Western Civilization 2

Western Civilization 2

How should we measure progress in civilization?

History provides the information that could forge a better future for all human beings; hence, all human beings should understand history before they venture into the future.

Civilization refers to the human cultures whose complexity has been elevated through politics, division of labor, science and technology. Additionally, the word refers to those societies and geographical areas that have achieved a specific echelon of advancement especially in the terms of the discovery of cities. Civilization in the modern world can be measured in terms of the core elements associated with the progress of a society in long-distance trade, urbanism, agriculture, technological advancement as well as occupational specialization (Webster, 2007). Inherently, it can also be measured with the use of such secondary elements as writing, developed transportation system, colossal architecture, urbane metallurgy, astronomy, tort and contract -based legal structures, art styles, science and mathematics. The measurement of civilization can also be based on the measurement of advancement in the economic, social and political systems put in place as these are in charge of the human behavior exhibited by the people subjected to different forms of civilization.

Is it a quantifiable commodity linked to advances in technology?

Civilization is a quantifiable commodity that is linked to technological advancement. This is because it can be measured on the bases of different core and secondary elements whose advancement relies on technological advancement. All the core elements under which civilization can be measured rely on technology for their advancement (Rogers, 2010). When any type of advancement takes place in the secondary and core elements for measuring civilization, the level of civilization goes up. All through history, those geographical regions that have been attributed to civilization arrive at this attribution owing to their employment of technological advancement in agriculture, transport systems, science, politics, economics, legal systems, art, architecture, mathematics, urbanization and astronomy. Most civilized geographical regions are those in which wide spread urbanization is practiced. For urbanization to be applied effectively and efficiently, technological advancement has to be adopted substantially. The reason why civilization continually increases in the world is advancement in technology, which cannot be halted but continually changes.

Is the ethical development of humanity the only real determinant of whether society has evolved and progressed?

Such famous world figures as Mahatma Gandhi state that the ethical development humanity is the best measure of a society’s evolution and progress but in historical terms different core and secondary elements can be used to measure a society’s civilization. This is because what is termed as ethical by one society might not be ethical in terms of another society. Different societies in the world venture into ethics differently such that different ethical levels are adopted by different societies in the world. In the world, there exist no single ethical levels through which the progress and evolution of diverse societies can be measured (Webster, 2007). Such core elements like long-distance trade, urbanism, agriculture, technological advancement as well as occupational specialization can be measured at the same level in the world. Hence, they are the most appropriate elements that can be utilized in measuring the evolution and progress of different societies in the world.

Is human nature basically good or evil?

The traditional liberal position asserts that human nature is good while the traditional conservative position posits that it is bad. Essentially, human beings are known to be selfish beings because they rely more on their self-interest and will only engage in those activities that will accord them with more benefits regardless of their consequences. For a person to be inclined to the good side he must balance between selfishness and compassion, caring for others and self-interest as well as elevating the levels of compassion and caring for others. In the world, such people as Mother Teresa and Albert Schweitzer can be identified as people with very good human nature due to their level of compassion and caring for others (Rogers, 2010). These people had put others in front of their interests and were not willing to indulge in self-interest and selfishness. Due to the level of selfishness and self-interest exhibited in the world today, the human nature generally is said to be more inclined to the evil side rather than the good side.

Is this the fundamental question that must be answered before political systems can be developed or social problems instituted?

This fundamental question must be answered before political systems can be developed or social problems instituted because in accordance to the stipulations of the traditional liberals the government should be a provider of help to its people. In addition, it should not exert much control on the people and in accordance to the stipulations of the traditional conservatives, the government should adopt the qualities of police officers so that it can protect the good people from the bad people (Webster, 2007). For a favorable political system to be set up, these two positions should be combined such that the government not only provides such social protection as healthcare, social security and education but also be the policed that protects the good people from the bad people. Owing to the fact that human nature is more evil than good, answering that question is very fundamental to ensure that the political system is not based on the human nature but is based on what is good for the entire human kind.

Where are we headed in this century, and what is the value of studying history?

We are headed into higher level of civilization in this society, owing to the level of technological advancement that this century is subjected to. Though technological advancement is advantageous in most cases, many disadvantages are linked to it. In the modern world due to technological advancement, the level of terrorism and other international crimes has increased and it is deemed to increase even to higher levels later in the current century. The level of global warming has been on the rise in the world due to advances in technology. Although these are some of the disadvantages linked to technological advancement, this century is headed to considerable benefits due to the advances in technology (Rogers, 2010). Studying history provides the future direction to different populations. This is because the populations can formulate solutions to the problems that originate from history while at the same time it can avoid the mistakes that were made in history. History provides an insight into the origin of phenomenon and how it can be used to make the future brighter for human beings. In conclusion, history provides the information that could forge a better future; hence, all human beings should understand history before they venture into the future.

References:

Rogers, P. M. A. (2010). Aspects of Western Civilization: Problems and Sources in History. Boston, MA: Prentice Hall.

Webster, H. (2007). History of Civilization – Modern and Contemporary. Los Angeles, CA: READ BOOKS.