Western Civilization, also known as “The West”, “Western Culture”, “Western Society”, is the Social Norms, Ethical Values (Humanism), Customs, Culture, Traditions, Political Systems, Law, Artifacts, Sciences, and Technologies that have originated and/or are associated with Europe stemming from the societal foundations of Ancient Greece, Rome, & Judea.
Western Civilization is not limited to Europe, as it also includes The Americas & Australasia. Elements of Western
Philosophy can be found beyond the West.
The West originates from Ancient Greece where the arts, sciences, and societies flourished with the birth of Liberty, Freedom, &
Democracy. Western Civilization continued to grow and develop throughout Ancient Rome and the Byzantine Empire, gaining strong and significant influences & philosophy from Judaea-
Christianity, and later flourished again during The Age of Enlightenment— leading to rapid advancement of education, sciences, & freedoms.
During the early modern era of the 1900’s, Western Civilization was nearly destroyed by & overcame the oppressive rise of Fascism, Nazism, and Communism in WW2 .
The West enjoys the highest degree of broad Freedoms, Liberties, Human Rights, Wealth,
Peace,
Free Markets, Quality of
Life, Healthcare, Education, Sciences, & Technologies in the world.
Today, Western Civilization & Western Philosophies thrive & develop around the world & The West itself, & many other countries as well such as
India (World’s largest
democracy).
The philosophies of Western Civilization, where adopted, have transformed third-
world impoverished societies into thriving states; (ex: In less than 50 years, South Korea transformed from a
war-torn impoverished nation into one of the most technologically advanced nations on
Earth with one of the highest qualities of
life while preserving and promoting Korean Culture— in contrast to North Korea, which remains an impoverished totalitarian state under Communism.)
Examples of Western Philosophy include:
The Old and New Testment
The Magna Carta
The US Bill of Rights
The US Declaration of Independence
The
French Declaration of Rights of the Man and of the Citizen
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
“ We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men (People obviously) are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are
LIFE, LIBERTY and the pursuit of
HAPPINESS.” - Jefferson
“Do to others whatever you would
like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is thought in the law and the prophets.” - Jesus Christ
“There is only
one good, knowledge, and
one evil, ignorance.”- Socrates
“Every man has a property in his own person. This nobody has a right to, but himself.” - John Lock
“What do I think of Western Civilization? I think it would be a very good idea.” -Mahatma Ghandi
“Learning never exhausts the mind”
“The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding” - Leonardo da Vinci
