History 262 – History of Civilization II The modern era began with the Enlightenment of the eighteenth century and accelerated through the first half of the twentieth century. Although this span of time included many dissenting voices, in general it could be described as an Age of Scientific Reason. The premodern classicists of Greece, Rome, and the Middle Ages, of course, developed reason, to dizzying heights. Science had its origins among Bible-believing Christians of the seventeenth century. But the scientific reason of modernism excluded on principle everything that could not be seen, measured, and empirically analyzed. Revelation was ruled out as a means of knowledge, and belief in a supernatural realm that transcended the visible universe was dismissed as primitive superstition. Not only did modernists believe in the inerrancy of science, they also had a devout faith in progress. The "modern," almost by definition, was superior to the past. The future would be even better. Modernists genuinely believed that science would answer all questions and that the application of scientific principles would solve all social problems. Through rational planning, applied technology, and social manipulation, experts could engineer the perfect society.At the time, “west” was Western Europe. It included all developed countries like France, Spain, England, Germany and Italy. “West” was a term used to describe advanced civilizations, highly developed by the means of their economy and power. Today term “west” when used in Europe in those very same countries describes only one thing – America! Webster dictionary describes west as, “the Western hemisphere, or the New World so called, it having been discovered by sailing westward from Europe; the Occident.” When North America was being settled by Europeans, all of the culture and knowledge was “transported” over the Atlantic Ocean...
