon the Roman ''valetudinaria''<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/techniques/valetudinaria |title=Valetudinaria |website=broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk |access-date=22 February 2018}}</ref> and Greek healing temples.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=htLTvdz5HDEC&q=History+of+Hospital+Asclepieion&pg=PA56 |title=Mending Bodies, Saving Souls: A History of Hospitals |last=Risse |first=Guenter B. |date=15 April 1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-974869-3}}</ref> These hospitals were established to cater to "particular social groups marginalized by poverty, sickness, and age," according to the historian of hospitals, Guenter Risse.<ref name="Risse 59" /> Christianity played a role in ending practices common among pagan societies, such as human sacrifice, slavery,<ref name="Chadwick, Owen p. 242" /> infanticide and polygamy.<ref name="Hastings, p. 309" /> [[Francisco de Vitoria]], a disciple of [[Thomas Aquinas]] and a Catholic thinker who studied the issue regarding the human rights of colonized natives, is recognized by the United Nations as a father of international law, and now also by historians of economics and democracy as a leading light for the West's democracy and rapid economic development.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Philosophical and Historical Analysis of Modern Democracy, Equality, and Freedom Under the Influence of Christianity |url=http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/politics/pg0010.html |last=de Torre |first=Fr. Joseph M. |year=1997 |publisher=Catholic Education Resource Center}}</ref> [[Joseph Schumpeter]], an economist of the twentieth century, referring to the [[Scholasticism|Scholastics]], wrote, "it is they who come nearer than does any other group to having been the 'founders' of scientific economics."<ref name="Schumpeter 1954" /> +(2) ''Epistles'', Horace, II.2, 156-157 -In a broader sense, the [[Middle Ages]], with its fertile encounter between Greek philosophical [[reasoning]] and [[Levant]]ine [[monotheism]] was not confined to the West but also stretched into the old East. The philosophy and science of Classical Greece were largely forgotten in Europe after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, other than in isolated monastic enclaves (notably in Ireland, which had become Christian but was never conquered by Rome).<ref>"How The Irish Saved Civilisation", by Thomas Cahill, 1995{{page needed|date=February 2015}}</ref> The learning of [[Classical Antiquity]] was better preserved in the [[Byzantine]] [[Eastern Roman Empire]]. Justinian's [[Corpus Juris Civilis]] Roman civil law code was created in the East in his capital of Constantinople,<ref name="The Cambridge Companion to Roman La"/> and that city maintained trade and intermittent political control over outposts such as [[Venice]] in the West for centuries. Classical Greek learning was also subsumed, preserved, and elaborated in the rising Eastern world, which gradually supplanted Roman-Byzantine control as a dominant cultural-political force. Thus, much of the learning of classical antiquity was slowly reintroduced to European civilization in the centuries following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. - -The rediscovery of the [[Roman law|Justinian Code]] in Western Europe early in the 10th century rekindled a passion for the discipline of law, which crossed many of the re-forming boundaries between East and West. In the [[Catholic]] or [[Franks|Frankish]] west, [[Roman law]] became the foundation on which all legal concepts and systems were based. Its influence is found in all Western legal systems, although in different manners and to different extents. The study of [[canon law]], the legal system of the Catholic Church, fused with that of Roman law to form the basis of the refounding of Western legal scholarship. During the Reformation and Enlightenment, the ideas of [[civil rights]], [[social equality|equality]] before the [[law]], [[procedural justice]], and [[democracy]] as the ideal form of [[society]] began to be institutionalized as principles forming the basis of modern Western culture, particularly in Protestant regions. - -In the 14th century, starting from Italy and then spreading throughout Europe,<ref>Burke, P., ''The European Renaissance: Centre and Peripheries'' (1998)</ref> there was a massive artistic, architectural, scientific and philosophical revival, as a result of the Christian revival of Greek philosophy, and the long Christian medieval tradition that established the use of reason as one of the most important of human activities.<ref name=Grant9>Grant ''God and Reason'' p. 9</ref> This period is commonly referred to as the [[Renaissance]]. In the following century, this process was further enhanced by an exodus of Greek Christian priests and [[Greek scholars in the Renaissance|scholars]] to Italian cities such as [[Venice]] after the end of the [[Byzantine Empire]] with the [[fall of Constantinople]]. - -[[File:Landing of Columbus (2).jpg|thumb|left|The [[Age of Discovery|discovery of the New World]] by [[Christopher Columbus]].]] -From [[Late Antiquity]], through the [[Middle Ages]], and onwards, while Eastern Europe was shaped by the [[Orthodox Church]], Southern and Central Europe were increasingly stabilized by the [[Catholic Church]] which, as Roman imperial governance faded from view, was the only consistent force in Western Europe.<ref name="Koch 1994">{{cite book |last=Koch |first=Carl |title=The Catholic Church: Journey, Wisdom, and Mission |year=1994 |publisher=St. Mary's Press |location=Early Middle Ages |isbn=978-0-88489-298-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/catholicchurchjo00koch }}</ref> In 1054 came the [[East–West Schism|Great Schism]] that, following the [[Greek East and Latin West]] divide, separated Europe into religious and cultural regions present to this day. Until the Age of Enlightenment,<ref>{{cite book |last=Koch |first=Carl |title=The Catholic Church: Journey, Wisdom, and Mission |year=1994 |publisher=St. Mary's Press |chapter=The Age of Enlightenment |isbn=978-0-88489-298-4 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/catholicchurchjo00koch |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/catholicchurchjo00koch }}</ref> [[Christian culture]] took over as the predominant force in Western civilization, guiding the course of philosophy, art, and science for many years.<ref name="Koch 1994" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Dawson |first=Christopher |title=Crisis in Western Education |year=1961 |isbn=978-0-8132-1683-6 |edition=reprint |author2=Glenn Olsen}}</ref> Movements in [[art]] and [[philosophy]], such as the [[Humanism|Humanist]] movement of the [[Renaissance]] and the [[Scholasticism|Scholastic]] movement of the [[High Middle Ages]], were motivated by a drive to connect [[Catholicism]] with Greek and Arab thought imported by [[Christianity|Christian]] pilgrims.<ref>{{cite book |last=Koch |first=Carl |title=The Catholic Church: Journey, Wisdom, and Mission |year=1994 |publisher=St. Mary's Press |chapter=High Middle Ages |isbn=978-0-88489-298-4 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/catholicchurchjo00koch |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/catholicchurchjo00koch }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Koch |first=Carl |title=The Catholic Church: Journey, Wisdom, and Mission |year=1994 |publisher=St. Mary's Press |chapter=Renaissance |isbn=978-0-88489-298-4 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/catholicchurchjo00koch |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/catholicchurchjo00koch }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Dawson |first=Christopher |title=Crisis in Western Education |year=1961 |isbn=978-0-8132-1683-6 |edition=reprint |author2=Glenn Olsen |page=25}}</ref> However, due to the division in [[Western Christianity]] caused by the [[Protestant Reformation]] and the Enlightenment, religious influence—especially the temporal power of the [[Pope]]—began to wane.<ref>{{cite book |last=Koch |first=Carl |title=The Catholic Church: Journey, Wisdom, and Mission |year=1994 |publisher=St. Mary's Press |chapter=Reformation |isbn=978-0-88489-298-4 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/catholicchurchjo00koch |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/catholicchurchjo00koch }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Koch |first=Carl |title=The Catholic Church: Journey, Wisdom, and Mission |year=1994 |publisher=St. Mary's Press |chapter=Enlightenment |isbn=978-0-88489-298-4 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/catholicchurchjo00koch |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/catholicchurchjo00koch }}</ref> - -From the late 15th century to the 17th century, Western culture began to spread to other parts of the world through explorers and missionaries during the [[Age of Discovery]], and by [[Imperialism|imperialists]] from the 17th century to the early 20th century. During the [[Great Divergence]], a term coined by [[Samuel P. Huntington|Samuel Huntington]]{{sfn|Frank|2001}} the Western world overcame pre-modern growth constraints and emerged during the 19th century as the most powerful and wealthy world [[civilization]] of the time, eclipsing [[Qing Dynasty|Qing China]], [[Mughal Empire|Mughal India]], [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa Japan]], and the [[Ottoman Empire]]. The process was accompanied and reinforced by the Age of Discovery and continued into the modern period. Scholars have proposed a wide variety of theories to explain why the Great Divergence happened, including lack of government intervention, geography, colonialism, and customary traditions. - -=== Early modern era === -[[File:Constitution of the United States, page 1.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[United States Constitution]]]] - -Coming into the [[modern era]], the historical understanding of the East–West contrast—as the opposition of [[Christendom]] to its geographical neighbors—began to weaken. As religion became less important, and Europeans came into increasing contact with far-away peoples, the old concept of Western culture began a slow evolution towards what it is today. The [[Age of Discovery]] faded into the [[Age of Enlightenment]] of the 18th century, during which cultural and intellectual forces in European society emphasized reason, analysis, and individualism rather than traditional lines of authority. It challenged the authority of institutions that were deeply rooted in society, such as the [[Catholic Church]]; there was much talk of ways to reform society with toleration, science and [[skepticism]]. - -Philosophers of the Enlightenment included [[Francis Bacon]], [[René Descartes]], [[John Locke]], [[Baruch Spinoza]], [[Voltaire]] (1694–1778), [[David Hume]], and [[Immanuel Kant]].<ref>Sootin, Harry. "Isaac Newton." New York, Messner (1955)</ref> influenced society by publishing widely read works. Upon learning about enlightened views, some rulers met with intellectuals and tried to apply their reforms, such as allowing for toleration, or accepting multiple religions, in what became known as [[enlightened absolutism]]. New ideas and beliefs spread around Europe and were fostered by an increase in literacy due to a departure from solely religious texts. Publications include ''[[Encyclopédie]]'' (1751–72) that was edited by [[Denis Diderot]] and [[Jean le Rond d'Alembert]]. The ''[[Dictionnaire philosophique]]'' (Philosophical Dictionary, 1764) and ''[[Letters on the English]]'' (1733) written by [[Voltaire]] spread the ideals of the Enlightenment. - -Coinciding with the Age of Enlightenment was the [[scientific revolution]], spearheaded by Newton. This included the emergence of [[modern science]], during which developments in [[History of mathematics#Mathematics during the Scientific Revolution|mathematics]], [[History of physics#Scientific Revolution|physics]], [[History of astronomy#Renaissance Period|astronomy]], [[History of biology#Renaissance and early modern developments|biology]] (including [[History of anatomy|human anatomy]]) and [[History of chemistry#17th and 18th centuries: Early chemistry|chemistry]] transformed views of society and nature.<ref name="Galileo">Galileo Galilei, ''Two New Sciences'', trans. [[Stillman Drake]], (Madison: Univ. of Wisconsin Pr., 1974), pp. 217, 225, 296–97.</ref><ref name="Moody">{{cite journal |author=Ernest A. Moody |year=1951 |title=Galileo and Avempace: The Dynamics of the Leaning Tower Experiment (I) |journal=Journal of the History of Ideas |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=163–93 |jstor=2707514 |doi=10.2307/2707514}}</ref><ref name="Clagett">Marshall Clagett, ''The Science of Mechanics in the Middle Ages,'' (Madison, Univ. of Wisconsin Pr., 1961), pp. 218–19, 252–55, 346, 409–16, 547, 576–78, 673–82; Anneliese Maier, "Galileo and the Scholastic Theory of Impetus," pp. 103–23 in ''On the Threshold of Exact Science: Selected Writings of Anneliese Maier on Late Medieval Natural Philosophy,'' (Philadelphia: Univ. of Pennsylvania Pr., 1982).</ref><ref name="Hannam, James 2011 p. 342">Hannam, p. 342</ref><ref name="Grant">E. Grant, ''The Foundations of Modern Science in the Middle Ages: Their Religious, Institutional, and Intellectual Contexts'', (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Pr., 1996), pp. 29–30, 42–47.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Scientific Revolution|work=[[Encarta]]|date=2007|url= http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_701509067/Scientific_Revolution.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028110638/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_701509067/Scientific_Revolution.html|archive-date=28 October 2009}}</ref> While its dates are disputed, the publication in 1543 of [[Nicolaus Copernicus]]'s ''[[De revolutionibus orbium coelestium]]'' (''On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres'') is often cited as marking the beginning of the scientific revolution, and its completion is attributed to the "grand synthesis" of Newton's 1687 ''[[Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica|Principia]]''. - -===Industrial Revolution=== - -The [[Industrial Revolution]] was the transition to new manufacturing processes in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840. This included going from hand production methods to machines, new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes, improved efficiency of [[water wheel|water power]], the increasing use of [[steam power]], and the development of [[machine tool]]s.<ref>{{Harvnb|Landes|1969|p=40}}</ref> These transitions began in Great Britain, and spread to Western Europe and North America within a few decades.<ref name="Harvnb|Landes|1969">{{Harvnb|Landes|1969}}</ref> - -[[File:Maquina vapor Watt ETSIIM.jpg|thumb|A [[Watt steam engine]]. The [[steam engine]], made of iron and fueled primarily by [[coal]], propelled the Industrial Revolution in [[United Kingdom|Great Britain]] and the world.<ref name="industrial">[[Watt steam engine]] File: located in the lobby of into the Superior Technical School of Industrial Engineers of the UPM (Madrid)</ref>]] - -The Industrial Revolution marks a major turning point in history; almost every aspect of daily life was influenced in some way. In particular, average income and population began to exhibit unprecedented sustained growth. Some economists say that the major impact of the Industrial Revolution was that the [[standard of living]] for the general population began to increase consistently for the first time in history, although others have said that it did not begin to meaningfully improve until the late 19th and 20th centuries.<ref name="Lectures on Economic Growth">{{cite book |last=Lucas |first=Robert E., Jr. |title=Lectures on Economic Growth |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2002 |location=Cambridge |pages=[https://archive.org/details/lecturesoneconom00luca/page/109 109–10] |url=https://archive.org/details/lecturesoneconom00luca|url-access=registration |isbn=978-0-674-01601-9}}</ref><ref name="Feinstein2014">{{cite journal |last=Feinstein |first=Charles |title=Pessimism Perpetuated: Real Wages and the Standard of Living in Britain during and after the Industrial Revolution |journal=Journal of Economic History |date=September 1998 |volume=58 |issue=3 |pages=625–58 |doi=10.1017/s0022050700021100}}</ref><ref name="SzreterMooney2014">{{cite journal|first1=Simon|last1=Szreter|first2=Graham|last2=Mooney|title=Urbanization, Mortality, and the Standard of Living Debate: New Estimates of the Expectation of Life at Birth in Nineteenth-Century British Cities |journal=The Economic History Review |date=February 1998 |volume=51 |issue=1 |page=104 |doi=10.1111/1468-0289.00084|hdl=10.1111/1468-0289.00084 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The precise start and end of the Industrial Revolution is still debated among historians, as is the pace of economic and social changes.<ref name="revolution">Eric Hobsbawm, ''The Age of Revolution: Europe 1789–1848'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd., p. 27 {{ISBN|0-349-10484-0}}</ref><ref name="google1">{{cite book|author=Joseph E Inikori|title=Africans and the Industrial Revolution in England|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-01079-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y7rhKYWhCyIC&pg=PA102}}</ref><ref name="Rehabilitating the Industrial Revolution">{{cite journal |doi=10.2307/2598327 |title=Rehabilitating the Industrial Revolution |year=1992 |author=Berg, Maxine |journal=The Economic History Review |volume=45 |author2=Hudson, Pat |issue=1 |jstor=2598327 |pages=24–50 |author-link2=Pat Hudson|url=https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/research/workingpapers/1989-1994/twerp351.pdf }}</ref><ref name="lorenzen">{{cite web|url=http://www.julielorenzen.net/berg.html|title=Rehabilitating the Industrial Revolution|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061109022755/http://www.julielorenzen.net/berg.html|archive-date=9 November 2006|author=Julie Lorenzen|access-date=9 November 2006}}</ref> [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] per capita was broadly stable before the Industrial Revolution and the emergence of the modern [[capitalism|capitalist]] economy,<ref name="The Industrial Revolution">{{cite web |publisher=Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis |url=https://www.minneapolisfed.org/pubs/region/04-05/essay.cfm |title=The Industrial Revolution |access-date=14 November 2007 |author=Robert Lucas Jr. | year=2003 |quote=it is fairly clear that up to 1800 or maybe 1750, no society had experienced sustained growth in per capita income. (Eighteenth century population growth also averaged one-third of 1 percent, the same as production growth.) That is, up to about two centuries ago, per capita [[real income|incomes]] in all societies were stagnated at around $400 to $800 per year. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071127032512/http://minneapolisfed.org/pubs/region/04-05/essay.cfm |archive-date=27 November 2007 |url-status=dead|author-link=Robert Lucas, Jr }}</ref> while the Industrial Revolution began an era of per-capita [[economic growth]] in capitalist economies.<ref name="The Industrial Revolution ''Past and Future''">{{cite web |url=https://www.minneapolisfed.org/pubs/region/04-05/essay.cfm |title=The Industrial Revolution ''Past and Future'' |first=Robert |last=Lucas |year=2003 |quote=[consider] annual growth rates of 2.4 percent for the first 60 years of the 20th century, of 1 percent for the entire 19th century, of one-third of 1 percent for the 18th century |access-date=10 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071127032512/http://minneapolisfed.org/pubs/region/04-05/essay.cfm |archive-date=27 November 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Economic historians are in agreement that the onset of the Industrial Revolution is the most important event in the history of humanity since the domestication of animals, plants<ref name="ReviewOfCambridge">{{cite web |url=http://deirdremccloskey.org/articles/floud.php |title=Review of The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Britain (edited by Roderick Floud and Paul Johnson), Times Higher Education Supplement, 15 January 2004 |first=Deidre |last=McCloskey |year=2004 }}</ref> and fire. - -The First Industrial Revolution evolved into the [[Second Industrial Revolution]] in the transition years between 1840 and 1870, when technological and economic progress continued with the increasing adoption of steam transport (steam-powered railways, boats, and ships), the large-scale manufacture of machine tools and the increasing use of machinery in steam-powered factories.<ref name="Taylor 1951">{{cite book |title=The Transportation Revolution, 1815–1860 |last=Taylor |first=George Rogers |isbn=978-0-87332-101-3 |year=1951 }} No name is given to the transition years. The "[[Transportation Revolution]]" began with improved roads in the late 18th century.</ref><ref name="Roe1916">{{citation |last=Roe |first=Joseph Wickham |title=English and American Tool Builders |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1916 |location=New Haven, Connecticut |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X-EJAAAAIAAJ |lccn=16011753}}. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 ({{LCCN|27024075}}); and by Lindsay Publications, Inc., Bradley, Illinois, ({{ISBN|978-0-917914-73-7}}).</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Hunter|1985|pp=}}</ref> - -===After the Industrial Revolution=== - -Tendencies that have come to define modern Western [[societies]] include the concept of [[Pluralism (political philosophy)|political pluralism]], [[individualism]], prominent [[subcultures]] or [[counterculture]]s (such as [[New Age]] movements) and increasing cultural [[syncretism]] resulting from [[globalization]] and [[human migration]]. Western culture has been heavily influenced by the [[Renaissance]], the Ages of [[Age of Exploration|Discovery]] and [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] and the [[Industrial Revolution|Industrial]] and [[Scientific Revolution]]s.<ref name="ScienceDaily">{{cite web | title=Western culture | publisher=[[Science Daily]] | url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/western_culture.htm}}</ref><ref name="Khana">{{cite web | title=A brief history of Western culture | publisher=[[Khan Academy]] | url=https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/cultures-religions-ap-arthistory/a/a-brief-history-of-western-culture}}</ref> - -In the 20th century, [[Post-Christianity|Christianity declined]] in influence in many Western countries, mostly in the European Union where some member states have experienced falling church attendance and membership in recent years,<ref name="About SecE">{{cite news|work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-02-21-god-europe_x.htm|title=What place for God in Europe|access-date=24 July 2009|date=22 February 2005|first=Peter|last=Ford}}</ref> and also elsewhere. [[Secularism]] (separating religion from politics and science) increased. Christianity remains the dominant religion in the Western world, where 70% are Christians.<ref name="Global Christianity">{{cite web|author=ANALYSIS |url=http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Global-Christianity-exec.aspx |title=Global Christianity |publisher=Pewforum.org |date=19 December 2011 |access-date=17 August 2012}}</ref> - -The West went through a series of great cultural and social changes between 1945 and 1980. The emergent [[mass media]] (film, radio, television and recorded music) created a global culture that could ignore national frontiers. Literacy became almost universal, encouraging the growth of books, magazines and newspapers. The influence of cinema and radio remained, while televisions became near essentials in every home. - -By the mid-[[20th century]], Western culture was exported worldwide, and the development and growth of international [[transport]] and [[telecommunication]] (such as [[Transatlantic telegraph cable|transatlantic cable]] and the [[radiotelephone]]) played a decisive role in modern [[globalization]]. The West has contributed a great many technological, political, philosophical, artistic and religious aspects to modern international culture: having been a crucible of [[Catholicism]], [[Protestantism]], democracy, industrialisation; the first major civilisation to seek to [[Abolitionism|abolish slavery]] during the 19th century, the first to [[Women's suffrage|enfranchise women]] (beginning in [[Australasia]] at the end of the 19th century) and the first to put to use such technologies as [[steam power|steam]], [[electric power|electric]] and [[nuclear power]]. The West invented [[film|cinema]], [[television]], the [[personal computer]] and the [[Internet]]; produced artists such as [[Michelangelo]], [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]], [[Rembrandt]], [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]], and [[Mozart]]; developed sports such as [[soccer]], [[cricket]], [[golf]], [[tennis]], [[Rugby football|rugby]], [[basketball]], and [[volleyball]]; and transported humans to an [[astronomical object]] for the first time with the [[1969 in spaceflight|1969]] [[Apollo 11]] [[Moon Landing]]. - -== Arts and humanities == -[[File:Bayeux Tapestry scene44 William Odo Robert.jpg|Detail of the [[Bayeux Tapestry]] showing [[William the Conqueror]] (centre), his half-brothers [[Robert, Count of Mortain]] (right) and [[Odo, Earl of Kent|Odo]], Bishop of [[Bayeux]] in the [[Duchy of Normandy]] (left). The Bayeux tapestry is one of the supreme achievements of the Norman [[Romanesque art|Romanesque]].|thumb]] -What is distinctive of [[European art]] is that it comments on so many levels-religious, humanistic, satirical, metaphysical, and the purely physical.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia Americana|last=Deak|first=Istvan|year=1996|pages=688}}</ref> Some cultural and artistic modalities are characteristically Western in origin and form. While dance, music, visual art, story-telling, and architecture are human universals, they are expressed in the West in certain characteristic ways. European art pays deep tribute to human suffering.<ref name=":0" /> - -In Western dance, music, plays and other arts, the performers are only very infrequently masked. There are essentially no taboos against depicting a god, or other religious figures, in a representational fashion. - -=== Music === -{{for|modern Western music|Music industry}} -In music, Catholic monks developed the first forms of modern Western musical notation in order to standardize liturgy throughout the worldwide Church,<ref name="Hall100">Hall, p. 100.</ref> and an enormous body of religious music has been composed for it through the ages. This led directly to the emergence and development of European classical music and its many derivatives. The [[Baroque]] style, which encompassed music, art, and architecture, was particularly encouraged by the post-Reformation Catholic Church as such forms offered a means of religious expression that was stirring and emotional, intended to stimulate religious fervor.<ref name="Murray45">Murray, p. 45.</ref> - -The [[symphony]], [[concerto]], [[sonata]], [[opera]], and [[oratorio]] have their origins in Italy. Many [[musical instrument]]s developed in the West have come to see widespread use all over the world; among them are the [[violin]], [[piano]], [[pipe organ]], [[saxophone]], [[trombone]], [[clarinet]], [[accordion]], and the [[theremin]]. In turn, most European instruments have roots in earlier Eastern instruments that were [[Islamic world contributions to Medieval Europe|adopted from the medieval Islamic world]].<ref name=Sachs260>{{citation |last=Sachs |first=Curt |title=The History of Musical Instruments |publisher=Dover Publications |year=1940 |isbn=978-0-486-45265-4|page=260}}</ref> The solo [[piano]], [[symphony orchestra]], and the [[string quartet]] are also significant musical innovations of the West. - -<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px"> -File:Bernardo Strozzi - Claudio Monteverdi (c.1630).jpg|[[Claudio Monteverdi]], 1567–1643 -File:Vivaldi.jpg|[[Antonio Vivaldi]], 1678–1741 -File:Wolfgang-amadeus-mozart 1.jpg|[[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]], 1756–1791 -File:Beethoven.jpg|[[Ludwig van Beethoven]], 1770–1827 -File:Porträt des Komponisten Pjotr I. Tschaikowski (1840-1893).jpg|[[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]], 1840–1893 -</gallery> - -=== Painting and photography === -[[Jan van Eyck]], among other renaissance painters, made great advances in [[oil painting]], and [[perspective (graphical)|perspective]] drawings and paintings had their earliest practitioners in [[Florence]].<ref>Barzun, p. 73</ref> In art, the [[Celtic knot]] is a very distinctive Western repeated motif. Depictions of the [[nude]] human male and female in [[photography]], painting, and [[sculpture]] are frequently considered to have special artistic merit. Realistic [[portrait]]ure is especially valued. - -Photography, and the [[motion picture]] as both a technology and basis for entirely new art forms were also developed in the West. - -<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px"> -File:Cubiculum (bedroom) from the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale MET DP170950.jpg|Restoration of a fresco from an Ancient Roman villa bedroom, circa 50-40 BC, dimensions of the room: 265.4 x 334 x 583.9&nbsp;cm, in the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City) -File:Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci, from C2RMF retouched.jpg|''[[Mona Lisa]]'', by [[Leonardo da Vinci]], circa 1503–1506, perhaps continuing until circa 1517, oil on poplar panel, 77&nbsp;cm × 53&nbsp;cm, [[Louvre]], (Paris) -File:Las Meninas, by Diego Velázquez, from Prado in Google Earth.jpg|''[[Las Meninas]]'', by [[Diego Velázquez]], 1656, oil on canvas, 318&nbsp;cm × 276&nbsp;cm, [[Museo del Prado|El Prado]] (Madrid) -File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Le Moulin de la Galette.jpg|''[[Bal du moulin de la Galette|Dance at Le moulin de la Galette]]'', by [[Pierre-Auguste Renoir]], 1876, oil on canvas, height: 131&nbsp;cm, [[Musée d'Orsay]] (Paris) -File:Atget Intérieur d'un ouvrier rue de Romainville (cropped).jpg|Photo of the interior of the apartment of [[Eugène Atget]], taken in 1910 in Paris -</gallery> - -=== Dance and performing arts === -[[File:Swanlake001.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Classical music]], [[opera]] and [[ballet]]: ''[[Swan Lake]]'' pictured]] -The [[ballet]] is a distinctively Western form of performance dance.<ref>Barzun, p. 329</ref> The [[ballroom dance]] is an important Western variety of dance for the elite. The [[polka]], the [[square dance]], the [[flamenco]], and the Irish [[step dance]] are very well known Western forms of [[folk dance]]. - -[[Greek theater|Greek]] and [[Theatre of ancient Rome|Roman theatre]] are considered the antecedents of modern [[theatre]], and forms such as [[medieval theatre]], [[Passion Play|passion plays]], [[morality play]]s, and [[commedia dell'arte]] are considered highly influential. [[Elizabethan theater|Elizabethan theatre]], with such luminaries as [[William Shakespeare]], [[Christopher Marlowe]], and [[Ben Jonson]], is considered one of the most formative and important eras for modern drama. - -The [[soap opera]], a popular culture dramatic form, originated in the United States first on radio in the 1930s, then a couple of decades later on television. The [[music video]] was also developed in the West in the middle of the 20th century. [[Musical theatre]] was developed in the West in the 19th and 20th Centuries, from [[music hall]], [[comic opera]], and [[Vaudeville]]; with significant contributions from the [[Jewish diaspora]], [[African-American culture|African-Americans]], and other marginalized peoples.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Jews on Broadway : an historical survey of performers, playwrights, composers, lyricists and producers |last=Lane |first=Stewart F.|date=2011 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-5917-9 |location=Jefferson, N.C. |oclc=668182929}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Making Americans : Jews and the Broadway musical |first=Andrea |last=Most |date=2004 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-01165-6 |location=Cambridge, Mass. |oclc=52520631 |url=https://archive.org/details/makingamericansj00most }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Our musicals, ourselves : a social history of the American musical theater |last=Jones |first=John Bush|date=2003 |publisher=Brandeis University Press, published by University Press of New England |isbn=978-1-61168-223-6 |location=Hanover |oclc=654535012}}</ref> - -=== Literature === -[[File:Gustave Doré - Dante Alighieri - Inferno - Plate 9 (Canto III - Charon).jpg|thumb|upright|The ''[[Divine Comedy]]'' is an [[epic poem]] by [[Dante Alighieri]]. Engraving by [[Gustave Doré]]]] -While epic literary works in verse such as the [[Mahabharata]] and Homer's [[Iliad]] are ancient and occurred worldwide, the prose [[novel]] as a distinct form of storytelling, with developed, consistent human characters and, typically, some connected overall plot (although both of these characteristics have sometimes been modified and played with in later times), was popularized by the West<ref>Barzun, p. 380</ref> in the 17th and 18th centuries. Of course, extended prose fiction had existed much earlier; both novels of adventure and romance in the [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] world and in [[Heian period|Heian]] Japan. Both [[Petronius]]' ''[[Satyricon]]'' (c. 60 CE) and the ''[[Tale of Genji]]'' by [[Murasaki Shikibu]] (c. 1000 CE) have been cited as the world's first major novel but they had a very limited long-term impact on literary writing beyond their own day until much more recent times. - -The novel, which made its appearance in the 18th century, is an essentially European creation. Chinese and Japanese literature contain some works that may be thought of as novels, but only the European novel is couched in terms of a personal analysis of personal dilemmas.<ref name=":0" /> - -As in its artistic tradition, European literature pays deep tribute to human suffering.<ref name=":0" /> [[Tragedy]], from its ritually and mythologically inspired Greek origins to modern forms where struggle and downfall are often rooted in psychological or social, rather than mythical, motives, is also widely considered a specifically European creation and can be seen as a forerunner of some aspects of both the novel and of classical [[opera]]. - -The validity of reason was postulated in both [[Christian philosophy]] and the Greco-Roman classics.<ref name=":0" /> Christianity laid a stress on the inward aspects of actions and on motives, notions that were foreign to the ancient world. This subjectivity, which grew out of the Christian belief that man could achieve a personal union with [[God]], resisted all challenges and made itself the fulcrum on which all literary exposition turned, including the 20th-21st century novels.<ref name=":0" /> - -Western literature encompasses literary traditions of [[Europe]], as well as [[Northern America]] and [[Latin America]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/art/Western-literature }}</ref> - -=== Architecture === -{{unreferenced section|date=November 2017}} -Important Western architectural motifs include the [[Doric order|Doric]], [[Corinthian order|Corinthian]], and [[Ionic order|Ionic]] columns, and the [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]], [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]], [[Baroque]], and [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] styles are still widely recognised, and used even today, in the West. Much of Western architecture emphasizes repetition of simple motifs, straight lines and expansive, undecorated planes. A modern ubiquitous architectural form that emphasizes this characteristic is the [[skyscraper]], their modern equivalent first developed in New York and Chicago. The predecessor of the skyscraper can be found in the [[Towers of Bologna|medieval towers erected in Bologna]]. - -<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px"> -File:Parthenon-2008 entzerrt.jpg|The [[Parthenon]] under restoration in 2008, the most iconic [[Classical architecture|Classical]] building, built from 447 BC to 432 BC, located in [[Athens]] -File:Sainte Chapelle Interior Stained Glass.jpg|Stained glass windows of the ''[[Sainte-Chapelle]]'' in Paris, completed in 1248, mostly constructed between 1194 and 1220 -File:Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow.jpg|[[Saint Basil's Cathedral]], built from 1555 to 1561, in the [[Red Square]] of [[Moscow]], with its extraordinary [[onion dome|onion-shaped domes]], painted in bright colors -File:Paris Opera full frontal architecture, May 2009.jpg|The [[Palais Garnier]] in Paris, built between 1861 and 1875, a [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] masterpiece -</gallery> - -== Scientific and technological inventions and discoveries == -[[File:Woman teaching geometry.jpg|thumb|left|Medieval Christians believed that to seek the geometric, physical and mathematical principles that govern the world was to seek and worship God. Detail of a scene in the bowl of the letter 'P' with a woman with a set-square and dividers; using a compass to measure distances on a diagram. In her left hand she holds a square, an implement for testing or drawing right angles. She is watched by a group of students. In the Middle Ages, it is unusual to see women represented as teachers, in particular when the students appear to be monks. She is most likely the personification of Geometry, based on Martianus Capella's famous book De Nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii [5th c.], a standard source for allegorical imagery of the seven liberal arts. Illustration at the beginning of Euclid's Elementa, in the translation attributed to Adelard of Bath.]] -[[File:Dphil gown.jpg|thumb|upright|A [[doctor of philosophy]] of the [[University of Oxford]], in full academic dress. The typical dress for graduation are gowns and hoods or hats adapted from the daily dress of university staff in the Middle Ages, which was in turn based on the attire worn by medieval clergy.<ref>Graduation through the ages http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/graduation/grad-history.shtml</ref>]] -[[File:Antikythera model front panel Mogi Vicentini 2007.JPG|thumb|upright|The Greek [[Antikythera mechanism]] is generally referred to as the first known [[analogue computer]].]] -[[File:Buzz salutes the U.S. Flag.jpg|thumb|[[Apollo 11]] astronaut [[Buzz Aldrin]], [[Apollo Lunar Module]] pilot of the first crewed mission to land on the Moon, poses for a photograph beside the deployed [[Flag of the United States|United States flag]] during his Extravehicular Activity (EVA) on the lunar surface.]] -A notable feature of Western culture is its strong emphasis and focus on innovation and invention through science and technology, and its ability to generate new processes, materials and material artifacts with its roots dating back to the Ancient Greeks. The [[scientific method]] as "a method or procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses" was fashioned by the 17th-century Italian [[Galileo Galilei]],<ref>{{Citation |date=2016 |title=Oxford Dictionaries: British and World English |chapter=scientific method |chapter-url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/scientific-method |access-date=28 May 2016}}</ref><ref>[[Morris Kline]] (1985) [https://books.google.com/?id=f-e0bro-0FUC&pg=PA284 ''Mathematics for the nonmathematician'']. [[Courier Dover Publications]]. p. 284. {{ISBN|0-486-24823-2}}</ref> with roots in the work of medieval scholars such as the 11th-century [[Physics in the medieval Islamic world|Iraqi physicist]] [[Ibn al-Haytham]]<ref name=news.bbc.co.uk>{{cite news|title=The 'first true scientist'|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7810846.stm|work=BBC News|author=Jim Al-Khalili|date=4 January 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Mind, Brain, and Education Science: A Comprehensive Guide to the New Brain-Based Teaching|year=2010|publisher=W.W. Norton & Company|isbn=978-0-393-70607-9|author=Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa|page=39|quote=Alhazen (or Al-Haytham; 965–1039 CE) was perhaps one of the greatest physicists of all times and a product of the Islamic Golden Age or Islamic Renaissance (7th–13th centuries). He made significant contributions to anatomy, astronomy, engineering, mathematics, medicine, ophthalmology, philosophy, physics, psychology, and visual perception and is primarily attributed as the inventor of the scientific method, for which author Bradley Steffens (2006) describes him as the "first scientist".}}</ref> and the 13th-century English friar [[Roger Bacon]].<ref>{{cite journal|first=James S. |last=Ackerman |title=Leonardo's Eye |journal=Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes |volume=41 |year=1978 |page=119|doi=10.2307/750865 |jstor=750865 }}</ref> - -By the [[Will and testament|will]] of the [[Swedes|Swedish]] inventor [[Alfred Nobel]] the [[Nobel Prize]] were established in 1895. The prizes in [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Chemistry]], [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Literature]], [[Nobel Peace Prize|Peace]], [[Nobel Prize in Physics|Physics]], and [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine|Physiology or Medicine]] were first awarded in 1901.<ref>{{cite news |title=Which country has the best brains? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11500373 |access-date=6 December 2011 |work=BBC News |date=8 October 2010}}</ref> The percentage of ethnically European Nobel prize winners during the first and second halves of the 20th century were respectively 98 and 94 percent.<ref>Charles Murray, Human Accomplishment: The Pursuit of Excellence in the Arts and Sciences, 800 B.C. to 1950, Paperback – 9 November 2004, p. 284</ref> A study by the [[Ministry of International Trade and Industry]] (MITI) – Japan's equivalent of the [[Department of Trade and Industry (United Kingdom)|Department of Trade and Industry]] (DTI) – concluded that 54% of the world's most important inventions were British. Of the rest, 25% were American and 5% Japanese.<ref>Charles Murray, Human Accomplishment: The Pursuit of Excellence in the Arts and Sciences, 800 B.C. to 1950, Paperback – 9 November 2004, p. 252</ref> - -The West is credited with the development of the [[steam engine]] and adapting its use into [[Factory|factories]], and for the generation of [[electric power]].<ref name="Wiser">{{cite book |title=Energy resources: occurrence, production, conversion, use |last=Wiser |first=Wendell H. |year=2000 |publisher=Birkhäuser |isbn=978-0-387-98744-6 |page=190 |url=https://books.google.com/books?d=UmMx9ixu90kC&pg=PA190&dq=electrical+power+generators+steam+percent&hl=en&ei=JppoTpVexNmBB4C72MkM&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDgQ6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q=steam&f=false}}</ref> The electrical [[Electric motor|motor]], [[Electrical generator|dynamo]], [[transformer]], [[electric light]], and most of the familiar electrical appliances, were inventions of the West.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Nature |title=Anianus Jedlik |author=Augustus Heller |date=2 April 1896 |volume=53 |issue=1379 |page=516 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nWojdmTmch0C&q=jedlik+dynamo+1827&pg=PA516 |bibcode=1896Natur..53..516H |doi=10.1038/053516a0|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Gordon">Tom McInally, The Sixth Scottish University. The Scots Colleges Abroad: 1575 to 1799 (Brill, Leiden, 2012) p. 115</ref><ref name="Bedell (1942)">{{cite journal |last1=Bedell |first1=Frederick |title=History of A-C Wave Form, Its Determination and Standardization |journal=Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers |volume=61 |issue=12 |page=864 |doi=10.1109/T-AIEE.1942.5058456|year=1942 |s2cid=51658522 }}</ref><ref name=Freebert>{{cite book |last1=Freebert |first1=Ernest |title=The age of Edison : electric light and the invention of modern America |date=2014 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-312444-3}}</ref> The [[Four-stroke cycle|Otto]] and the [[Diesel engine|Diesel]] [[internal combustion engine]]s are products whose genesis and early development were in the West.<ref>Ralph Stein (1967). The Automobile Book. Paul Hamlyn Ltd</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/dieselsrational00diesgoog <!-- quote=diesel rational heat motor. --> Diesel's Rational Heat Motor] by Rudolph Diesel</ref> [[Nuclear power]] stations are derived from the first [[atomic pile]] constructed in Chicago in 1942.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fermi |first1=Enrico |title=The First Reactor |date=December 1982 |publisher=United States Atomic Energy Commission, Division of Technical Information |location=Oak Ridge, Tennessee |pages=22–26}}</ref> - -Communication devices and systems including the [[Telegraphy|telegraph]], the [[telephone]], [[radio]], [[television]], [[Communications satellite|communications]] and [[Satellite navigation system|navigation satellites]], [[mobile phone]], and the [[Internet]] were all invented by Westerners.<ref>{{cite book |last=Coe |first=Lewis |title=The Telephone and Its Several Inventors: A History |year=1995 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |location=Jefferson, NC |isbn=978-0-7864-2609-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/telephoneitsseve0000coel_y7q3/page/5 5] |url=https://archive.org/details/telephoneitsseve0000coel_y7q3/page/5 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=320&invol=1 |title=U.S. Supreme Court |access-date=23 April 2012}}</ref><ref name="John F. Mitchell Biography">[http://www.brophy.net/PivotX/?p=john-francis-mitchell-biography John F. Mitchell Biography]</ref><ref name="Who invented the cell phone">[http://www.brophy.net/PivotX/?p=john-francis-mitchell-biography#CELLPHONEINVENTOR Who invented the cell phone?]</ref><ref>[http://www.livinginternet.com/i/ii_ipto.htm "IPTO&nbsp;– Information Processing Techniques Office"], ''The Living Internet'', Bill Stewart (ed), January 2000.</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The global positioning system: a shared national asset: recommendations for technical improvements and enhancements |last1=National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on the Future of the Global Positioning System |last2=National Academy of Public Administration |publisher=National Academies Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-309-05283-2 |page=16 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Za8RBP5iTYoC&q=The+global+positioning+system:+a+shared+national+asset:+recommendations+for+technical+improvements+and+enhancements |access-date=16 August 2013}}, {{google books|plainurl=y|id=FAHk65slfY4C|page=16|title= Chapter 1, p. 16}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071225093216/http://www.lsi.usp.br/~rbianchi/clarke/ACC.ETRelaysFull.html Extraterrestrial Relays]</ref><ref name="sfmuseum">[http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist10/philo.html "Philo Taylor Farnsworth (1906–1971)"], ''The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco'', retrieved 15 July 2009.</ref> The [[pencil]], [[ballpoint pen]], [[Cathode ray tube]], [[liquid-crystal display]], [[light-emitting diode]], [[camera]], [[photocopier]], [[laser printer]], [[ink jet printer]], [[plasma display]] screen and [[world wide web]] were also invented in the West.<ref>Collingridge, M. R. ''et al''. (2007) "Ink Reservoir Writing Instruments 1905–20" ''Transactions of the Newcomen Society'' 77(1): pp.&nbsp;69–100, p. 69</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Supramolecular Chemistry |edition=2nd |author1=Jonathan W. Steed |author2=Jerry L. Atwood |name-list-style=amp |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-470-51234-0 |page=844 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jt1I74g6_28C&q=liquid-crystal%201888&pg=PA844}}</ref><ref name="Losev">{{cite journal |last=Losev |first=O.V. |title=CII. Luminous carborundum detector and detection effect and oscillations with crystals|journal=The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science|year=1928|volume=6|issue=39|pages=1024–1044|doi=10.1080/14786441108564683}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=A Concise History of Photography |edition=3rd |author1=Gernsheim, Helmut |publisher=Dover Publications, Inc. |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-486-25128-8 |pages=9–11}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Schiffer, Michael B. |author2=Hollenback, Kacy L. |author3=Bell, Carrie L. |year=2003 |title=Draw the Lightning Down: Benjamin Franklin and Electrical Technology in the Age of Enlightenment |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |url=https://archive.org/details/drawlightningdow00mich |url-access=registration |quote=electrophorus volta. |isbn=978-0-520-23802-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/drawlightningdow00mich/page/242 242]–44}}</ref> - -Ubiquitous materials including [[aluminium|aluminum]], clear [[glass]], [[synthetic rubber]], [[synthetic diamond]] and the plastics [[polyethylene]], [[polypropylene]], [[polyvinyl chloride]] and [[polystyrene]] were discovered and developed or invented in the West. Iron and steel ships, bridges and [[skyscraper]]s first appeared in the West. [[Nitrogen fixation]] and [[petrochemicals]] were invented by Westerners. Most of the [[Chemical element|elements]] were discovered and named in the West, as well as the contemporary [[Bohr model|atomic theories]] to explain them.{{Citation needed|reason=Your explanation here|date=April 2017}} - -The [[transistor]], [[integrated circuit]], memory chip, and [[computer]] were all first seen in the West. The [[Longitude by chronometer|ship's chronometer]], the [[screw propeller]], the [[locomotive]], [[bicycle]], [[automobile]], and [[airplane]] were all invented in the West. [[Glasses|Eyeglasses]], the [[telescope]], the [[microscope]] and [[electron microscope]], all the varieties of [[chromatography]], [[Protein sequencing|protein]] and [[DNA sequencing]], [[computerized tomography|computerised tomography]], [[nuclear magnetic resonance]], [[x-ray]]s, and light, ultraviolet and infrared [[spectroscopy]], were all first developed and applied in Western laboratories, hospitals and factories.{{Citation needed|reason=Your explanation here|date=April 2017}} - -In medicine, the pure [[antibiotics]] were created in the West. The method of preventing [[Rh disease]], the treatment of [[diabetes]], and the [[germ theory]] of disease were discovered by Westerners. The eradication of [[smallpox]], was led by a Westerner, [[Donald Henderson]]. [[Radiography]], [[computed tomography]], [[positron emission tomography]] and [[medical ultrasonography]] are important diagnostic tools developed in the West. Other important diagnostic tools of [[clinical chemistry]], including the methods of [[spectrophotometry]], [[electrophoresis]] and [[immunoassay]], were first devised by Westerners. So were the [[stethoscope]], the [[electrocardiograph]], and the [[endoscope]]. [[Vitamins]], [[hormonal contraception]], [[hormones]], [[insulin]], [[beta blocker]]s and [[ACE inhibitors]], along with a host of other medically proven drugs, were first utilized to treat disease in the West. The [[double-blind]] study and [[evidence-based medicine]] are critical scientific techniques widely used in the West for medical purposes.{{Citation needed|reason=Your explanation here|date=April 2017}} - -In mathematics, [[calculus]], [[statistics]], [[mathematical logic|logic]], [[Vector (geometric)|vectors]], [[tensor]]s and [[complex analysis]], [[group theory]] and [[topology]] were developed by Westerners.<ref>* Elwes, Richard, "[http://plus.maths.org/issue41/features/elwes/index.html An enormous theorem: the classification of finite simple groups]," ''Plus Magazine'', Issue 41, December 2006.</ref><ref>[[Richard Swineshead]] (1498), ''Calculationes Suiseth Anglici'', Papie: Per Franciscum Gyrardengum.</ref><ref name=Dodge>Dodge, Y. (2006) ''The Oxford Dictionary of Statistical Terms'', OUP. {{ISBN|0-19-920613-9}}</ref><ref>Archimedes, ''Method'', in ''The Works of Archimedes'' {{ISBN|978-0-521-66160-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Oxford english dictionary. |year=2001 |publisher=Claredon Press |location=London |isbn=978-0-19-521942-5 |edition=2nd.}}</ref><ref name="Kline">{{cite book |title=Mathematical thought from ancient to modern times, Vol. 3 |first=Morris |last=Kline |pages=[https://archive.org/details/mathematicalthou00morr/page/1122 1122–1127] |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1972 |isbn=978-0-19-506137-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/mathematicalthou00morr/page/1122 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Principles of Topology |url=https://archive.org/details/principlesoftopo0000croo |url-access=registration |first=Fred H |last=Croom |pages=1122–27 |publisher=Saunders College Publishings |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-03-029804-2}}</ref> In biology, [[evolution]], [[chromosomes]], [[DNA]], [[genetics]] and the methods of [[molecular biology]] are creations of the West. In physics, the science of [[mechanics]] and [[quantum mechanics]], [[theory of relativity|relativity]], [[thermodynamics]], and [[statistical mechanics]] were all developed by Westerners. The discoveries and inventions by Westerners in [[electromagnetism]] include [[Coulomb's law]] (1785), the first [[Battery (electricity)|battery]] (1800), the unity of [[Electromagnetism|electricity and magnetism]] (1820), [[Biot–Savart law]] (1820), [[Ohm's Law]] (1827), and [[Maxwell's equations]] (1871). The [[atom]], [[Atomic nucleus|nucleus]], [[electron]], [[neutron]] and [[proton]] were all unveiled by Westerners.{{Citation needed|reason=Your explanation here|date=April 2017}} - -The world's most widely adopted system of measurement, the [[International System of Units]], derived from the [[metric system]], was first developed in France and evolved through contributions from various Westerners.<ref>{{cite web |title=Metrication in other countries |url=https://usma.org/metrication-in-other-countries |website=USMA |publisher=US Metric Association |access-date=24 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The International System of Units |date=2019 |publisher=BIPM |isbn=978-92-822-2272-0 |edition=9 |url=https://www.bipm.org/utils/common/pdf/si-brochure/SI-Brochure-9.pdf |access-date=24 June 2020}}</ref> - -In business, economics, and finance, [[Double-entry bookkeeping system|double entry bookkeeping]], [[credit card]]s, and the [[charge card]] were all first used in the West.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lauwers |first1=Luc |last2=Willekens |first2=Marleen |title=Five Hundred Years of Bookkeeping: A Portrait of Luca Pacioli |journal=Tijdschrift voor Economie en Management |year=1994 |volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=289–304 [p. 300] |url=https://lirias.kuleuven.be/bitstream/123456789/119065/1/TEM1994-3_289-304p.pdf |issn=0772-7674}}</ref><ref>(Chapters 9, 10, 11, 13, 25 and 26) and three times (Chapters 4, 8 and 19) in its sequel, ''Equality''</ref> - -Westerners are also known for their explorations of the globe and [[outer space]]. The first expedition to [[Magellan's circumnavigation|circumnavigate the Earth]] (1522) was by Westerners, as well as the first journey to the [[South Pole]] (1911), and the [[Apollo 11|first Moon landing]] (1969).<ref>{{cite book |title=The Seafarers&nbsp;– The Explorers |first=Richard |last=Humble |publisher=Time-Life Books |location=Alexandria, Virginia |year=1978}}</ref><ref name="Orloff">{{cite book |last=Orloff |first=Richard W. |title=Apollo by the Numbers: A Statistical Reference |url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/SP-4029.htm |access-date=12 June 2013 |series=NASA History Series |orig-year=First published 2000 |date=September 2004 |work=[[NASA]] History Division, Office of Policy and Plans |location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=978-0-16-050631-4 |lccn=00061677 |id=NASA SP-2000-4029 |chapter=Table of Contents |chapter-url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/Apollo_00g_Table_of_Contents.htm}}</ref> The [[Mars Exploration Rovers|landing of robots on Mars]] (2004 and 2012) and on an [[NEAR Shoemaker|asteroid]] (2001), the ''[[Voyager 2]]'' explorations of the outer planets ([[Uranus]] in 1986 and [[Neptune]] in 1989), ''[[Voyager 1]]''{{'}}s passage into interstellar space (2013), and ''[[New Horizons]]''{{'}} flyby of [[Pluto]] (2015) were significant recent Western achievements.<ref name="NASA-Spirit">{{cite web |last=Nelson |first=Jon |title=Mars Exploration Rover – Spirit |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/details.php?id=5917 |work=[[NASA]] | access-date=2 February 2014}}</ref><ref name="NASA-Opportunity">{{cite web |last=Nelson |first=Jon |title=Mars Exploration Rover -Opportunity |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/mars-exploration-rover-opportunity-mer/ |work=[[NASA]] | access-date=2 February 2014}}</ref><ref name=phone>{{Cite news |title=The End of an Asteroidal Adventure: NEAR Shoemaker Phones Home for the Last Time |last=Worth |first=Helen |date=28 February 2001 |publisher=[[Applied Physics Lab]] | url=http://near.jhuapl.edu/news/flash/01feb28.html}}</ref><ref name="NASA-20150714-kn">{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Dwayne |last2=Cantillo |first2=Laurie |last3=Buckley |first3=Mike |last4=Stotoff |first4=Maria |title=15-149 NASA's Three-Billion-Mile Journey to Pluto Reaches Historic Encounter |url=http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasas-three-billion-mile-journey-to-pluto-reaches-historic-encounter |date=14 July 2015 |work=[[NASA]] | access-date=14 July 2015}}</ref><ref name=ESBS>{{cite book |last1=Butrica |first1=Andrew |title=From Engineering Science to Big Science |page=267 |url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4219/Chapter11.html |access-date=4 September 2015}}</ref> - -== Media == -{{Main|Western media}} -The roots of modern-day Western mass media can be traced back to the late 15th century, when [[printing press]]es began to operate throughout wealthy European cities. The emergence of [[news media]] in the 17th century has to be seen in close connection with the [[spread of the printing press]], from which the publishing [[Publishing|press]] derives its name.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Weber |first=Johannes |title=Strassburg, 1605: The Origins of the Newspaper in Europe |journal=German History |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=387–412 (387) |year=2006 |doi=10.1191/0266355406gh380oa}}: {{quote|At the same time, then as the printing press in the physical technological sense was invented, 'the press' in the extended sense of the word also entered the historical stage. The phenomenon of publishing was now born.}}</ref> - -In the 16th century, a decrease in the preeminence of [[New Latin|Latin]] in its literary use, along with the impact of economic change, the discoveries arising from trade and travel, navigation to the [[New World|new world]], science and arts and the development of increasingly rapid communications through print led to a rising corpus of vernacular media content in European society.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eMaNAgAAQBAJ&q=western+media |title=Western Media Systems |last=Hardy |first=Jonathan |date=25 February 2010 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-25370-7 |pages=25 |language=en}}</ref> - -After the launch of the satellite [[Sputnik 1]] by the Soviet Union in 1957, satellite transmission technology was dramatically realised, with the United States launching [[Telstar]] in 1962 linking live media broadcasts from the UK to the US. The first digital broadcast satellite (DBS) system began transmitting in US in 1975.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eMaNAgAAQBAJ&q=western+media |title=Western Media Systems |last=Hardy |first=Jonathan |date=25 February 2010 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-25370-7 |page=59 |language=en}}</ref> - -Beginning in the 1990s, the [[Internet]] has contributed to a tremendous increase in the accessibility of Western media content. Departing from media offered in bundled content packages ([[magazine]]s, [[Compact disc|CDs]], [[News broadcasting|television and radio slots]]), the Internet has primarily offered unbundled content items ([[Digital journalism|articles]], audio and video files).<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JzilLEyul5YC&q=media+internet |title=The Internet and the Mass Media |last1=Küng |first1=Lucy |last2=Picard |first2=Robert G. |last3=Towse |first3=Ruth |date=14 May 2008 |publisher=SAGE |isbn=978-1-4462-4566-8 |page=65 |language=en}}</ref> - -== Religion == -{{main|Western religions}} -The native religions of Europe were [[polytheism|polytheistic]] but not homogenous – however, they were similar insofar as they were predominantly [[Indo-European religion|Indo-European]] in origin. [[Religion in ancient Rome|Roman religion]] was similar to but not the same as [[Religion in ancient Greece|Hellenic religion]] – likewise for [[Germanic paganism|indigenous Germanic polytheism]], [[Celtic polytheism]] and [[Slavic paganism|Slavic polytheism]]. Before this time many Europeans from the north, especially Scandinavians, remained polytheistic, though southern Europe was predominantly Christian from the 5th century onwards. - -Western culture is most strongly influenced by the [[Judeo-Christian]] and [[Greco-Roman]] cultures.<ref name="PerryChase2012"/> These cultures had a number of similarities, such as a common emphasis on the individual, but they also embody fundamentally conflicting worldviews. For example, in Judaism and Christianity, [[God]] is the ultimate authority, while Greco-Roman tradition considers the ultimate authority to be [[reason]]. Christian attempts to reconcile these frameworks were responsible for the preservation of [[Greek philosophy]].<ref name="PerryChase2012"/> - -As in other areas, the [[Jewish diaspora]] and [[Judaism]] exist in the Western world. Non-European groups, and Jews in particular, have been subjected to intense [[racism]], [[Ethnic hatred|ethnic and]] [[religious hatred]], [[xenophobia]], [[discrimination]], and [[Jewish persecution|persecution]] in the West.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/historyreligiona0000lang |url-access=registration |quote=christian antisemitism. |title=History, Religion, and Antisemitism |last=Langmuir |first=Gavin I. |date=8 May 1990 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-91226-7 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jFhEmMFZStkC&q=antisemitism+in+the+west |title=Anti-Judaism: The Western Tradition |last=Nirenberg |first=David |date=4 February 2013 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-0-393-05824-6 |language=en}}</ref> This has included [[pogrom]]s, [[forced conversion]], [[Forced displacement|displacement]], [[Racial segregation|segregation]] and [[ghetto]]s, [[ethnic cleansing]], [[genocide]], and other forms of violence and prejudice.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Old demons, new debates : anti-Semitism in the West |date=2005 |publisher=Holmes & Meier Publishers|editor-last=Kertzer|editor-first=David I.|author=Yivo Institute for Jewish Research|isbn=978-0-8419-1439-1 |location=Teaneck, NJ |oclc=58975776}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Anti-Judaism : the Western tradition |last=Nirenberg|first=David |date=2013 |publisher=W.W. Norton & Co |isbn=978-0-393-05824-6 |edition=1st |location=New York |oclc=783163429}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Maccoby |first1=Hyam |title=Antisemitism and modernity : innovation and continuity |date=2006 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-0-415-31173-1}}</ref> - -Religion has waned in [[Europe]], where people who are [[agnostic]] or [[atheist]] make up about 18% of the European population today.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/global-religious-landscape-unaffiliated.aspx |title=Religiously Unaffiliated |publisher=Pewforum.org |date=18 December 2012 |access-date=31 January 2014}}</ref> In particular, over half of the populations of the [[Czech Republic]] ([[Religion in the Czech Republic|79%]] of the population was agnostic, atheist or irreligious), the United Kingdom ([[Religion in the United Kingdom|52%]]), Germany ([[Religion in Germany|25–33%]]),<ref name=autogenerated6>{{cite web |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90177.htm |title=Germany |publisher=State.gov |access-date=31 January 2014|date=14 September 2007 }}</ref> France (30–35%)<ref name="IpsosMORI2011">''[http://www.fgi-tbff.org/sites/default/files/elfinder/FGIImages/Research/fromresearchtopolicy/ipsos_mori_briefing_pack.pdf Views on globalisation and faith] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117013643/http://www.fgi-tbff.org/sites/default/files/elfinder/FGIImages/Research/fromresearchtopolicy/ipsos_mori_briefing_pack.pdf |date=17 January 2013 }}''. [[Ipsos MORI]], 5 July 2011.</ref><ref name="CSA2001">{{in lang|fr}} [http://actualitechretienne.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/sondagecsalacroixcatholicismeetprotestantismefrance.pdf Catholicisme et protestantisme en France: Analyses sociologiques et données de l'Institut CSA pour La Croix] – Groupe CSA TMO for ''[[La Croix]]'', 2001</ref><ref name=stategov>{{cite web |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007 |title=International Religious Freedom Report 2007 |access-date=8 February 2011|date=14 September 2007 }}</ref> and the [[Netherlands]] (39–44%) are agnostic or atheist. - -However, per another survey by [[Pew Research Center]] from 2011, [[Christianity]] remains the dominant religion in the [[Western world]] where 70–84% are [[Christians]],<ref name="Global Christianity" /> According to this survey, 76% of [[Europe]]ans described themselves as [[Christians]],<ref name="Global Christianity" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Global-Christianity-europe.aspx |title=Europe |publisher=Pewforum.org |date=19 December 2011 |access-date=31 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/global-religious-landscape-christians.aspx |title=Christians |publisher=Pewforum.org |date=18 December 2012 |access-date=31 January 2014}}</ref> and about 86% of the [[Americas]] population identified themselves as [[Christians]],<ref>{{cite web |author=ANALYSIS |url=http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Global-Christianity-americas.aspx |title=Americas |publisher=Pewforum.org |date=19 December 2011 |access-date=17 August 2012}}</ref> (90% in [[Latin America]] and 77% in [[North America]]).<ref>{{cite web |author=ANALYSIS |url=http://www.pewforum.org/global-religious-landscape-christians.aspx |title=Global religious landscape: Christians |publisher=Pewforum.org |date=19 December 2011 |access-date=17 August 2012}}</ref> And 73% in [[Oceania]] are self-identify as Christian, and 76% in [[South Africa]] is Christian.<ref name="Global Christianity" /> - -According to new polls about religiosity in the European Union in 2012 by [[Eurobarometer]], [[Christianity]] is the largest religion in the [[European Union]], accounting for 72% of the EU population.<ref name="EU2012">{{citation |title=Discrimination in the EU in 2012 |work=[[Eurobarometer|Special Eurobarometer]] | year=2012 |series=393 |page=233 |url=http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_393_en.pdf |access-date=14 August 2013 |publisher=[[European Commission]] | location=[[European Union]]}} The question asked was "Do you consider yourself to be...?" With a card showing: Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Other Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu, Atheist, and Non-believer/Agnostic. Space was given for Other (SPONTANEOUS) and DK. Jewish, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu did not reach the 1% threshold.</ref> [[Catholics]] are the largest [[Christians|Christian]] group, accounting for 48% of the EU citizens, while [[Protestant]]s make up 12%, [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] make up 8% and other Christians make up 4%.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Discrimination in the EU in 2012 |journal=[[Eurobarometer|Special Eurobarometer]] | year=2012 |series=383 |page=233 |url=http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_393_en.pdf |access-date=14 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121202023700/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_393_en.pdf |archive-date=2 December 2012}}</ref> [[Agnostic|Non-believers/Agnostics]] account for 16%,<ref name="EU2012" /> [[atheist]]s account for 7%,<ref name="EU2012" /> and [[Muslim]]s account for 2%.<ref name="EU2012" /> - -Throughout the Western world there are increasing numbers of people who seek to revive the indigenous religions of their European ancestors; such [[Reconstructionist Paganism|groups]] include [[Germanic Polytheistic Reconstructionism|Germanic]], [[Roman polytheistic reconstructionism|Roman]], [[Hellenic Polytheistic Reconstructionism|Hellenic]], [[Celtic Polytheistic Reconstructionism|Celtic]], [[Slavic Neopaganism|Slavic]], and polytheistic reconstructionist movements. Likewise, [[Wicca]], [[New Age]] spirituality and other [[Neopagan|neo-pagan]] belief systems enjoy notable minority support in Western states. - -== Sport == -{{unreferenced section|date=November 2017}} -[[File:Bull-leaping.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Bull-Leaping Fresco]] from the Great Palace at [[Knossos]], [[Crete]]. Sport has been an important part of Western cultural expression since [[Classical Antiquity]].]] -[[File:Baron Pierre de Coubertin.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Baron [[Pierre de Coubertin]], founder of the [[International Olympic Committee]], and considered father of the modern [[Olympic Games]].]] - -Since [[classical antiquity]], sport has been an important facet of Western cultural expression. A wide range of sports was already established by the time of [[Ancient Greece]] and the military culture and the development of sports in Greece influenced one another considerably. Sports became such a prominent part of their culture that the Greeks created the [[Olympic Games]], which in ancient times were held every four years in a small village in the [[Peloponnese|Peloponnesus]] called [[Olympia, Greece|Olympia]]. Baron [[Pierre de Coubertin]], a Frenchman, instigated the modern revival of the Olympic movement. The first modern Olympic games were held at [[1896 Summer Olympics|Athens in 1896]]. - -The Romans built immense structures such as the [[Roman amphitheatre|amphitheatres]] to house their festivals of sport. The Romans exhibited a passion for [[blood sports]], such as the infamous [[Gladiator]]ial battles that pitted contestants against one another in a fight to the death. The Olympic Games revived many of the sports of [[Classical Antiquity]]—such as [[Greco-Roman wrestling]], [[discus]] and [[javelin]]. -The sport of [[bullfighting]] is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France, and some Latin American countries. It traces its roots to prehistoric [[bull worship]] and [[animal sacrifice|sacrifice]] and is often linked to [[Roman Empire|Rome]], where many human-versus-animal events were held. Bullfighting spread from Spain to its American colonies, and in the 19th century to France, where it developed into a distinctive form in its own right. - -[[Jousting]] and hunting were popular sports in the European [[Middle Ages]], and the aristocratic classes developed passions for leisure activities. A great number of popular global sports were first developed or codified in Europe. The modern game of [[golf]] originated in Scotland, where the first written record of golf is [[James II of Scotland|James II]]'s banning of the game in 1457, as an unwelcome distraction to learning [[archery]]. The [[Industrial Revolution]] that began in Britain in the 18th Century brought increased leisure time, leading to more time for citizens to attend and follow spectator sports, greater participation in athletic activities, and increased accessibility. These trends continued with the advent of mass media and global communication. The bat and ball sport of [[cricket]] was first played in England during the 16th century and was exported around the globe via the [[British Empire]]. A number of popular modern sports were devised or codified in Britain during the 19th Century and obtained global prominence—these include [[ping pong]], modern [[tennis]], [[association football]], [[netball]] and [[Rugby football|rugby]]. - -[[association football|Football]](also known as soccer) remains hugely popular in Europe, but has grown from its origins to be known as the ''world game''. Similarly, sports such as cricket, rugby, and netball were exported around the world, particularly among countries in the [[Commonwealth of Nations]], thus India and Australia are among the strongest cricketing states, while victory in the [[Rugby World Cup]] has been shared among New Zealand, Australia, England, and South Africa. - -[[Australian Rules Football]], an Australian variation of football with similarities to [[Gaelic football]] and [[Rugby football|rugby]], evolved in the British [[colony of Victoria]] in the mid-19th century. The United States also developed unique variations of English sports. English migrants took antecedents of [[baseball]] to America during the colonial period. The history of [[American football]] can be traced to early versions of rugby football and [[association football]]. Many games are known as "football" were being played at colleges and universities in the United States in the first half of the 19th century. American football resulted from several major divergences from rugby, most notably the rule changes instituted by [[Walter Camp]], the "Father of American Football". [[Basketball]] was invented in 1891 by [[James Naismith]], a Canadian physical education instructor working in [[Springfield, Massachusetts]], in the United States. [[Volleyball]] was created in [[Holyoke, Massachusetts]], a city directly north of Springfield, in 1895. - -== Themes and traditions == -[[File:Anonymous Madonna with big breasts.jpg|thumb|upright|A [[Madonna and Child]] painting by an anonymous Italian from the first half of the 19th century, oil on canvas.]] -Western culture has developed many themes and traditions, the most significant of which are:{{citation needed|date=June 2017}} -* Greco-Roman classic letters, arts, architecture, philosophical and cultural tradition, which include the influence of preeminent authors and philosophers such as [[Socrates]], [[Plato]], [[Aristotle]], [[Homer]], [[Virgil]], and [[Marcus Tullius Cicero|Cicero]], as well as a long [[Greek mythology|mythologic tradition]]. -* [[Christianity|Christian]] ethical, philosophical, and [[Jewish mythology|mythological]] tradition, stemming largely from the [[Bible|Christian Bible]], particularly the [[New Testament]] Gospels. -* Monasteries, [[schools]], [[libraries]], [[books]], book making, [[universities]], teaching, [[education]], and lecture halls. -* A tradition of the importance of [[the rule of law]]. -* [[Secular humanism]], [[rationalism]] and Enlightenment thought. This set the basis for a new critical attitude and open questioning of religion, favouring [[freethinking]] and questioning of the church as an authority, which resulted in open-minded and reformist ideals inside, such as [[liberation theology]], which partly adopted these currents, and secular and political tendencies such as [[laicism]], [[agnosticism]] and [[atheism]]. -* Generalized usage of some form of the [[Latin alphabet|Latin]] or [[Greek alphabet]], and derived forms, such as [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]], used by those southern and eastern Slavic countries of [[Eastern Christianity|Christian Orthodox]] tradition, historically under the [[Byzantine Empire]] and later within the Russian [[czarist]] or the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] area of influence. Other variants of the Latin or Greek alphabets are found in the [[Gothic alphabet|Gothic]] and [[Coptic alphabet]]s, which historically superseded older scripts, such as [[Runic|runes]], and the Egyptian [[Demotic (Egyptian)|Demotic]] and [[Hieroglyphic]] systems. -* [[Natural law]], [[human rights]], [[constitutionalism]], [[parliamentarism]] (or [[presidentialism]]) and formal [[liberal democracy]] in recent times—prior to the 19th century, most Western governments were still monarchies. -* A large influence, in [[modern history|modern times]], of many of the ideals and values developed and inherited from [[Romanticism]]. -* An emphasis on, and use of, [[science]] as a means of understanding the natural world and humanity's place in it. -* More pronounced use and application of innovation and scientific developments, as well as a more rational approach to scientific progress (what has been known as the [[scientific method]]), as opposed to more empiric discoveries in the [[Eastern world]]. - -== See also == -{{Portal|Society|Europe}} -{{columns-list|colwidth=18em| -* [[Atlanticism]] -* [[Christendom]] -* [[Classical tradition]] -* [[Culture during the Cold War]] -* [[Eastern world]] -* [[Eastern culture]] -* [[European diaspora]] -* [[Greco-Roman world]] -* [[Western religion]] -* [[Western world]] -* [[Westernization]] -}} - -== Notes == -{{Notelist}} - -== References == -=== Citations === -{{Reflist |colwidth = 30em }} - -=== Sources === -* {{Cite book |last=Ankerl |first=Guy |title=Global communication without universal civilization |series=INU societal research |volume=Vol. 1: Coexisting contemporary civilizations: Arabo-Muslim, Bharati, Chinese, and Western |publisher=INU Press |location=Geneva |isbn=978-2-88155-004-1 |year=2000 }} -* Barzun, Jacques ''[[From Dawn to Decadence]]: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life 1500 to the Present'' HarperCollins (2000) {{ISBN|0-06-017586-9}}. -* Daly, Jonathan. "[http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/the-rise-of-western-power-9781441161314/ The Rise of Western Power: A Comparative History of Western Civilization]" (London and New York: Bloomsbury, 2014). {{ISBN|978-1441161314}}. -* Daly, Jonathan. "[http://www.tandfindia.com/books/details/9781138774810/ Historians Debate the Rise of the West]" (London and New York: Routledge, 2015). {{ISBN|978-1138774810}}. -* Jones, Prudence and Pennick, Nigel ''A History of Pagan Europe'' Barnes & Noble (1995) {{ISBN|0-7607-1210-7}}. -* Merriman, John ''Modern Europe: From the Renaissance to the Present'' W. W. Norton (1996) {{ISBN|0-393-96885-5}}. -* Derry, T. K. and Williams, Trevor I. ''A Short History of Technology: From the Earliest Times to A.D. 1900'' Dover (1960) {{ISBN|0-486-27472-1}}. -* Eduardo Duran, Bonnie Dyran ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=qgVoY7mypa4C Native American Postcolonial Psychology]'' 1995 Albany: State University of New York Press {{ISBN|0-7914-2353-0}} -* McClellan, James E. III and Dorn, Harold ''Science and Technology in World History'' Johns Hopkins University Press (1999) {{ISBN|0-8018-5869-0}}. -* Stein, Ralph ''The Great Inventions'' Playboy Press (1976) {{ISBN|0-87223-444-4}}. -* Asimov, Isaac ''Asimov's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology: The Lives & Achievements of 1510 Great Scientists from Ancient Times to the Present'' Revised second edition, Doubleday (1982) {{ISBN|0-385-17771-2}}. -* [[Ludwig von Pastor|Pastor, Ludwig von]], ''History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages; Drawn from the [[Vatican Secret Archives|Secret Archives of the Vatican]] and other original sources'', 40 vols. St. Louis, B. Herder (1898ff.) -* [[James Joseph Walsh|Walsh, James Joseph]], ''The Popes and Science; the History of the Papal Relations to Science During the Middle Ages and Down to Our Own Time'', Fordam University Press, 1908, reprinted 2003, Kessinger Publishing. {{ISBN|0-7661-3646-9}} Reviews: [https://books.google.com/books?vid=02tZKPD5CJrIa31EgK&id=G57Y1rlQVP0C&pg=PT2&lpg=PT2&dq=%22the+popes+and+science%22 p. 462].[http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1407075] -* Ankerl, Guy (2000). C''oexisting Civilizations: Arabo-Muslim, Bharati, Chinese, and Western''. INUPRESS, Geneva, 119–244. {{ISBN|2-88155-004-5}}. -* Atle Hesmyr (2013). ''Civilization, Oikos, and Progress'' {{ISBN|978-1468924190}} -* [[Victor Davis Hanson|Hanson, Victor Davis]]; Heath, John (2001). ''Who Killed Homer: The Demise of Classical Education and the Recovery of Greek Wisdom'', Encounter Books. -* Stearns, P.N. (2003). ''Western Civilization in World History'', Routledge, New York. -* [[Bruce Thornton|Thornton, Bruce]] (2002). ''Greek Ways: How the Greeks Created Western Civilization'', Encounter Books. - -== Further reading == -* Barzun, Jacques. [[iarchive:fromdawntodecade00barz 0|''From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life : 1500 to the Present'']]. New York: HarperCollins, 2001. -* Hesmyr, Atle Kultorp: ''Civilization; Its Economic Basis, Historical Lessons and Future Prospects''(Telemark: Nisus Publications, 2020). - -== External links == -{{Commons category|Western culture}} -* [http://www.usu.edu/markdamen/1320Hist&Civ/PP/slides/00westciv.pdf An overview of the Western Civilization] - -{{Cultural gens}} -{{Western culture}} -{{Culture}} -{{Authority control}} - -[[Category:Western culture| ]] -[[Category:Classical studies]] -[[Category:Cultural anthropology]] -[[Category:Sociological terminology]] +==Bibliography== +*''Christianity and Classical Culture, A Study of Thought and Action from Augustus to Augustine'', Charles Norris Cochrane, Oxford University Press, NY, 1980. '