Modern Era Essay, Research Paper

Alan Catic ( CPO # 119 )

History 262 & # 8211 ; History of Civilization II

Professor Jim Halverson

May 12, 2000

FINAL EXAM

The modern epoch began with the Enlightenment of the 18th century and accelerated through the first half of the 20th century. Although this span of clip included many dissenting voices, in general it could be described as an Age of Scientific Reason. The premodern classicists of Greece, Rome, and the Middle Ages, of class, developed ground, to dizzying highs. Science had its beginnings among Bible-believing Christians of the 17th century. But the scientific ground of modernism excluded on rule everything that could non be seen, measured, and through empirical observation analyzed. Disclosure was ruled out as a agency of cognition, and belief in a supernatural kingdom that transcended the seeable existence was dismissed as crude superstitious notion. Not merely did modernists believe in the inerrancy of scientific discipline, they besides had a devout religion in advancement. The & # 8220 ; modern, & # 8221 ; about by definition, was superior to the yesteryear. The hereafter would be even better. Modernists truly believed that scientific discipline would reply all inquiries and that the application of scientific rules would work out all societal jobs. Through rational planning, applied engineering, and societal use, experts could engineer the perfect society.

At the clip, & # 8220 ; west & # 8221 ; was Western Europe. It included all developed states like France, Spain, England, Germany and Italy. & # 8220 ; West & # 8221 ; was a term used to depict advanced civilisations, extremely developed by the agencies of their economic system and power. Today term & # 8220 ; west & # 8221 ; when used in Europe in those very same states describes merely one thing & # 8211 ; America! Webster dictionary describes West as, & # 8220 ; the Western hemisphere, or the New World so called, it holding been discovered by sailing due west from Europe ; the Occident. & # 8221 ; When North America was being settled by Europeans, all of the civilization and cognition was & # 8220 ; transported & # 8221 ; over the Atlantic Ocean.

The Gallic Revolution and American Revolution set the form for Western political relations in the centuries to come. Both of them erupted as the consequence over pre-revolutionary fiscal differences about the rules of the eighteenth century monarchy. Before the revolutions male monarchs had absolute power over the land and settlements that belonged to the monarc

hy. After the revolutions in America and France, The American Declaration of Independence declared ( and it still does ) that all the people enjoyed the “inalienable rights” to “life, autonomy, and the chase of happiness.” The Gallic Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen declared, “all work forces were born and remain free and equal in rights.”

Since so, the West has been altering every twenty-four hours. In the beginning it started with bondage and cotton workss. Tobacco workss were beginning of money at the clip every bit good. When the Industrial Revolution changed the economic system, many husbandmans lost their occupations. All of the people were traveling into the large metropoliss and go forthing their lands behind. Machines changed the whole universe. As the word implies the & # 8220 ; Industrial Revolution & # 8221 ; is best known for showing in new signifiers of fabrication and production, particularly that of heavy industry. It launched an epoch of mills, concentrated labour, and new machinery, excessively expensive for the place and necessitating big power beginnings. Many new innovations came out such as steamboat, trains and web of the railwaies, and cotton gin. Today we have footings such as infinite bird, computing machine, Internet, autos, aeroplanes & # 8230 ; the words that is our universe shaped by.

I would experience free to state that today West influences the remainder of the universe, one manner or the other. Most of it goes through the extremely developed economic system, international concern in which the West is the dominant one, and sometimes even though army force. Strong confederations, such as NATO ( which is consisted of largely western powerful states ) divide this universe into the two obvious parts & # 8211 ; the developed states and & # 8220 ; 3rd universe & # 8221 ; states. It is non a secret that the US is the figure one power when it comes to economic system, concern, engineering and ground forces. Those are the four most of import factors that keep America dominant state in the West and in the remainder of universe. With these countries being extremely developed, it is really easy to set up a political laterality every bit good.

Cipher knows how long will this universe order remain the same, but the truth is the West is acquiring richer and more powerful while 3rd universe is acquiring poorer and taken over by more powerful states. Economic universe order is about rough as the natural nutrient concatenation. The bigger and stronger & # 8220 ; eat & # 8221 ; smaller and weaker. It has been like that since of the beginning of the universe, and it will likely remain like that until the terminal