Western culture
For the Henry Cow album of the same name, see Western Culture (album) Western culture or
Western civilization is a term used to refer to the
cultures of the people of
European origin and their descendants. It comprises the broad
heritage of
social norms,
ethical values,
traditional customs (such as
religious beliefs) and specific artifacts and technologies as shared within the
Western sphere of influence. The term "Western" is often used in contrast to
Asian,
African, or
Arab nations.
The East-West contrast is sometimes criticised as relativistic. In some ways it has grown out of use, or has been transformed or clarified to fit more precise uses. Though it is directly descendent from academic
Orientalism and
Occidentalism, the changing usage of the distinction "East-West" has come to be useful as a means to identify important cultural similarities and differences — both within an increasingly larger concept of local region, as well as with regard to increasingly familiar "alien" cultures.
During the
Cold War, the East-West contrast became synonymous with the competing governments of the
United States and the
Soviet Union and their allies — characterized in the West as a bipolar battle between the "
Free World" and the "
Communist Empire."
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Classical definition of the Western world: All of the depicted countries in blue were predominately influenced by Graeco-Roman culture and Christian and Enlightenment ideals and/or shaped by strong Western European immigration and settlement |
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Several Definitions of the Western world |
The concept of Western culture is generally linked to the
classical definition of Western world. In this definition, Western culture is the set of
literary,
scientific,
musical, and
philosophical principles which set it apart from other great civilizations. It applies to countries whose
history is strongly marked by Western European immigration or settlement, and is not restricted to Western Europe. Much of this set of traditions is collected in the
Western canon.
Various uses of the concept of ‘Western' Culture have included, rightly or wrongly, critiques of
American culture,
materialism,
industrialism,
capitalism,
commercialism,
hedonism,
imperialism,
modernism, or the teaching of
Western civilization.
The origins of Western Culture are often cited as
ancient Greece, the
Roman Empire, and
Catholic and
Protestant Christianity, and as such, some describe it as "
Judeo-Christian culture", neglecting the fundamental role of ancient and modern philosophy and
science. Its source also lies prominently in the
Germanic,
Slavic and
Celtic popular cultures that took part in the formation of the culture of medieval Europe.
Western culture has developed a plethora of
literary,
musical,
philosophical,
religious, and other traditions. Important traditions were:
*
Roman Catholicism and
Protestantism*
Scholasticism*
Humanism*
Renaissance*
Secularisation*
Rationalism and the
Scientific methodWestern Culture is not homogeneous, nor unchanging. As with all other great cultures it evolved and gradually changed with time. All generalities about it have their exceptions at some time and place. The organization and tactics of the Greek
Hoplites differed in many ways from the
Roman Legions. The
City State of the Greeks is not the same as the American
Superpower of the 21st century. The
gladiatorial games of the
Roman Empire are not identical to present-day
Soccer. The art of
Pompeii is not the art of
Hollywood. Nevertheless, it is possible to follow the evolution and history of the West, and appreciate it's similarities and differences, its borrowings from and contributions to, the other cultures of
Man.
The ancient Greek conception of
science,
philosophy,
democracy,
architecture,
literature, and
art provided a foundation embraced and built upon by the Roman Empire as it swept up Greece in its conquests in the 1st century BC. For five hundred years, the Roman Empire spread the
Greek and
Latin languages and
Roman law across Europe, although it rejected the democratic concepts pioneered in ancient Athens. Roman
culture mixed with the pre-existing
Germanic,
Slavic, and
Celtic cultures.
After the
fall of Rome much of Greco-Roman art, literature, science and even technology were lost. Europe fell into political anarchy, with many warring kingdoms and principalities, and evolved into
feudalism. The Greek and Roman
paganism was essentially completely replaced by
Christianity. Roman Catholic Christianity served as a unifying force in Western Europe, and in some respects replaced or competed with the secular authorities. Art and literature, law, education, and politics all fell into its sway. The
Church founded many
cathedrals,
monasteries and
seminaries, some of which evolved into today's universities and colleges. In the
Medieval period, the route to power for many men was in the Church.
It actively encouraged the spreading of Christianity, which also helped to spread early Western culture. Owing to the influence of
Arab cultureâ€"a culture that had preserved the knowledge of ancient Greece and Romeâ€"in
Moorish Spain and in the
Levant during the
Crusades, Western Europe rediscovered its Greek heritage in the 1300s, and the
Renaissance was born. From the early
15th century to the early
17th century Western culture began to be spread throughout the world by intrepid explorers and missionaries in the
Age of Discovery.
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The architecture of the White House deliberately recalls ancient Greek temples. |
Renaissance Western culture was spread to the
New World and beyond in the 1500s by
explorers,
traders,
missionaries and
colonists. The
Enlightenment of the 1700s, in turn, culminated politically in the
American Revolution and the
French Revolution. The
industrial revolution, which began in the last half of the eighteenth century in Great Britain, changed Western Culture to one that emphasized the notion of
progress, development and change, material well-being and, eventually,
consumerism, and transformed the world. The ideas of
civil rights,
equality before the
law,
procedural justice, and
democracy as the ideal form of
society, and were principles which formed the basis of modern Western culture.
In the 1800s, the
United States began to develop its own especially
pragmatic strain of Western culture and, by the middle of the twentieth century, had become a dominating influence, flooding the rest of the Western world and beyond with American fashion, entertainment, and technology.
Discipline became an important aspect of the western culture during the renaissance (see
Norbert Elias and
Michel Foucault). Emphasizing
civilized behaviour and disciplining is not special for the western culture. What is special in the western culture is the thoroughly separating and labeling of humans,
knowledge,
space and
time. Western discipline led to
military drill and military
inventions, which enabeled military world dominance. The rule of law and the separation of privacy and business created strong institutions in the society and the economy. These institutions, together with the western military dominance, overwhelmed the 'underdeveloped' cultures. The success of the western culture led to an obsession with discipline (
Victorian culture;
eugenics). The
counterculture of the 1960s made an end to this obsession, at least in its overt forms. Social philosophers such as Foucault have theorized that discipline has taken on covert forms (i.e., through surveillance; record keeping) in "disciplinary networks" that pervade western society.
[Foucault, M. 1979. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Random House. pp. 298-299; 306] |
Japan has adopted some aspects of Western culture, albeit while maintaining strong Japanese traditions. |
Elements of Western culture have had a very influential role on other cultures worldwide. People of many cultures, both Western and non-Western, equate "modernization" with "westernization," but many non-westerners object to the implication that all societies should also adopt western ideas and values. Some members of the non-Western world have suggested that this the link between technological progress 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 "modernization" 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
positivistic science and instead is a "value" question which must be answered from a value system (e.g. philosophy, religion, political doctrine). Nonetheless, 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
cultural ecology, among others). Therefore, the impact of "modernization" and "modern" technology may not merely be "scientific" (that is, physical) but may possibly be closely linked with a certain culture, that of the West, such that without such technology, Western culture today would have been dramatically different from how it is known in actual historical and contemporary times.
Because of its nature as the foundation of the culture, the art, literature, and history of Western countries have dominated school curriculums in
the Americas and
Europe almost exclusively. Beginning in the 1970s and accelerating in the 1990s, a new cultural awareness, called
multiculturalism, began to encourage across the West the study of African and Eastern culture, history, and art. This is especially popular in the United States. The difference between America and Europe is that Americans have the tendency to describe reality using different point of views, while Europeans like to keep a central story, which is enhanced by case-studies. This difference is very clear in the study of history.
Aside from food, literature, art, music, religion, and politics, many aspects of Western culture differ from other cultures around the world. Western culture has evolved and changed throughout the past centuries, but at the same time certain themes and trends persist to varying degrees:
* An emphasis on technological
innovation and
science coupled with a belief in
progress;
* An emphasis on
human rights, which are considered
natural rights.
* Personal
freedom as an important value;
* Expectation of personal
responsibility;
* A strong sense of personal
privacy and
civil rights;
* Tolerance of a wide variety of
subcultures, some of which have a strong
collective or coercive ideology
* A sense of personal
honor and personal
shame that rejects
dutiful suicide and
honor killings;
* Consensus that
personal enrichment of political office holders is an offense against society;
* Allegiance to the
nuclear family, rather than to the
extended family.
Occidental marriage customs which are occasionally different in other cultures today are:
* A strict legal requirement for
monogamous and
consentual marriage;
* An occasionally casual attitude toward
sex between unmarried persons;
* An expectation of
marriage as a source of personal fulfilment through
romance, rather than as a practical domestic arrangement;
* Reduced or no legal enforcement of social bans on
adultery;
* A reduced expectation of a single life-long
marriage.
A distinctive feature of the Western culture is its focus on science and technology, and its ability to generate new processes, materials and material artifacts. It was the West that first developed steam power and adapted its use into factories, and for the generation of electrical power. The
Otto and the
Diesel internal combustion engines are products whose genesis and early development were in the West.
Nuclear power stations are derived from the first
atomic pile in Chicago (
1942). The electrical
dynamo,
transformer, electric motor, and electric light, and indeed virtually all of the familiar electrical appliances, were inventions of the West. New communication devices and systems such as the telegraph, the telephone,
fax, the
transatlantic cable, radio and television, the communications and
navigation satellites,
mobile phones, the
internet and the
web can all be credited to the West. The ubiquitous materials such as concrete, aluminum, clear glass,
synthetic rubber,
synthetic diamond and the plastics
polyethylene,
polypropylene and
polystyrene, among others, are all inventions of the West. Iron and steel ships, bridges and skyscrapers first appeared in the West. The
transistor,
integrated circuits, the memory chip, and computers were all first seen in the West. The pencil, ballpoint pen,
CRT,
LCD,
LED, the photograph, photocopy,
laser printer and
plasma display screen were too. The
ship's chronometer, the engine powered
screw propeller, the locomotive, bicycle, automobile, and airplane were all invented in the West. Eyeglasses, the telescope, and the microscope and
electron microscope, all the varieties of
chromatography,
protein and
DNA sequencing,
computerized tomography,
NMR,
x-rays, and light, ultraviolet and infrared
spectroscopy, were all first developed and applied in Western laboratories, hospitals and factories.
In medicine,
Vaccination,
anesthesia,
MRI, the
birth control pill, and all the pure
antibiotics were discovered in the West. The method of preventing
Rh disease, the treatment of
diabetes, and the
germ theory of disease were discovered by Westerners. The eradication of that ancient scourge,
smallpox, was led by a Westerner,
Donald Henderson.
Radiography,
Magnetic resonance imaging,
Computed tomography,
Positron emission tomography and
Medical ultrasonography are important diagnostic tools developed in the West. So were the
stethoscope,
electrocardiograph, and the
endoscope.
Vitamins,
oral contraceptives,
hormones,
insulin,
Beta blockers and
ACE inhibitors, along with a host of other medically proven drugs were first utilized to treat disease in the West. The
double-blind study and
evidence-based medicine are critical scientific techniques widely used in the West for medical purposes.
In mathematics,
calculus,
statistics,
logic,
vector,
tensor and
complex analysis,
group theory and
topology were developed by Westerners. In biology,
evolution,
chromosomes,
DNA,
genetics and the methods of
molecular biology are creatures of the West. In physics, the science of
mechanics and
quantum mechanics,
relativity,
thermodynamics, and
statistical mechanics were all discovered by Westerners. The
atom,
nucleus,
electron,
neutron and
proton were all unveiled by Westerners. Most of the
elements, as well as the correct notion of elements themselves were discovered in the West.
Nitrogen fixation and
petrochemicals were achievements of Westerners.
Chemistry itself became a science in the West.
Westerners are also known for their explorations of the globe and space. The first expedition to
circumnavigate the Earth was by Westerners, as well as the first to set foot on the
Poles, and the first to
land on the moon. The
landing of robots on Mars and on an
asteroid, and the
Voyager explorations of the outer planets were all achievements of Westerners.
The western culture is not homogenous. There are strong differences between multiple western countries. Most of it based on the differences between the media and the politics in western countries.
Similarities
Western countries are more developed than other countries in the world. This means that only a small part of society is poor. The richness of the majority of westerners result in
freedom expressed in
consumerism. Westerners have the ability to travel around the world, which they do en masse during
holidays. Western countries tend to have low fertility rate relative to less developed countries.
Media in western countries have paid much attention to disasters that happen around the world. Many westerners are active in helping people around the world through charities or state intervention. The enormous amount of information, products, and subcultures leads to reduced adherence to
ideologies.
Cynicism has increased which can be examplified by comedians and comedy shows like
South Park, and writers as
Michel Houellebecq.
Renewing is important in the western culture. Trendwatchers are constantly looking for new trends. New subcultures emerge. Artists, inventors try to make new things. New products are made by companies resulting in shops stuffed with consumer products.
Differences
There are many differences between the most populous regions of the western culture, the
United States and
Western Europe. Religion has waned considerably in Western Europe. Many the western Europeans are
agnostic or
atheist and nearly half of the populations of the
United Kingdom (31-44%),
Germany (41-49%),
France (43-54%) and the
Netherlands (39-44%) don't believe in god. The religiousness and the belief in god in the United States is still very strong, with 91-97% of the population believing in God.
[Zuckerman, P. 2005. "Atheism: Contemporary Rates and Patterns" Pitzer College. Retrieved: 2006-06-21.]Socialism never got a strong foothold in the United States, but it has been considerably more popular and influential in Europe. Socialism is waning however in recent decades, as the disparities in wealth between socialist economies and their more liberal counterparts grew more readily apparent. Liberalizing reform attempts however have been met by strong resistance, particularly in the
Netherlands[
1],
France and
Germany.
* Jones, Prudence and Pennick, Nigel
A History of Pagan Europe Barnes & Noble (1995) ISBN 760712107.
* Barzun, Jacques
From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life 1500 to the Present HarperCollins (2000) ISBN 060175869.
* Merriman, John
Modern Europe: From the Renaissance to the Present W. W. Norton (1996) ISBN 393968855.
* Derry, T. K. and Williams, Trevor I.
A Short History of Technology: From the Earliest Times to A.D. 1900 Dover (1960) ISBN 0486274721.
* McClellan, James E. III and Dorn, Harold
Science and Technology in World History Johns Hopkins University Press (1999) ISBN 801858690.
* Stein, Ralph
The Great Inventions Playboy Press (1976) ISBN 872234444.
* Asimov, Isaac
Asimov's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology: The Lives & Achievements of 1510 Great Scientists from Ancient Times to the Present Revised second edition, Doubleday (1982) ISBN 0385177712.
*
Death of the WestDeath, Desire and Loss in Western Culture by
Jonathan Dollimore*
Globalization*
Max Weber*
Michel Foucault*
Norbert Elias*
Western World*
Collectivist and individualist cultures
