Category: Civilization

By definition, civilization generally relates to a complex society. In other words, we can say civilization is a group of people who are connected through various cultural aspects such as education, law, or the arts. Additionally, civilization is often characterized by the existence of polite and courteous relationships. Civilization has existed throughout humankind, evolving as humans invented new technologies, governments, and relationships this means is that a society is complex when it’s individuals live in groups of settled dwellings comprising cities and do engage in specialized activities. The elements of a complex society include moral and legal systems that are there to govern human conduct, technology to improve communication as well as a government, which is there to ensure justice and protect individual rights not forgetting cultural values. Many scholars describe civilization for different aims, and some of these aims can be to show how different nations act in their interactions with one another. The other can be to show the superiority of a particular race or ethnicity over other races and ethic groupings. But all in all, civilization should provide answers to questions like: who we are, where we came from, and where we are going. A scholar by the name of Terry Pratchett once said: “It is important that we know where we come from because if you do not know where you come from, then you don’t know where you are going. And if you don’t know where you are going, you are probably going wrong”.

Civilization in Relation to Christianity

Civilization in relation to Christianity is that the first civilization to research theology was Christianity. Christianity was first founded after the execution of Jesus Christ. Christianity is based on the concept that Jesus suffered and died to open the heavens to those who believe and trust in him for the remission of their sins. Jesus Christ lived from approximately 6BC to 30AD.

Stages of Civilization

Civilization, or rather societal development, can be said to have 3 main stages and these 3 stages are basically the preagricultural (hunting and gathering) stage, the agricultural stage and thirdly the industrial stage or modern-day civilization.

The preagricultural stage is simply the stage existing or happening before the practice of agriculture. With this stage everything depended primarily on the hunting of animals and the collecting of wild fruits and vegetables. Basically, this stage of civilization was a nomadic one, and cultures consisted of little more than tribal norms and traditions. The preagricultural stage had not developed agriculture as means of subsistence.

The agricultural stage simply relates to the growth and harvest of crops or plants. This civilization stage deals with activities such as loosening the soil, seeding, watering, moving plants when they grow bigger and harvesting among others. Minus all these mentioned activities outlined crops can’t be grown. The main steps for agricultural practices include preparation of soil, sowing, adding manure and fertilizers, irrigation, harvesting and storage. All the mentioned activities are what is involved in the agricultural stage of societal development.

The third and last stage of civilization is the industrial civilization. This stage refers to the state of civilization following the industrial revolution, characterized by wide spread use of powered machines. Such a civilization is mostly dependent on fossil fuel, with efforts underway to find alternatives for energy production. With the industrial type of civilization, society transforms itself from primarily agricultural society to an economy based on manufacturing. Industrial civilization refers to the broader state of civilization which spans multiple societies. The industrial revolution ushered in the industrial civilization. The modern world evolved further following development in mass production and information technology allowing service the economy and information society. Industrialization is the process of any individual or area been transformed. Industrial civilization is only having regions that still benefit from industrial societies without being industrialized themselves or having specialized in other ways. For example, service economies.

Characteristics of Civilization

In this section I will focus on religiosity, worldview, dynamism and heterogeneity as the common characteristic of civilization.

No civilization is known to have existed without religious activities. Some civilizations were monotheistic, while others were polytheistic. The former civilizations believe in the existence of one God, such as Islamic civilization. The later are civilizations which believe in many gods and engaged in ancestral worship. They also believe in superstitions. Most civilizations were polytheistic, for example, they believed that natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, volcanos were all caused by invincible forces. Despite the differences among civilizations in beliefs and practices, religion was and continue to be the center to the lives of people as it provides answers to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything.

Worldview is one of the things that differentiate a civilization from other civilizations. A worldview of civilization refers to the set of beliefs held by a particular nation or community see and interpret the world. World here refers to everything that exists around man including the unseen. Man is also part of worldview.

By dynamism here we mean evolution and growth. Dynamic basically means they are forever changing, absorbing new nutrients such as culture and religion and advancing with time. They are complex and their lifespan is that they come into existence by rising and flourishing and going out of existence by a slow process which covers decades or even centuries.

Heterogeneity basically means being a characteristic of civilization we mean they are multiculture, multi-religious and multi-ethical. Civilizations are urban societies with diverse, heterogeneous muscles, strongly bound together by networks of intense habitual interactions, especially politics, military and economic. Therefore, the benefits of civilization cannot be restricted to few individuals or be limited to certain groups, races, nations – this is one of the things that distinguish humans from other species.

Importance of Civilization

Every civilization, regardless of the creed by which it is characterized, has two facets namely, material and spiritual. Civilization denotes both material and moral values and also infrastructure (material) and superstructure (spiritual). Civilization is an advanced stage in social development that fully supports the education, spiritual, and physical development of its people, with technological advancements for the enhancement of the society, in accordance with the needs of the people. The relationship between the material and spiritual aspects of civilization is like the two sides of a coin: one cannot exist without the other. The fact still remains: there has been no great civilization without spiritual aspect to it. This characteristic of civilization (body and spirit) is a reflection of the nature of human being. Example is that of matter and spirit. In view of the fact that matter and spirit are the necessary elements of every civilization, it is not an exaggeration to say that civilization is a signification of a society’s material and spiritual achievements. It is the attainment of both material well-being and the elevation of the human spirit. The material aspect of civilization entails a wide range of physical items and beings such as monuments, cities, gardens, artwork and tools or machines. It is everything that has a physical form or shape. They indicate human progress and development. To put it briefly, they denote the advancement of knowledge; they are the fruits of knowledge or human creativity.

The spiritual aspect of civilization is the nonmaterial objects. It includes beliefs, ideologies, traditions, ethics, morals and values. Here are some of the examples of ethics that form the foundation upon which a civilization is structured: love, kindness, truthfulness, selflessness, compassion, integrity, honesty, loyalty, reliability, respect, fairness, responsibility, hospitality and dedication. Ethics is the set of moral principles that are universally accepted.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we can say, although civilization makes us human beings lose some grip of individual happiness and freedom, these losses are insignificant compared to all of the benefits we receive from being a part of it. When we look closely at the structure of civilization, we are able to prove that indeed human being’s survival actually depends on it. Living a grouping setup really encouraged early humans to be compassionate to each other. They would warn each other of any dangers, and thus protected each other in the end. As humans helped each other they begun to move away from their more aggressive behavior. Now imagine if we ever revert back to the aggressive behavior, we feel guilty reason been the civilization we are in today does not condone such behaviors. Thus, civilization can be seen as a necessary evil although it limits us in so many ways but without civilization the human race would never be able to survive.

“Civilization is not something absolute, but relative. Our ideas and concepts are true only so far as our civilization goes” (Franz Boas, anthropologist).

Before I break to the discussion, I would like to talk about the major key words in this context. Civilization is basically a group of people that have similar beliefs and rituals. It’s not only restricted to beliefs and rituals; civilizations could also be people with similar economic or socio-political backgrounds, and could also be divided in different cities in the world, rather than being restricted to one single city. When I say absolute, I mean something that is the same universally, regardless of any factor such as place, economy, political system, etc. When I say relative, I mean it’s subjective to different factors and differs from place to place and time to time depending on the situation at that given point of time.

Coming to the argument. I do agree to the statement that civilization is not something absolute. Civilization is relative as it changes overtime as we humans constantly develop and evolve from our beliefs, surroundings and lifestyle to something better than what we were. The first humans weren’t born the way we are today in the 21st century. We’ve had many civilizations before us who have worked for a better future and have evolved from what they were. Each and every civilization had different beliefs and is different in its own way, just as we differ from the past civilizations.

Similarly, each and every civilization has their own beliefs and rituals that they follow. And it is not necessary that those rituals and beliefs are accepted and followed other groups or civilizations. Each and every civilization takes these things in a different way. For example, there are still some rituals that are followed by some religious groups since ancient times that people today frown upon. One of them being the ‘baby tossing’ ritual, that is followed in South India since the past 700 years, especially in the state of Karnataka. In this ritual the baby is tossed in the air from the top of a temple to people who are waiting below the temple with a cloth to catch the baby. It is believed to bring good luck to the community. Just like any antient ritual, this seems like an odd thought. How would it bring luck to the community by putting a baby’s life in danger? There are a lot of people or religious groups, not only in India but also outside the country that frown upon this ritual, depending upon their beliefs.

Another such example is the ritual of ‘human sacrifice’, that is followed in parts of Africa and India. In this ritual people kill a fellow human being or better known as sacrifice his/her life by killing or murdering one or more human beings on holy occasions. It is believed to be done as offering to God on these occasions. Just like the other antient rituals this seems odd. How is the killing of a human being in anyway good towards humanity? Like all other rituals, this is also frowned upon by other religious groups and people as their beliefs differ from them.

Coming to the conclusion, I do agree to the above statement given by Franz Boas. Each and every civilization or religious group has their own beliefs and rituals and is not absolute. Their beliefs and rituals are true only to the extent of their civilization or religion. Difference in civilizations is not only restricted to rituals and beliefs, but also to economic factors and socio-political factors that change from time to time.

Why are we labeling people? Why are we involuntarily biased? On the off chance that you arranged too many arbitrarily chosen individuals from over the earth, none of them would share the same skin tone or religion. You could classify them from darkest to lightest or from Muslim countries to Western countries. There would be too many reasons that lead us to label people classifications like ‘dark’ and ‘white’. These classifications are the same as a believer or disbeliever, labeling and classifying is one problem but the question that led by this problem happened to be bigger, which is the clash of civilizations. We shouldn’t classify people by their skin color or religion. There is another problem occurring. What are the reasons for the clash of civilizations? The cause of the clash of civilizations is ignoring. The fact that states have different historical backgrounds, languages, cultures, traditions, and religions, and how this ignorance happens? It happens through classification to decide the social, political, and financial prosperity of the individuals, as Huntington does.

Samuel P. Huntington’s (1993) article ‘The Clash of Civilizations’ acknowledged that the extraordinary divisions among mankind and the dominating origin of disagreement will be cultural. Nation-states will remain the most dominant performing artists in world undertakings, however, the primary clashes of worldwide governmental issues will happen among countries and gatherings of various civilizations. The conflict of human progress will mandate worldwide global politics. Conflicts between cultures will be more problematic in the future (p.22). However, I believed that these differences would lead countries to more diverse humanity, and this variability helps a livable place for citizens. If there is a person that comes from different cultures, this helps to defend minority rights and lead the country to a more democratic place.

In accordance with Samuel P. Huntington (1993), “European communities will share cultural features that distinguish them from Arab or Chinese communities”. He discriminates against people and has double standards toward the West. In some dimensions, for example, basic interests and advanced expertise unite in manners that give the lie to a promote limit among the West and Islam yet. In addition, over a wide span of time state nothing of the actual ideas of personality and nationality, about which there are unending differences and discussion. I believe these classifications of the West and Islam do not apply to the current world problem. This problem should solve over the years, but it wouldn’t, because people always tend to classify each other, therefore there will be always a good or bad side. For instance, if you called yourself ‘us’, ‘others’ would be a bad side. This is the same as religion and skin color. Obviously, there shouldn’t have a bad or good side of society or community or between people.

In agreement with Huntington (1993), “Civilization is the highest cultural grouping of the people, and the broadest level of cultural identity people have short of that which distinguishes humans from other species” (p.24). He assisted that conflicts come from cultures. I disagree with this argument because Huntington’s classification is not based on a cultural criterion, and classifying countries such as the West or Islam is not a correct idea to support. If we are living in the laciest world, we shouldn’t discriminate against Islam as well. Huntington refers to Islam as a not only country but also people. Even if he suggests the East instead of Islam, this would be more understandable or ignorable. In that case, we couldn’t think he is labeling people and states. We would understand that he refers to the geographic location of nations.

To sum up, labeling is one of the most basic forms of categorizing people without taking a holistic approach as a human, without listening and thinking. First of all, this movement is the main reason for conflict, separation, and alienation within society. A utopia where all people respect each other and are not stigmatized and labeled because of their looks will indeed only remain as a utopia. It is impossible for a person who thinks with mental labels to categorize people, to treat people like an item rather than a person with good intentions. For whatever reason, it is not right to label human beings as things that are not rational, with innumerable factors such as social environment, mood, and instant variability. Muslim or atheist, wearing the headscarf or mini skirt, was born in the East or West, skin color white or black is the most common form of labeling. We don’t need such labels for each other, these do not help us understand each other. If people can’t live without categorizing, they should tie their eyes to avoid labeling. Speaking of classifying people, it does not appropriate without thinking about racism. It’s prejudiced to argue that physical differences between races create differences in people’s abilities and that some races are superior to others. These views are based on the classifications that distinguish people as white, black, yellow, brown, and red according to the color of their skin. In some cases, ethnicity and national origin can be subject to racist people. To brief, I don’t agree the Huntington’s discriminated idea about the West and others, because at that moment we start to categorize cultures, nations, and individuals. That discrimination brings immutable effects on all parts of society.

The technology that will be analysed for this task is equipment used for astronomy in the ancient world, it will be more a general topic and focus more overall on their astronomy rather than just one piece of technology used, also a lot of the technology isn’t necessarily machines. They created a lot of models of the earth and space which helped them with their observations and discoveries. The 2 cultures I will be comparing this technology between are the Greeks and the Romans. The reason I have chosen astronomy equipment as my ancient technology is because although it may not be as recognised as many other ancient technologies or advancements, but astronomy and astronomical equipment and technology played a critical part in understanding our world and universe which lead to many advancements in astronomy and science itself.

I believe that the ancient Greeks had superior astronomical technology and were overall better and more advanced in the field of astronomy compared to the Romans.

What is technology? Technology is (the study and knowledge of) the practical, especially industrial, use of scientific discoveries. As defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary. Most people think of technology in a modern sense but in reality, technology has been around for thousands of years all the way back to ancient time in the form of things like immigration and machines to weapons and combat tactics. The technology that will be discussed in this task will be astronomy which will be compared and analysed in the ancient civilisations of Greece and Rome.

For the Greeks, astronomy was definitely one of their strong suits. At this point in time around the world the main kind of astronomy was observational astronomy. Greece took a leap ahead of other civilisations ins this area by attempting to construct a model of the universe which would be accountable for observations. With this model they investigated every single believable option, they considered a wide range of answers for the different cosmic issues they ran over. They foresee numerous thoughts of present-day cosmology as well as a portion of their thoughts suffered for around two centuries. Pythagoras is attributed as the main Greek to think the earth round, yet this thought was most likely established on spiritualist reasons instead of logical.

The Pythagoreans discovered decisive proof for a round earth after it was found that the moon sparkles by reflecting light, and the correct clarification for obscuration’s was found. The world’s shadow on the moon’s surface proposed that the state of our planet was round. The most talented and respected Greek astronomer in ancient history, Hipparchus of Nicea had achieved so much during his time and possibly played one of the largest roles in ancient Greek astronomy. Hipparchus successfully determined the length of the lunar month with a blunder of short of what one second and evaluated the sun powered year with a mistake of six minutes. He made an index of the sky giving the places of 1080 stars by expressing their exact divine scope and longitude. One of the most important pieces of technology was Ptolemy’s Almagest. The Almagest is an enormous work on stargazing. It contains geometrical models connected to tables by which the developments of the heavenly bodies could be determined inconclusively. All Greco-Babylonian cosmic accomplishments are condensed in this work. It incorporates an index containing more than 1,000 fixed stars. The cosmology of the Almagest would overwhelm western space science for the 14 centuries to come. In spite of the fact that not flawless, it had adequate precision to stay acknowledged until the Renaissance.

Ancient Rome also made large contributions to the world of ancient astronomy, Roman astronomy helped individuals acknowledge and comprehend thoughts regarding the universe. And possibly the most famous astronomer in history was technically a Roman, Ptolemy. Ptolemy was of Greek descent however he lived in the Roman province of Egypt and during his time he had mapped out over 1000 stars, he also studied and learnt about planets and stars and how they move. Due to Ptolemy mapping out so many stars it became much easier for people to give directions and make maps which inevitably gave the Romans a greater knowledge of the world around them.

Possibly the best-known manifestation of ancient Roman astronomy is the Julian calendar. The Julian calendar originally proposed by the great Julius Caesar evolved from the beginning of what was a basic sequence of indigenous festivals in relation to the seasonal year for farmers, then turned out to be progressively formalized as Roman culture turned out to be progressively urbanized. From the outset the municipal schedule depended on the stage cycles of the moon, however it confronted progressively major issues in escaping step with the occasional year in light of political obstruction during the time spent intercalation. This finished in 45 B.C.E. in the change from a lunar to a sun-oriented schedule, partitioning the year into ‘a year’ that were in certainty totally free of the moon. Although Roman astronomy played. Quite a big role in astronomy in ancient history, there was really no incredible advancements in philosophical cosmology or scientific space science rise in the Roman world or at least not ones that are well known by modern historians. Roman astronomy, it appears, was increasingly practical in nature, frequently personally bound up with prognostication and astrology.

After thorough study and research, it has become conclusive that the Greeks were in fact predominant in the province of ancient astronomy over the Romans. This was due to a few factors, firstly the Greeks had superior technology during their respective era’s which lead them to having a greater understanding of the earth and our universe. Thus, confirming my hypothesis was correct which stated, “I believe that the ancient Greeks had superior astronomical technology and were overall better and more advanced in the field of astronomy compared to the Romans.”

Bibliography

1. Ancient Greek Astronomy and Cosmology | Modeling the Cosmos | Articles and Essays | Finding Our Place in the Cosmos: From Galileo to Sagan and Beyond | Digital Collections | Library of Congress. Retrieved 15 October 2019, from https://www.loc.gov/collections/finding-our-place-in-the-cosmos-with-carl-sagan/articles-and-essays/modeling-the-cosmos/ancient-greek-astronomy-and-cosmology
2. N, A. (2013). Roman Astronomy and Astrology. Retrieved 15 October 2019, from http://what-when-how.com/ancient-astronomy/roman-astronomy-and-astrology/
3. N, A. (2016). Ancient Roman Astronomy. Retrieved 15 October 2019, from https://ancientromancontribution.weebly.com/ancient-roman-astronomy.html
4. Violatti, C., & Violatti, C. (2013). Greek Astronomy. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15 October 2019, from https://www.ancient.eu/Greek_Astronomy/

Expressionism played a very important role in the artistic scene of Germany, primarily occurring at the onset of the 20th century. It talks about humanity’s role on earth and with each other, and how broader society alienates individuals, while also trying to give off empathy and compassion artists had for each other. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, a silent horror film directed by Robert Wiene can be used as a prime example of the permanence of the expressionist movement in this time of Germany’s history, as well as acting as a leaping point to further popularize the traits of the artistic style. The film’s narrative is surrounded by strange and dark scenes, warping common sights and sounds in an unimaginable barrage of ideas and images. There is always a feeling of unease and intentional surrealism that makes the audience feel uneasy. It brings in the idea of evil and wickedness into the narrative and the people who inhabit a dark, angular world as well. The visuals connect with the internal struggles of the German people. As the film shows the stifling of life and extreme and corrupt order, the Germans felt the same way. The people of Germany had to endure the hardships with the trauma of extreme violence and loss of life post WW1. The films gloomy tones and angular style doesn’t just intend to represent the loss of life that occurred after WW1, but also the loss of freedoms and happiness citizens would have felt before the war. Germans were forced to work for the politicians running their government, just as Dr. Caligari manipulates individuals within the film to do his bidding. While Dr. Caligari is just a single human, the film uses expressionism and its different reality to show that for the characters and the actual citizens of Germany, their tough ways of living were not able to come to an end. Through his film, Robert Weine saw the plight of his fellow German man; the feelings of loneliness and loss of control over one’s life. Instead, they felt like they had been put in a dark reality, asking to the one The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari takes place in.

Expressionism aims to change reality into one that on face-value would not be recognized but is on an emotional level. Within the medium, the same features continually are used, and a pattern is used to identify if a work falls under this exact movement. There is a very distinct emphasis on the distortion of the overall piece. No matter how far removed the visuals may seem from one’s own life, it should still offer a tiny look into the views of the artists. The expressionist movement takes one’s worst feelings and turns them into something you can see. The medium allowed different artists to take their confusion and beliefs and create a very different version of them. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a vehicle for this tendency in Weine, who takes the low morale of the Germans and lets people watch the amazing visuals. It shows the Germans being forced into acts of violence and war against their own well-being, just as Dr. Caligari does to character such as Cesare.

With such a striking and violate display of emotions in his film, and the darkness that Weine places his characters in, it’s not far-fetched to take away an anti-government message from the piece. The displeasure towards the choices of the leaders of Germany at the time, especially concerning the war and the deaths it caused, is portrayed in full-force on the screen. Their authority is questioned, as the decisions they made for the country only seemed to further its problems and weigh on its citizens. Whether it be the inability to properly rebuild the nation after the destruction it faced, the financial and economic depression it fell into, or the overall disrespect it showed for the citizens who struggled through WW1, Germany was falling apart at the seams. As citizens lost hope, a film that represented these feelings was inevitable, and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was one of the first films to fill that need. Characters were constructed as stand ins for the German people, especially Cerasee, who dies from being overworked and complete exhaustion. Authority had become too much for the Germans, and they felt like the end of their society and lives was constantly near.

The film at its core aims to create and dark and oppressive visualization of the German population unhappiness over their economic and cultural predicament. It also aims to show the oppressive nature of the German government post-WW1. In a sense, watching the film is like viewing someone’s fever-dream or nightmare, and is intentionally separate from reality. By adding the framing device present at the beginning and end of the film, this message of uncertainty and surrealism is undermined. Rather than being a clear depiction of joylessness and conformity, it instead actually conforms in its own way to the audience and what traditional art is intended to be. It makes the message too obvious, and takes away possible interpretations of its themes from those who view it. With the narrative frame gone, the film would be a pure expression of emotion and anger. Instead, while it still holds a deep meaning and has been incredibly influential in art and how we view Germany at this time, it is still relegated to following the rules and expectations of film. While the message is received, the way it is packaged is far too traditional for what it aims to accomplish.

Introduction

Modern technologies have led to the development of the internet. The internet is currently important because it has resulted in enormous changes in the way human beings exchange ideas, communicate, shop, and even work. The internet has made the world a very small village thereby promoting economic development and information broadcasting.

The use of the internet is changing the world at a fascinating rate. Modern civilization is taking shape through the internet and telecommunications. With this in mind, this essay explains the idea that the internet is currently the heart of modern telecommunication. Telecommunications are the nervous system and circulatory system of this whole process.

The Internet as the Heart of Modern Civilization

It is without doubts that the internet is bringing enormous changes in our world. Because of this, many people have agreed that the internet has continued to have enormous impacts on the lives of many people today. The first instance of civilization is the way people communicate.

Communication is one of the primary uses of modern technologies including the internet. The world has witnessed the increasing benefits of the internet through the quality and frequency of human interaction and interpersonal relations. People are now communicating easily and comfortable because of the internet (Gorp, 2007, p. 27). Proper communication leads to societal integrations thereby resulting satisfaction and happiness.

In business, activities such as transportation and communication are relevant towards the success of the organization. Modern civilization has promoted the way business partners exchange ideas and information. The civilization process is also promoting transportation and logistics among businesses partners. With the internet, it is easier to communicate instantly thereby determine the products to be transported and the time they should be delivered.

The internet is therefore playing an enormous role towards new civilization (Targowski, 2008, p. 8). When organizations, people, and businesses are communicating effectively and instantly, it becomes possible to promote the best ideas and strategies. This will definitely promote civilization as it is happening in the world today.

Information is necessary if we are to achieve new ideas and promote civilization. The internet is currently providing doctors, scientists, architects and engineers with immediate information in their specific fields. The information is necessary because it is helping them advance their ideas and understanding about the subject (Targowski, 2008, p. 14).

This development is increasing the potential to address most of the problems faced in the different fields of study. The result is that society has become very civilized and developed. These are the positive results of internet use. Students in different colleges and institutions are finding the internet effective in exchanging information and technologies. This has improved the speed at which our world is becoming civilized.

Civilization has a unique relationship with globalization. The world is becoming small because people are finding it easier to communicate and exchange their views across the globe. Some of the unique characteristics of globalization include fast exchange of information, improvement of trade, and promotion of policies with global relevance. Different countries are now shifting to global business because of the services provided by modern technologies.

The internet is making it possible to send notifications and e-mails (Gorp, 2007, p. 42). The ability to communicate is a backbone towards civilization. The internet has connected all the nations in the world. This has increased the level of communication and integration. As a result, the information exchanged through the internet provides businesses, learning institutions, and organizations with resourceful ideas and information used to promote modern civilization.

Globalization is also defining new ways of doing business and addressing global problems. Currently we have different societies getting global support through the available means of communication. The internet is making it easier to communicate, implement policies and offer educational support to different individuals (King, 2009, p. 48). This has empowered the societies thereby addressing most of the problems addressing them.

The internet is making most of the information in the developed nations available to the underdeveloped societies. With this information, these nations are relying on the available ideas to promote their activities in agriculture, management of the economy, and implementation of policies capable of promoting sustainability.

Because of this, the rate at which our world continues to get civilized is very interesting. Most of the modern technologies such as computer innovations and movie productions rely on the internet for development. The invention of the internet is currently presenting new strategies whereby companies are marketing their products and delivering them to their clients (Spielvogel, 2008, p. 48).

This has improved international and local businesses thus developing different economies in the world. Although different technologies are not related to the internet, it is agreeable that the technology has made it possible for such civilizations to be realized. This is because different scientists and engineers are relying different methods of communication to exchange their skills and promote the best practices that will promote economic prosperity.

The social media emerging from internet use has made it possible for individuals to interact and exchange their ideas to promote civilization. With this in mind, different people have relied on the advantages of the internet to communicate, develop, and promote the best incentives capable of presenting global civilization (Mumford, 2010, p. 63). The internet has become the heart of the new civilization emerging in the world today.

With the internet, different successes have occurred in various sectors of the economy such as market, communication, transportation, and production industries. With these developments in place, the world easily fighting most of the hardships and challenges faced in different societies such as inequality and poverty.

In our world today, modern civilization does not depend on the integrity of architectural designs and landscapes. This is based on the way people communicate and exchange their concepts and ideas. With the internet, it is now possible to communicate and explore the best concepts that will lead to better human integration.

New civilizations are continuing to make human life comfortable and enjoyable than ever before (Mozaffari, 2012, p. 15). Currently, the number of people relying on the internet is growing at an amazing rate. With this trend, the world will get more civilized and improve the way we address most of the problems and challenges faced in life.

Through social media, communication is becoming meaningful and instant. As a result, the balance of power in the global village is shifting due to the effects on communication. Through the internet, different societies have exchanged their views thereby bringing down most of the regimes that seem to oppress them (Mumford, 2010, p. 19).

A good example is the revolution that took place in Libya. The revolution ended to a regime that had oppressed the country. The effects of social media on modern communication is currently shifting balance of power in our global village. As more people continue to rely on the internet, it becomes easier to address the problems faced in the society and lead to new developments and civilization.

The internet and telecommunications have developed together. With the internet being the heart of civilization today, telecommunications are the nervous system and circulatory system of this wave of modernity. The modern means of communication such as computers and phones are effective in enabling communication today. These telecommunication devices also support internet-based applications thereby making communication possible.

Many people are today relying on different telecommunications to exchange ideas and knowledge thereby making it possible to become civilized (Mozaffari, 2012, p. 12). These technologies have improved different methods of communication through which different societies have achieved greater developments in the economy. The internet and telecommunication form a synergistic structure capable of improving human advancement and civilization.

Conclusion

The internet is presently the heart of human civilization. Many people are relying on the internet to promote economic activities, exchange ideas, and communicate amongst themselves. The internet educates and informs many people about the changes in the society. Through the internet, the human race has become highly civilized thereby addressing most of the challenges facing them. The internet is used hand-in-hand with telecommunications.

This is the reason different forms of communication are the nervous system of this new civilization. If the world is to be civilized and be able to address the economic and social problems faced today, there is need to embrace the benefits of the internet because this will ensure the economic progress of the world. It is also necessary to promote different forms of telecommunications because they will promote human civilization.

List of References

Gorp, L 2007. Integrate the Internet Across the Content Areas, Prentice Hall, New Jersey.

King, M 2009. Western civilization: a social and cultural history, The Free Press, New York.

Mozaffari, M 2012. Globalization and civilizations, John Wiley and Sons, New York.

Mumford, L 2010. Technics and Civilization, McGraw Hill, New York.

Spielvogel, J 2008. Western Civilization: To 1500, Oxford University Press, New York.

Targowski, A 2008. Information technology and societal development, Longman, New York.

Gail Bederman’s piece entitled “Remaking manhood through race and civilization” is an important contribution to the study of race relations and power. Bederman said that authority comes from power and power emanates from gender and race.

The author explained this idea by first choosing a context to focus on and in that regard she chose to look at how turn-of-the-century Americans understood the source of power. Gender and race was simplified even further into identity and body. In that era it means that white male with the physique of a world heavyweight boxing champion is the standard for manhood.

This is why in the beginning of the discussion Bederman chose to illustrate her ideas by revisiting boxing history’s most infamous fight of 1910 when Jack Johnson the first African American heavyweight champion defeated Jim Jeffries, the former undisputed ruler of the heavyweight division. The defeat of Jeffries shattered the myth about manhood and therefore conventions about power and authority.

Bederman worked backwards tracing the historical development of how Americans came to perceive authority and she said that first of all it is all about race, then gender. He clarified even further that once a society has accepted race as the basis of power then it was time to identify the specific individuals who can wield that power and in turn-of-the-century America no one has the right to hold power except white men.

However, no ordinary white man can wield power, he must first satisfy the criteria of manliness and these criteria is not only based on physical attributes it is also the byproduct of civilization. Bederman made critical assessments of several theories to strengthen her argument.

With regards to race as the prerequisite for wielding power she pointed out a long-held belief stating that only white men had the capability had the racial genius for self-government and this justified the way they subjugated the darker races (Bederman 22). This is why every opportunity is given to the white males of American society while African Americans receive none.

Bederman said that aside from the fact that race and gender is the most important requirement to open doors of opportunities it is not enough to be male to ascend to the top of the pile. In this regard the author made a critique of the assumption about manhood that it is unchanging, passed on from one generation to the next (Bederman 7).

She argued that it is a product of an ideological process and concluded that civilization is the reason why there is a cultural and racial contstruct when it comes to manhood (Bederman 29). This is why there were different ideals of manliness through American history. In 1910 power was reserved not only to white males but white men who possess the necessary characteristics that would allow them to rule effectively.

Bederman’s insight with regards to how turn-of-the-century American society were able to understand and utilize concepts of authority and power is an important contribution to the study not only of politics but also of race relations in the early part of the 20th century. However, the ideas from this article can also be applicable to the general study of human history especially when it comes to how a society transfer power to an individual and why the public will support that person.

This work is also very insightful when it comes to how the attitudes of people were influenced by an invisible ideological process that can shape the way people think about a thing or a person. A clear understanding of this ideological process can therefore help in correcting errors of thinking that made life undesirable for many people.

Works Cited

Bederman, Gail. “Remaking Manhood through race and civilization”. Manliness and

Civilization: A Cultural History of Gender and Race in the United States 1880- 1917. Ed. Gail Bederman. University of Chicago Press, 1995. 1-44. Print.

In 1927, Sigmund Freud wrote the book, Civilization and Its Discontents. It is among the most famous works of Freud and has been in circulation in all parts of the world. Civilization and its Discontents talks about Freud’s views on the primary tension that exist between human beings and civilization.

In this book he states that the instinctive will of individuals such as the desire to commit a crime are controlled by the setting of laws (that prohibit such vices) by civilization. In 1955, Herbert Marcuse wrote the book, Eros and civilization, which is a social critic of Freud’s Civilization and its Discontents.

In this book, he attempts to combine the theories of Freud to the ones of Max. Between 1976 and 1984, the French philosopher Michael Foucault wrote the book, The History of Sexuality. This book touches on Freud’s views on civilization and provides a different angle to the same as opposed to Marcuse’s opinion. The main aim of writing this paper is to outline the concepts laid out by Freud in Civilization and its Discontents and then use the works of Marcuse and Foucault to critique the same.

In his book, Freud generally defines the id as an accumulation of feelings. His implication is that there is no boundary between self and the environment. Human beings can act in accordance to their feelings without considering effects of the same on the external environment. The same is true for the environment against an individual. The actions of people and that of their external environment may disagree with the laws and standards of the society. Freud continues to say that the only thing that intermediate between the environment and an individual is the ego.

The ego has a responsibility of controlling requirements of natural instincts and deciding which one to satisfy against others.^[1] On top of that, the ego decides on the particular time that an instinct demanded by self is satisfied. The id gives rise to the ego via the principles of pleasure and reality. Fraud defines the pleasure principle as pain out, pleasure in. This implies that it is the natural instinct of humans to acquire maximum pleasure while with a minimum amount of discomfort.

The desires to have fun and become comfortable dominate within the desires of self. As soon as ego is developed, an individual discovers the importance of external environment and tries to match their actions to conform to the boundaries that the society lays. On top of that, the individual realizes that pleasure is not always achieved and thus the need to adjust in order to fit.

According to Freud, the ego does not only try to create a state of equilibrium between self and the realities of the society, but also between the id and the super ego. Freud defines the super ego as that which eventually forms within the individual as they grow older (become parents) or the society in future.

Some refer to this super ego as the conscious. It has the responsibility of threatening and judging the ego. In reality, an individual in such a scenario reflects on the consequences of conforming to their desires. The super ego thus develops the principle of reality and makes it embedded within an individual.

Freud relates all instincts of an individual to their sexual instincts (libido) and the instincts of being aggressive. According to him, the two work hand in hand against one another. They define the actions of individuals and are thus crucial in life. The amount of aggression during sex can make an individual to engage in criminal activities such as murder and rape.

Freud states that the society comes up with laws and regulations (super ego) whose functions are to control the capabilities of the libido. It is therefore only natural that there exists constant conflict between an individual and the society. Due to this, civilization deprives individuals of their liberty by making them to work.

Freud said that civilization repress the instincts that make an individual have the desire for pleasure while diverting instinctual energy to hard work. According to him, this repression was created by external necessity. Man has to work in order to survive and stay alive.

Marcuse agrees that much as natural scarcity compels people to work, repression is not all natural. He (Marcuse) argues that there exists social repression. The availability of technology created a desire to produce a surplus in the society. People are forced to work so that a surplus is generated.

People work to create more than is necessary so that eventually toil becomes instinct.^[2] Marcuse adds that natural repression brought about by scarcity has been conquered and the desire for abundance taken effect. A world of pleasure has been created by the use of automation which has reduced unnecessary toil. According to Marcuse, the repression that currently exists is imposed by the society rather than nature.

Freud discovered the instrument of socio-political organization. This instrument is the instinct and the desire to satisfy the self. The concern of “One-dimensional man” is how this discovery has been implemented by the ruling class. Marcuse said that the ruling class intentionally came up with the “One-dimensional man” to use Freud’s views to control the working class.

He argues that advancement in technology has not only created a non-repressive society of surplus, but also initiated a way of manipulating the people into being contented with the current system. Workers have not just been made to acknowledge capitalism, but their biological nature has been alienated to necessitate it.

Foucault neither solely dwell on psycho-analytic concept of Freud nor the social model of Marcuse but employs the concept of sado-masochism. Sado-masochism stem from two words, sadism and masochism which means pleasure in creating pain and pleasure in receiving pain respectively.

He repeatedly discussed repression in a way that distinguishes his concept from that of Marcuse and Freud. Foucault said that Marcuse exaggerated a lot on repression. That repression was taken by Freud and Marcuse to be negative. He added that the positive aspect of repression should be considered in the society. According to him, repression signified power. Foucault gave an example that a lot of institutions were successful as a result of repression.

In the light of the work of Marcuse, it is hard to say that the character of power and repression in individuals is simply realized after viewing them positively. Foucault realized that it is crucial to transform the views of people on repression and power in a positive perspective.^[3] Power give rise to pleasure and pleasure relates to sexual desires. Power should be controlled in the society to make it productive. Controlling sexuality of the society would effectively lead to the stability of its economy.

The major difference between Foucault and Marcuse is that Marcuse wants to reduce the notion of pleasure and sex to be negligible while Foucault wants to remove it completely. Both Marcuse and Foucault agree that the character of an individual’s life is crucial within the society.

Footnotes

1. Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents. London: Penguin, 2002.
2. Marcuse, Herbert. Eros and Civilization, 2nd edition. London: Routledge, 1987
3. Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality Vol. 1: The Will to Knowledge. London: Penguin, 1990.

The idea of Black Friday is not new in the United States, as well as in many other countries. As soon as Thanksgiving Day is over, the next 24 hours can be used by people to enjoy unbelievable sales and buy millions of good with impressive discounts. Some citizens find this opportunity impressive and unique. Many people believe that Black Friday is one of the best commercial decisions ever made. There are also groups of people who like to discuss the worth of this event and its possible effects on people. Andrew Leonard’s article “Black Friday: Consumerism Minus Civilization” is based on the claim that “healthy consumerism becomes out-of-control marketing-driven commodity fetishism” (p. 166). This author likes to investigate numerous positive and negative aspects of Black Friday in order not to define the outcome of the event, but to explain that it is possible to have both normal and wrong understanding of how to spend the Friday after Thanksgiving.

In the article under discussion, the author does not hurry up to develop one particular position and convince the reader to accept it. On the one hand, there are several sentences about how powerful and interesting Black Friday commercials can be found on YouTube. Many “vigorous sprees of retail spending” can be approved and supported as a possibility to protect and improve the US economy (Leonard 165). Consumerism is a powerful tool to make as many goods and services available to ordinary people as possible. On the other hand, the author says that people have already gone too far and cannot stop, turning their actions and decisions into insanity (Leonard 166). It is hard to understand the limitations that can be appropriate and reasonable. Leonard refers to the commercials with a Craze Target Lady who represents the whole America with its passion to use Black Friday to its full possible extent.

Unfortunately, not all people who are ready to spend one day and one night at such shops as Wal-Mart, Kohl’s, or Target recognize themselves in the image of that Crazy Lady. This is what Leonard wants to underline in his article claiming that it is normal to use Black Friday as the period of sales to find an interesting good at an affordable price. However, when people are ready to spend a sleepless night just to get a chance and buy a thing, the rationality of such decision turns out to be equal to zero, being used with such epithets as “scary”, “wrong”, or “insane” (Leonard 165). Therefore, using the ideas and statements offered by Leonard in the article and relying on the observations that can be made the day after Thanksgiving, it is possible to say that Black Friday has already become a significant and serious concept in modern society. Still, it is overrated. People should use this day as an opportunity to meet their personal needs as consumers, but not as a day to demonstrate their scariest skills, thoughts, and possibilities to compete and get the cheapest offers.

In general, the article by Andrew Leonard is an interesting and educative source full of evidence and personal judgments properly combined and supported. It is not enough to say that Black Friday is a good or bad discovery of the 20^th century that gained new standards at the beginning of the 21^st century. It is normal to have both positive and negative feelings for this event. The only thing that is required is to stay a human being even if one sale is missed.

Work Cited

Leonard, Andrew. “Black Friday: Consumerism Minus Civilization.” The Norton Field Guide to Writing, edited by Richard Bullock, W.W. Norton & Company, 2016, pp. 164-168.

Current essay is a literary attempt to assess modern moral conditions through the prism of prevailing sins of our Western civilization. Following the outstanding example of Dante we will fight with demons embedded in human souls using strict and effective contrapassi that is by finding the types of punishment they deserve and finally putting them into adequate niche in inferno.

As civilization developed traditional sins became ridiculous to it. To kill, to rob and plunder, to betray: these sins are banal, aren’t they? They are so wide-spread that God ultimately understood that it is useless to oppose devilish human nature and social conditions that nurtured it. If something is normal (remember etymology of the word ‘norm’) then it should be welcomed.

This covenant of Devil and all conformists should be learned well by Saints. Indeed, Devil is a conformist or may be a HR manager since he exploits those segments of human nature that are helpful in his struggles with God.

Generating and developing sins is his well-designed strategy of creating human capital in modern society which is in its own right may be described as under-Moon reincarnation of Inferno. The hell is not the other world: it is our world in which paradise became its another name. Sinners are no longer placed in inferno: they have created their own paradise: everything has mingled – what a devilish grimace!

In modern world sins became innocuous: instead of being something that is punished they are extensively sanctioned by society. Calvinist God said: ‘Be individualist, your fate is predetermined – if you become rich and respected it is a sign of your being blessed by me’. Judaist God said: ‘Banks should work on Saturday: it is necessary to maintain economy viable’; Pope said: ‘Folks, freedom is a great evil, Christ was a conservative, human history didn’t see uglier interpretation than those heretics made by saying that ‘The last will be the first’ – is a call for revolution’. All gods became demagogues and populists or better say – ideologists – it was really a great progress of our civilization.

Honestly saying, we, the new sinners, are puzzled by how to classify our sins. First of all, what are they?

The first great sin produced by modern civilization is apathy, depression, hypochondria, spleen – any other words for the same thing? It makes people indifferent to what happens in their life, to other people and what is more important to their company.

To punish these sinners we encloister them into the walls of modern corporation. You would probably ask: whether they are not there already? Yes! What an insightful person you are! They are already in hell and will stay there forever, unless… Every crime has its punishment, Crime and Punishment – remember what Dostoevsky told us! As Englishmen sing at Guy Fawkes Night: ‘A pint of beer to rinse it down/ A faggot of sticks to burn him/Burn him in a tub of tar/Burn him like a blazing star/Burn his body from his head/Hip hip hoorah!/Hip hip hoorah hoorah! Replace these ugly tortures with trainings, corporate ethics, motivation and you will receive modern tortures: not tortures of body but tortures of soul.

The second great sin produced by modern civilization is hypocrisy. Who is not hypocritical? May be you, my reader? Say yes : it would be a great testament of your sin. Hypocrisy is our daily sin: oh, how banal it is! How often do you sinners take off your ugly masks? You even can’t put them aside: so firmly they are stuck to your faces.

This devilish carnival called society is a paradise for hypocrisy and even mirrors are smiling with servile grimace. This sin is so wide-spread and rooted in the nature of the moderns that it is difficult to find appropriate punishment. Who will be left on this poor Earth if this punishment is executed? So let’s be merciful, punish them with our love, with our hypocrisy!

The third big modern sin is debauchery. Though it was characteristic of the entire history of civilization it didn’t see so widespread dominance of debauchery as we, the sinners, enjoy now. Debauchery was something prohibited by Catholic church, something that was punished severely.

All books and pictures depicting the scenes of debauchery were burnt in holy fire. Strict rules of morality didn’t allow debauchery to progress. This is not to say that there were no lust and debauchery at all. Naturally it is existed but what do we moderns see know? Debauchery debauches itself. It is sanctioned by society which is by large devoid of religious principles that dominated in the past.

Modern society is secular par excellence and this secularism generates debauchery exponentially to the decline of morality and religious spirit. Debauchery is everywhere: on TV, radio, mass culture, in naked women bodies used as a crude material for advertising. If in the past debauchery hided in the black corners of our imagination, today it is on the march. Moral purity becomes the exclusion; moreover it is ridiculous to modern obscene consciousness.

Those who were the paramount of humanity are now mocked out everywhere: mass culture is in avant-garde of this defamation campaign. It is difficult to imagine the sin uglier than the sin of lust and debauchery! But how lusty it is! Don’t think that we speak from the instance of moral authority. We speak from the instance of sin and here we are, all we – moderns!

Once again we are at odds, what is the punishment for this sin? Dante would probably invent one. But he was sinless, he was Christian. And we? We are the sinners who love our sins and the punishment we impose on others. So let’s be merciless in relation to debauchery of others! You, debauchers, you are not men, you are TV channels, stupid dolls producing noise on the scene, you are advertisers inciting foul motives! What a charade you are!!! What a fun to be here with you!

At last our travel through modern sins valley is over. Unlike Dante we didn’t use the metaphor of Hell and its religious connotations.

We, the modern sinners, are too realistic to believe in Inferno. We are even more realistic to believe in anything. We don’t even pretend that we are sinless. This word is omitted from our vocabularly and we don’t use it to reproach somebody but only to mock at people. The disintegration of religious consciousness has left us with cold science and utilitarian routine of our daily life. It is impossible to change it, unless…

Sin has transformed from a moral category into a joke, obscene one. What was a sin now is a law, what was a Hell now is Death, mere nothingness. The contrapassi that were designed by us for modern sinners are so humane: we just left them stay where they are: doing their jobs, seeking for career growth, realizing their individualistic desires.

‘These are not proper punishments’ – somebody would say and will be wrong: can anybody imagine more severe punishment than incarcerating poor God creatures in the castle of ‘the best of all possible worlds?!