What shaped western culture into today?

Paleofriendly · Aug 18, 2013

Hi!

Where should i start to get a grasp on what historical events shaped western culture and tought into what it is today? The Greeks? Romans?

Where to start and what to include?

AlpinLuke · Aug 18, 2013

Nothing more complicated and wide than this?

It depends on the perspective you decide to privilege among others.

For example, one of the main aspects of Western culture is democracy; so that you could start making a list of the ancient democracies [may be underlining the differences among them and the present ones]. Ancient Greece is a good starting point.

If you prefer to start from the religious background, the matter is extremely complicated but substantially concentrated in Middle East [at least at the beginning ... then ...].

On the other hand, if you want to focus the attention at how the West became this West, you should pay attention to the philosophical development of the Humanism, to the Reform, to the industrial revolution, to the liberal societies of the 19th centuries, to colonialism ...

Really a very large field of research.

Fantasus · Aug 18, 2013

What about this:

Good seafaring and ocean going ships and navigation. Without navigation, first meditteranean and Black sea ( to a lesser degree the other european seas), later on world oceans, it is hard to imagine the alternative, whatever definition of "western civilization" we prefer.

AlpinLuke · Aug 18, 2013

In Middle Ages China had a better fleet and better navigation capabilities, they renounce to explore the world.

So, I would underline also the cultural attitude "not to stop in front of a borderline /obstacle". Always looking for a new frontier.

Port · Aug 18, 2013

the deveopment of the idea of the individual and achievement

Edgewaters · Aug 18, 2013

AlpinLuke said:
For example, one of the main aspects of Western culture is democracy; so that you could start making a list of the ancient democracies [may be underlining the differences among them and the present ones]. Ancient Greece is a good starting point.

There are other, more recent influences here. All the Germanic tribes practiced a sort of rough democracy, with conventions like folkmoots or allthings. The British Parliament evolves directly out of this, beginning as folkmoot, evolving into the more autocratic Witenagemot, then transformed into Parliament. None of this has much to do with Athens and while the current parliamentary system is more democratic than it was in the past, it is much less so than the folkmoot, which was a direct democracy.

AlpinLuke · Aug 18, 2013

Edgewaters said:
There are other, more recent influences here. All the Germanic tribes practiced a sort of rough democracy, with conventions like folkmoots or allthings. The British Parliament evolves directly out of this, beginning as folkmoot, evolving into the more autocratic Witenagemot, then transformed into Parliament. None of this has much to do with Athens and while the current parliamentary system is more democratic than it was in the past, it is much less so than the folkmoot, which was a direct democracy.

Thanks for suitable and good contribution.

When the "oldest" existing democracy had created [United States of America] they probably spent some thoughts about.

It's a matter related to the dimension of the "demos". In fact, before of internet, to imagine a totally direct democracy was almost impossible. Today we could plan a further evolution towards that direction.

Emperor Trajan · Aug 19, 2013

I think Latin and the Cold war helped shape the western culture as we see it today.

Underlankers · Aug 19, 2013

By the most narrowly literal definition of 'today' I'd suggest reading about the culture of the Fin de Siecle and the First World War. Much of what changed in Western Culture in the 20th Century began in 1914. The idea of nationalism as a positive development instead of a destabilizing threat, the concepts of totalitarianism that reshaped Western political thought, the collapse of the Western absolute monarchies and monarchism as a powerful political force to be reckoned with, and the disintegration of the racist conceit that white people were morally superior to people of color all began with 1914-1922. On top of this the First World War created both Fascism and Communism as real-world state systems implemented by human beings, and redefined entirely how the West conceived of both force and its use.

Bart Dale · Aug 19, 2013

Paleofriendly said:
Hi!

Where should i start to get a grasp on what historical events shaped western culture and tought into what it is today? The Greeks? Romans?

Where to start and what to include?

I listened to a lecture where they talked about the 3 mainstreams of influences that together make up Western Civilization. The analogy used was like the merging of 3 seperate rivers to make one large river.

The 3 streams are

1. Chrisitianity

2. Greco-Roman Civilization, composed of 2 subcomponents, Greek Civilization and Roman Civilization

3. The native Celtic and Germanic cultures of western Europe.

Together they joined to produce Western Civilization. Although, the first 2, Christianity and Greek/Roman Civilization, are the most importance, with the nod given to Christianity as the single biggest contributor.

Fantasus · Aug 20, 2013

Not exclussively European

Christianity has throughout its existence never been exlussively "European" and not at all exclussively western European. The Greeks were except for those colonizing the western Med. not a "western european people" and even the romans expanded far outside Europe and outsisde what is today considered the "western sphere of influence", while important parts of Europe were never romanized. Greek and christian influence once seemed at least to live as well to the east and south of the "European peninsula".
On the other hand greek, roman and christian traits became at least to some degree "transformed" in the european environment through the ages. Such an environment is cultural, mental and societal, but at another level the natural environment has a great impact upon culture, mentality, society and other aspects of human life (in contrast to genetics of peoples were it is hard to find evidence of more than a very limited influence upon history if any at all).
So if "western" is very much "greek, roman and christian" heritage, it was this heritage in a certain environment.

Bart Dale · Aug 20, 2013

One way to see what the influences on Western culture were are common first names. Take the Royal first families first names - You have Elizabeth (Hebrew via Christianity), Phillip (Greek, either via Classical Culture or Christianity), Charles (German), Camilla (Latin), Andrew (Greek via Christianity), William (German).

Popular first names in the West are either Celtic in origin (Bridget), Germanic, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, or have some meaning (like Hope, Charity). The origin of first names echoes the sources of western influences. First names of Greek and Hebrew origin are mostly from Christian sources. But some, like Ulysses (Latanized version of a Greek name) and Thor come from pagan myths.

larkin · Aug 20, 2013

Welcome new member!

I say, Hollywood and the motion picture,
Television and the bomb

AlpinLuke · Aug 21, 2013

I can add scientific advance as a "duty". A kind of new frontier which is always more and more far.

It's at least a couple of centuries that the rest of the world, in the scientific field is chasing the Western societies.

St Oswald · Aug 21, 2013

It may give rise to some degree of controversy , and be contrary to the historical purists among us , but one of the major influences is American Social culture , with a bit of British re imported influences . Through music , fashion trends, teenage cults, film TV . Advertising and sport . I would suggest these have had a major impact everywhere in the ''WEST' 'Regardless of the Latin or North European origins of our populations

Belgarion · Aug 21, 2013

The Greco-Roman ideas of government and democracy, coupled with the Judeo-Christian ethical system, modified by the ideas of the Reformation and the Enlightenment, have all contributed to create the Western society we know today.

bodhi · Aug 21, 2013

St Oswald said:
It may give rise to some degree of controversy , and be contrary to the historical purists among us , but one of the major influences is American Social culture , with a bit of British re imported influences . Through music , fashion trends, teenage cults, film TV . Advertising and sport . I would suggest these have had a major impact everywhere in the ''WEST' 'Regardless of the Latin or North European origins of our populations

American Social culture is a Western European culture.

Edgewaters · Aug 21, 2013

St Oswald said:
It may give rise to some degree of controversy , and be contrary to the historical purists among us , but one of the major influences is American Social culture , with a bit of British re imported influences . Through music , fashion trends, teenage cults, film TV . Advertising and sport . I would suggest these have had a major impact everywhere in the ''WEST' 'Regardless of the Latin or North European origins of our populations

Rock n roll, blues, rap, Levis jeans, fast food ... yes. I would agree that American culture has had a major impact on Western culture.

So has Victorian culture, in ways that are largely taken for granted today.

St Oswald · Aug 22, 2013

bodhi said:
American Social culture is a Western European culture.

The thread was ''What Shaped western culture into today ? ....American social culture has had a huge impact . I do not think it is solely Western European . The impact of Blues music and its offspring Jazz, Rock n Roll and the other less melodic modern evolutions are certainly not Western European

St Oswald · Aug 22, 2013

Edgewaters said:
Rock n roll, blues, rap, Levis jeans, fast food ... yes. I would agree that American culture has had a major impact on Western culture.

So has Victorian culture, in ways that are largely taken for granted today.

Very True , so called ''Victorian Values'' and the enterprise cultures of this time have had a major impact also .

I believe aspects like this are far more influential than battles or individual historical events

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What shaped western culture into today?

Paleofriendly

AlpinLuke

Fantasus

AlpinLuke

Port

Edgewaters

AlpinLuke

Emperor Trajan

Underlankers

Bart Dale

Fantasus

Bart Dale

larkin

AlpinLuke

St Oswald

Belgarion

bodhi

Edgewaters

St Oswald

St Oswald

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