Emergence of Modernity: An Analysis of the Historical Processes Involved - Report Example

Emergence of Modernity: An analysis of the historical processes involved The term modernity is used for describing the evolution of a post medieval period of history in which various cultural, social, political and economic changes occurred very frequently giving rise to the modern era of development. Modernity is a tendency to bring a change in the overall way of living of the people, it is generally perceived as a betrayal to the traditions of the past. Modernity is deemed as a productive change in the way of living of the human beings; however it can be oppressive as well (Hall). It has not been established that whether modernity is a useful or harmful phenomena, however it has brought remarkable changes in the global scenario in all the aspects of life. Modernity is a change from feudalism towards capitalism, secularization, industrialization and the formation of nation-states (Adams, Clemens and Orloff). Modernity is a change however this change is neither improvement nor decline, it is transition from one phase to another. Most of the technocrats argue that modernity brought about an overall improvement in the way human beings live on this planet because of all the technological improvements which are achieved through modernity however many scholars do not agree mainly because of the harmful aspects of industrialization and the disturbance in nature created by it (Neal). The cultural exchange and globalization of culture is also seen as an achievement of modernity but some people consider it a very bad thing to happen because cultural change usually happens with the loss of traditions established since very old times. Various social and psychological problems faced by people of different areas are due to the emergence of a global culture which is totally different from the culture of many regions of the world and thus the traditions are lost which creates problems for the native population. Sticking to traditions is important in a few scenarios but this approach also hampers development and progress, thus modernity tends to end established traditions but triggers advancement and improvement. Therefore modernity is a very complicated phenomenon and there are various factors and processes which are responsible for the emergence of modernity. The various historical stages of modernity include Renaissance (14th to 16th centuries), the Columbian Exchange (16th Century onwards), the Reformation (16th to 17th centuries), the Enlightenment (18th Century), the Revolutions of 18th Century (The French Revolution) and the Industrial Revolution (Late 18th and 19th Century). The Renaissance is not the part of modernity but it is the most significant era of human history which ultimately led to modernity. Renaissance brought about revolution in literature, science, art, religion and politics by reforming the classical ways of living. The Renaissance is deemed as a cultural movement because it has a very remarkable impact on the culture of Europe and significant progress was achieved in the fields of literature, philosophy, art and science in this era. During the early days of renaissance the scholars devoted themselves to researching in the fields of natural sciences, philosophy and mathematics by utilizing the knowledge present in the books written by Greeks and Arabs, later most of the renaissance scholars focused on art and painting. In addition to the development of art and culture, renaissance scholars also focused on enrichment of religion in the lives of people and many works of art produced by the renaissance artists were patronized by church. Humanism and individualism are considered as the hallmarks of modernity and these two philosophies were a product of the renaissance (Rabb). Renaissance scholars introduced the concept of the superiority of human beings over nature and thus maintained that the various natural resources are only valuable if they are useful to human beings. Utilization of the natural resources for the development and growth of human beings was considered as the ultimate goal and all the political strategies should be devised according to this approach. The development of individuals was considered as the development of society and thus the governments were supposed to work equally hard for the benefit of all the individuals in the society. This thinking later gave rise to the concept of nation-state. During the renaissance people started thinking and talking about moral values and actions beyond the religious beliefs, some of which were based on superstitions. Various aspects of life which were previously not discussed because of limitations marked by religion were now open to discussion and the people started thinking more logically, these developments led to the emergence of secularism in modern era. The general change of perception about various things including cultural and religious values gave rise to a sense of superiority among the people over the previous ages. Before the Renaissance there was no concept about public and private property and institutions; the economic system was very primitive with most of the national wealth owned by the King with the church on his back. However during the Renaissance the government was given responsibilities regarding the welfare of each individual of the society, this development created the concept of public and private economic spheres which later evolved into capitalism (Goody). Thus the various concepts like individualism, humanism, capitalism and secularism which are regarded as the foundations of modernity were evolved through the developments made during the renaissance. The Columbian Exchange is by all means the largest exchange of culture, animals, plants and human populations between two regions of the world and took place between the New World and the Old World after the discovery of Americas by Christopher Columbus in 1492. The Columbian Exchange has a very significant impact on the cultures of various populations of the world particularly the native population of Americas (Crosby). Columbian Exchange is very closely related to modernity because it also revolutionized the culture and economy of the era because of the new possibilities, unused land and untapped resources of the New World. The New World land provided new possibilities for the cultivation of various crops which were previously cultivated in the Old World and because of less availability of land were not easily available. The increase in supplies from the New World resulted in decrease in price of these crops and thus the lower classes of society which could not afford these food items and goods in the past started using them, thus it brought revolution in the lifestyle of economically deprived people of the Old World (Noble). The increase in trade of goods between the new and old world and the inflow of resources and profits resulted improved the economic conditions in Europe and ultimately gave rise to the industrial revolution. The utilization of the vast resources of the New World required a large labor force, this gave rise to the transfer of a large population from Africa as slaves to the New World and this is considered as an important reason behind the economic, social and cultural decline of the African population. The depopulation of the native population of the New World because of the transfer of diseases from the Old World resulted in complete extinction of several native tribes and their culture. The increased agricultural productivity from the virgin lands of the New World gave rise to the uncontrolled population growth and urbanization. The Reformation or the Protestant Reformation is also a very significant event which led to the emergence of modernity. The Reformation took place mainly due to the oppression being committed by the church but it drew its inspiration from the ancient world. The pioneers and leaders of the Reformation sought to restore the church as portrayed by early Christianity and which had been totally altered by the powerful clergy for their own benefit and establishing an oppressive regime using the name of religion (Marshall). The main thought behind Reformation was the humanist ideology which was first introduced by the Renaissance thinkers. Reformation contributed to modernity positively as well as negatively (Collinson). Before the Reformation, religion was considered and used as the symbol of unity of European nations under the institution of the Church, however the authority of the Church was challenged by Reformation and the Christians were weakened after being divided into Catholic and Protestant. As the church lost its strength secularism continued to grow and thus the foundations of a centralized modern secular state were laid. Reformation created an example of political liberty by protesting against the oppressive rule of church for the first time in history and thus encouraged future political revolutions by providing religious legitimacy to revolutions against oppressive rule. The equality of people was also established for the first time in history which ultimately gave rise to the modern democratic system of government. Individualism was also encouraged because according to the Protestants each and every individual is himself responsible for his actions and he is well aware of his responsibilities and rights and shall be held accountable for it. By giving importance to individual conscience Reformation greatly added to the emerging capitalist mindset which has Enlightenment was a movement which was initiated for mobilizing the power of reason for the reformation of society on the basis of advancement in knowledge (Geras). Originally the movement was sparked in France and was spread all over Europe through the Encyclopedie which was written by leading French scholars and was distributed all over Europe. It also reached the European colonies and influenced people like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson and thus became the driving force behind the American Revolution (Porter). Enlightenment gave importance to the human intelligence and encouraged people to challenge the oppressive actions of the church and the state (Outram). During the Enlightenment period, the concept of democracy was first introduced in the form as it is present now and the people were introduced to new phenomena like freedom of expression and speech leading to the introduction of liberalism in the following years. The most important European leader who was influenced by the concepts of Enlightenment was Napoleon who introduced concepts like respect for men of property rather than respect for men of noble birth. The common man was not admitted to the French courts and only the people with noble ancestry were allowed to be the part of the courts, however Napoleon introduced the concept of superiority based on talent (Feher). These were very important developments in the modernity of France and later became the basis of modernity of the whole Europe and later reached the European colonies all over the world. The concept of constitutional monarchy introduced by Enlightenment scholars continued to influence people and was gradually adopted by all the European nations (Gay). The importance of human thoughts and capabilities led to rapid progress and later sparked the industrial revolution. The most important event in modernity is the French Revolution through which the concepts of modernity were practiced and implemented for the first time in history. The political and social life of people in France was totally changed because with the fall of the absolute monarchy which has ruled France for centuries the old traditions of monarchy, aristocracy and religious authority were also abolished and the concepts of equality, democracy, citizenship and nationalism were introduced by Enlightenment were enforced for the first time by the masses on the streets through the establishment of a republic. The concepts of humanism and individualism introduced by renaissance and reformation scholars coupled with the advancement of knowledge achieved in the age of Enlightenment created awareness in the mind of common man regarding his rights and the opportunities available to him. Empowered by this novel mindset the masses in France rose against the regime which was responsible for the instability of the country which was result of erroneous economic and foreign policies and the French participation in the American Revolution. The French Revolution showed a new way forward to the nations of the world as it triggered the growth of republics and liberal democracies. The negative sentiment in the public against the policies of the church and its involvement in the public affairs resulted in increase in popularity of secularism, because the masses refused to accept the interference of church in religious affairs as well as other matters of daily life. The political, social, cultural and economic awareness created by the concept of humanism and advancement in knowledge made people of that time more conscious about their lifestyle and development and the desire to improve lifestyle and gain knowledge led to the emergence of Industrial Revolution which is considered as one of the most important historical process in the evolution of modernity (Morris). Industrial Revolution started in late 18th century with the technological advancements in textile industry and the use of mechanical equipment instead of manual work. By the start of 19th century Industrial Revolution had grasped whole of Europe and parts of the New World as well and the concept of capitalist economy gained strength and continued to develop till it reached its present form (Ross). Modernity continued to evolve ever since the emergence of Renaissance and went through several different historical processes to reach the stage it is currently in. Every phase of modernity had equally important impacts on it and it is difficult to draw a distinction between the significance of the historical processes which led to the emergence of modernity. Being a process which is always in a transition phase, modernity is still in the process of evolution and faces challenges like global climate change and population explosion. Tracing the historical processes through which modernity emerged can be a way of finding solution to the challenges faced by modernity in the world today. Works Cited Adams, Julia, Elizabeth Clemens, and Ann Orloff. Remaking modernity: politics, history, and sociology. N.p.: Duke University Press, 2005. Print. Collinson, Patrick. The Reformation: A History. N.p.: Random House Publishing Group, 2006. Print. Crosby, Alfred. The Columbian exchange: biological and cultural consequences of 1492. N.p.: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003. Print. Feher, Ferenc. The French Revolution and the birth of modernity. N.p.: University of California Press, 1990. Print. Gay, Peter. The Enlightenment: an interpretation. The science of freedom. N.p.: W. W. Norton, 1996. Print. Geras, Norman, and Robert Wokler. The Enlightenment and modernity. N.p.: St. Martins Press, 2000. Print. Goody, Jack. Capitalism and modernity: the great debate. N.p.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2004. Print. Hall, Stuart. 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