Civilization Pa

by Osborne,Roger

• ISBN13: 9781933648767
• ISBN10: 1933648767
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2008-03-01
• Publisher: MICROCASM

Summary

Ever since the attacks of September 11, 2001, Western leaders have described a world engaged in "a fight for civilization." But what do we mean by civilization? We believe in a Western tradition of freedom that has produced a fulfilling existence for many millions of people and a culture of enormous depth and creative power. But the history of our civilization is also filled with unspeakable brutality'”for every Leonardo there is a Mussolini, for every Beethoven symphony a concentration camp, for every Chrysler Building a My Lai massacre. An ambitious historical assessment of the Western world'”tying together the histories of empires, art, philosophy, science, and politics'” Civilization reexamines and confronts us with all of our glories and catastrophes. At such a dangerous time in the world's history, this brilliant book is required reading.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	p. ix
List of Maps	p. xii
Prologue	p. 1
In the Beginning: Prehistory and Illiterate Societies	p. 20
A Torrent of Words: Change and Custom in Classical Greece	p. 46
The Birth of Abstraction: Plato, Aristotle and the Rational Mind	p. 72
The Universal Civilization: Rome and the Barbarians	p. 94
Augustine's Vision of Christianity: From Rebel Sect to Universal Faith	p. 113
Religion as Civilization: The Establishment of Western Christendom	p. 134
Another Way of Living: The Medieval Town and Communal Life	p. 162
Art as Civilization: Wealth, Power and Innovation in the Italian Renaissance	p. 180
The Search for the Christian Life: The European Reformation as a New Beginning	p. 213
Kings, Armies and Nations: The Rise of the Military State	p. 236
Us and Them: Colonization and Slavery	p. 256
The Rational Individual: Theory and Practice in Making Society	p. 281
Enlightenment and Revolution: Politics and Reason in France and America	p. 305
Industrialization and Nationalism: British Dominance and the Ideology of Freedom	p. 341
From Rural Colonies to Industrial Continent: The Making of Modern America	p. 369
Towards the Abyss: Technology, Ideology, Apocalypse	p. 397
The End of Civilization: Depression, Extremism and Genocide in Europe, America and Asia	p. 428
The Post-War World: From Social Cohesion to Global Marketplace	p. 454
Acknowledgements, References and Further Reading	p. 493
Index	p. 507
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