Brief Introduction to Western Culture
Terminology
What is Culture?
1.The total product of human creativity and intellect: , .
2.Enlightenment and excellent taste resulting from intellectual development: , , .
What is Western world?
The term Western world, the West or the Occident can have multiple meanings dependent on its context (e.g., the time period, the region or social situation).Accordingly, the basic definition of what constitutes \"the West\" varies, expanding and contracting over time, in relation to various historical circumstances.Some historians believe the West originated in the northern and eastern Mediterranean with □1 and □2.Over time, their aociated empires grew first to the east and south, conquering and absorbing many older great civilizations; later, they grew to the north and west to include □3.
Other historians, such as Carroll Quigley (Evolution of Civilizations), contend that Western Civilization was born around 400 AD, after the total collapse of the Western Roman Empire, leaving a vacuum for new ideas to flourish that were impoible in Claical societies.In either view, between the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the , the West experienced a period of considerable decline, known as the , which include theand the .
Since the , the West evolved beyond the influence of the ancient Greeks, Romans and Muslims due to the , , and , and the expansion of thepeoples of Western European empires, and particularly the globe-spanning empires of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.Since theand , the notion of the West expanded to include , though much of the Americas have considerable .and New Zealand are considered part of Western culture due to their former status as settler colonies of Western Christian nations.Generally speaking, the current consensus would locate the West, at the very least, in the cultures and peoples of Europe, North America,and Australia.Although nations such as Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Brazil and New Zealand are heavily Western in the traditional sense of the term, the common element being the omnipresence of Christian culture.
In the current political or economic context the term However, these nations have different and distinctive cultures, religions (although Christianity is a major religion in South Korea), languages, customs, and worldviews that are products of their own indigenous development, rather than solely Western influences.All of these are amongst the generally accepted political or economic characteristics of Western nations.
There is debate among some as to whether Eastern Europe and Latin America are in separate categories of their own or if they are part of the \"West\".Culturally Eastern Europe and Latin America are usually more or le accepted into the \'West\'.They, however, do not fill the traditional economic and living standard criteria which oneNotes：
1 (The term ancient Greece refers to the period oflasting from the □
ca.1100 BC and the , to 146 BC and theconquest ofafter the .It is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the foundation of .)
2 (The term Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural □
community founded on theas early as the 10th century BC.Located along the , it became one of the largestin history.)
3 (Western Europe is a concept of rather recent origins, reflecting the post - World □
War II split between those European countries that fell under Soviet domination and much of the rest of the continent.With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the concept may and certain small states such as Almost all of the countries of the European Union (EU) are in western Europe, although certain countries such as Norway and Switzerland have chosen not to be a part of the EU.Greece, on the other hand, has joined the EU but is rarely considered to be part of western Europe.)
What is Western culture?
Western culture or Western civilization is a term used to generally refer to most of theoforigin and most of their descendants.It comprises the broad, geographically based,of , ,
(such asbeliefs) and specific artifacts and technologies as shared within the.
The concept of Western culture is generally linked to the .In this definition, Western culture is the set of , , , andprinciples which set it apart from other civilizations.It applies to countries whoseis strongly marked by Western European immigration or settlement, and is not restricted to Western Europe.Much of this set of traditions and knowledge is collected in the .Some of it is partially based on universally true knowledge, natural laws, and science that transcends all geographical and political Foundations of Western Culture
The origins of Western culture are often referred to as \"three pillars\":
1.(concretely )
2.the(specifically )
3.and.
Broadly, these foundations are referred to asandroots., , ,andalso took part in the formation of the culture of .The influence ofhas been profound since the , as well as \'s thought and , romantic ideals, and later tendences such as , , and variousandmovements.
Western culture has developed many themes and traditions.Some important ones are:
Greco-Latin claic letters, arts, architecture, philosophical and cultural tradition,
that include a large and vast influence of very important and preeminent authors such as , , ,or , as well as a very long(approximately synchretic to other Mediterranean ones such asor ).and 福音的mythologic and cultural tradition,
as well as part of Christianand , and an abundant tradition on the philosophical discipline of .
,and , as opposed to
traditionally preeminentandreligious and moral doctrines in lifestyle.Though such opposition hasn\'t fully ended, it setted the basis for a new critical attitude and open questioning of religion, favouringand questioning of the Church as an authority, what resulted in open-minded and reformist ideals inside, such as , which
partly adopted these currents, and secular and political tendences such as ,
,and Atheism.A tradition and idea of importance ofwhich has its roots in .Widespread usage of terms and specific vocabulary borrowed, based or derivated
fromor , for almost any field of arts, science and human knowledge, becoming easily understandable and common to almost any European language, and being a source for inventing \'internationalized\'for nearly any purposes.It is not either rare for full loan Latin phrases or expreions, such as in situ, groo modo or tempus fugit to be in usage, many of them giving name to artistic or literatic concepts or currents.Not to forget to mention the standardized usage of such roots and phrases when giving official scientifical names for biological(such asor ).This shows a reverence for these languages, called .Generalized usage of some form ofor .Last one includes the
cases of , in its standard form, and in derived forms, such as , the case of those Slavic Eastern countries oftradition, historically under theand laterorarea of influence.Other variants of it are encountered forand , that historically substitued older scripts, such as , andorsystems..(经院[烦琐]哲学)
arts and letters.
The Scientific method.
The .(a term used to denote a canon of , and, more widely, music and art, that has been the most influential in shaping Western culture.)
,andin recent times but prior to the 20th century, most Western governments were monarchies.
A large influence, in , of many of the ideals and values developed and heritaged from Romanticism, and to some extent ,and related vanguards.
Several(sometimes deriving into ) andmovements, such asor , that have left several influences on contemporary mainstream or subcultural tendences (some of them, especially in mainstream, can become merely ).Aschool ofandthought, theoreticals and
activism, as well as Anarchism andrelated currents, highly decisive and relevant for most of latehistory development, but its influence greatly weakened after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Western culture is neither homogeneous nor unchanging.As with all other cultures it has evolved and gradually changed over time.
Influence of Western Culture
Elements of Western culture have had a very influential role on other cultures worldwide.People of many cultures, both Western and non-Western, equate \"modernisation\" (adoption of technological progre) with \"westernisation,\" (adoption of Western culture).Some members of the non-Western world have suggested that the link between technological progre and certain harmful Western values provides a reason why much of \"modernity\" should be rejected as being incompatible with their vision and the values of their societies.
What is generally uncontested, is that much of the technology and social patterns which make up what is defined as \"modernisation\" were developed in the Western world.Whether these technological and social patterns are intrinsically part of Western culture, is more difficult to answer.Many would argue that the question cannot be answered by a response from○1and instead is a \"value\" question which must be answered from a value system (e.g.philosophy, religion, political doctrine).Nonethele, much of anthropology today has shown the close links between the physical environment and daily activities and the formation of a culture (the findings of , among others).
Note:
1Positivism is thethat the only authentic knowledge is knowledge that is based ○
on actual sense experience.Such knowledge can come only from affirmation of theories through
