Several ideas that dominated western civilization
Over the centuries, humanities have undergone some dramatic changes. From their classical disciplines, they transform into national art, national literature, and governmental past. During the 18th century, there was an intellectual movement that emphasized reason over the belief of superstitions (Khan Academy). John Locke and Isaac Newton were among the first Thinkers to embrace knowledge and disseminate ideas on openness. It was a significant turning point for western civilization since the concepts are now seen and relevant in the 21st century. Several ideas dominated this movement in ideas including;
- Rationalism- The understanding that people can use their instinct of reason to acquire knowledge.
- Empiricism- Advocates the concept that knowledge has gained from experiencing and examining the world.
- Progressivism- the belief that through their ability to reason, people can make advancements over time.
- Cosmopolitanism– humans viewed themselves as an open-minded individual rather than rigid people. They were ruled by reason, not biases.
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By 1900, the world began to transform by all the discoveries, technological advances, and inventions. Electricity, the automobile, the aeroplane, radio, x-rays, and the incandescent light bulb revolutionized the world. Wrestling developed a new extravagance in art. As times change, the art breaks all the boundaries while trying to accommodate the technological and theoretical developments that have changed the way of life as a whole. As a result, art has changed; the artistic standard of art has evolved from the mimesis, the literal representation of the appearance of nature, society, and people.
The twentieth century was the most violent era in history, experiencing the world wars and the cold war. Dictators such as Hitler, Idi Amin, and Mussolini enforce intense political systems that caused starvation and genocide. Whereas, the 20th century has documented the era for the fight for human rights and the growth of universal capitalization. Previously, the artist worked under the supervision of wealthy patrons of the state or church, but in this era, they became a part of the retail economy. Art now is seen as personal self-expression. Although artists used similar artistic styles over a long time in the 19th and through the 20th century, successive forms of art changed. In discovering the in how aspects of twenty-first century humanities have been influenced with aspects of humanities from the seventeenth to the twentieth century, we will consider politics ideologies, culture and art.
Politics is a significant factor in every society as the society is governed by the rule of law to maintain a particular order. In the past years, people viewed the world of a set of assumptions. One was that humans could improve by imposing regulations and punishments. Secondly, they believed that the power of the national government could get utilized to develop an individual and change society. However, the hypothesis became unrealistic for political conservatives (Khan Academy). Jane Adams, one of the most famous progressive reformers, founded a house in Chicago, which helped immigrants to adjust to the new life in the USA. Ida Tarbell uncovered the illegal business operations of standard oil and became the first to come up with investigative journalism. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson expanded the power of the national government to impose regulations on private organizations and enforce the protection of employees and consumers. Then came reformers who changed the implementation of significant legislation, including few amendments to the U.S. constitution. The 16th amendment settled the national income tax, the 17th enabled the direct election of senators, 18th banned the sales of alcohol, and the 19th amendment allowed women to vote. While these reforms were made to handle some of the societal issues at the time, they have played a significant role all through the twenty-first century. The laws that were made to regulate the entry of the immigrants into the U.S. at the time have since been reformed and adjusted to allow for easy transitions within various states in the twenty-first century which has been marked by globalization. Through those amendments, people can easily visit multiple other countries and be able to engage freely in various activities. Some of the policies that were made during the period acted as barriers to these interactions hence contributed negatively to the economy. To overcome these barriers, various countries joined together to form trade unions which were able to promote trade among the different countries as the world became more connected through globalization. A significant part of the twentieth century was characterized by war and violence that crippled several economies and led to the destruction of property and loss of lives. The lessons from this war led to the formation of the peacekeeping bodies such as the United Nations which is a significant body that allowed intervenes and mediates in various conflict situations to promote peace among the different nations of the world.
Art was a significant aspect of the twentieth century’s that have influenced how art is perceived in the twenty-first century. Art gained more popularity in the period immediately after the First World War. One of the most significant art movements of the time was The Great Renaissance of the 1920s which was known as the “New Negro Movement” and advocated against the injustices that were carried out against the African American community. The period from the 1950s marked the post-war period and was marked by peace as various countries shifted their concentration to economic development. The artists of the period focused their attention on the representation of the effects of war as to advocate for peaceful existence between the various countries. Though significant developments have been witnessed in the artwork of the twenty-first century due to the advancement in technology which has skyrocketed art to greater heights. The twentieth-century artists played a significant role in their contribution to art that influenced to a more significant deal the art of the twenty-first century. This is seen from the reason for the creation of the artworks. The purpose for the creation of art in the nineteenth century was for communication purposes which were aimed art fixing some of the issues within the society. This purpose was adopted in the twenty first century. Though there are improvements in the kinds of designs and the ways through which the art is represented, the main idea for the purpose of art is the same as art is still perceived as stool for communication which is able to single out and represent various issues within the society. It has played a significant role as some of the issues such as war and conflict that were represented in the artwork have since declined. By viewing some of the artwork that represents some of the predicaments of the twentieth century we are able to ensure that the same mistakes are not repeated in the twenty-first century. The art of the twenty-first century is able to develop from the previous works of art in order to bring out a clear representation of various issues.