The Transition From Ancient Civilization To Modern Civilization

The transition from ancient civilization to modern civilization was a major development for the world. Although there is controversy over the details of the change, many of the foundations of human history, such as science and technology, religion and cities were all founded during this transition. With the modern lifestyle, the mystery of the past disappears. The problem of what once was does not present itself. With no mystery of the past, the big question becomes what does the future hold?

The human species has always been innovative and forward looking. Looking into the future, many people believe, that innovation will play a more important role than ever before. With the rapid development of technology and the increasing interconnectedness of the global economy, the role of the state will continue to diminish in importance. The free market will take over, with or without government intervention. The future is a race between the innovators, seeking the new and better and the traditionalists, trying to hang onto the past.

The Process Of Civilization's Rise From An Ancient Civilization To Its Modern Form

The foundations of modern civilization were all laid during the transition from the ancient period, also known as the Paleolithic period, to the modern age. This large transition in human history began when anatomically modern humans, or homo sapiens, first appeared in the fossil record. They had spread out from Africa, to Europe, Asia and then to the Americas.

Through the invention of agriculture, a settled way of life was established. The ability to make tools and weapons allowed small groups to become larger, more organized and capable of changing their environment. The first civilizations were established during this time. As people discovered new lands and invented new types of social systems, they developed new technology, new forms of government and many other innovations.

However, this is not to say that the Paleolithic age was some kind of golden age of human history. There were many challenges that people faced, including the need to adapt to new and changing environments, the need for social organization, the need to find a way to deal with the physicality of being human and the need to deal with the questions of what it means to be a part of a species, that has become very different from its evolutionary origins.

Humans were unique among the great apes in that they use tools. The study of archaeology has shown, that the earliest humans began to fashion tools out of materials in their environments. Some of the more complex tools, such as that of the Neanderthals, required a high degree of dexterity.

The use of tools allowed people to work together to achieve tasks, that would have been impossible without the tools. In the simplest forms, tools allowed people to dig, dig out rocks, and gather food and water. Because of the way the human body works, people are required to consume these basic resources in order to survive. The challenge for people was how to consume these resources without destroying the Earth.

Although the use of tools was important, other changes in human society were even more important. The domestication of plants and animals enabled people to thrive in new ways. Humans were no longer restricted to the needs of the body, but could now engage in a way of life in which work was not needed for survival. The emergence of a belief in one God or many enabled people to cooperate in new ways, with a greater degree of loyalty and responsibility toward the community.

The development of hierarchical systems of government enabled a greater degree of civilization. The large-scale use of writing and a standard system of measurement allowed people to keep track of large- and small-scale records. Each of these changes had a profound impact on the way people lived.

The Differing Ideas Of Transitioning The Ancient Civilizations

There are many theories, that attempt to explain the large-scale transition from an agrarian society to an industrial society. They range from the relatively simple, to the highly complex. The most influential theories tend to fall into three categories.

• The social theories: The social theories, including Marxism, tend to focus on the ways that society is organized, and how these structures limit or enhance human development. This includes attention to how structures of inequality, like the family, are made and perpetuated and how this affects the development of the individual, from childhood to adulthood and then as an adult in the workforce. A focus on the political economy emphasizes how structures of production, like the way that capitalism is organized, affects the development of people.

• The biological or evolutionary theories: The biological or evolutionary theories tend to focus on the ways that human psychology has evolved to adapt to the social and physical conditions under which we evolved. These include theories of social dominance, like the evolution of warlike behavior among men, or the development of certain forms of cooperation within human populations. The emphasis is on how these evolved capacities can be re-purposed in new and different ways.

• Sociological or philosophical theories: The third and final category includes sociological or philosophical theories. These tend to focus on the ways, that the cultural products of human civilizations, like literature, art, music and philosophy, contribute to human development. These theories tend to downplay the importance of the structures of society and emphasize the role of the individual, like the role of the imagination or the human capacity for reason, in shaping human lives.

While there is not space here to fully discuss all of these theories, it is important to note, that none of them are immune from criticism. The best theories are those, that are most successful in accounting for the facts, while at the same time, being simple and clearly understandable.

The Future Of Modern Civilization

The story of civilization is the story of the human imagination, unbound with restrictions. This is the story of the invention of the concept of progress, an idea that humans have used to justify almost every institution, from the way we structure society to the way we worship. However, progress is an abstract concept and has very little in the way of universal agreement on what it even means.

Some claim progress is defined by the ability to forecast the future. If we can accurately predict the future, then we have achieved progress. That seems like a reasonable definition. But many philosophers point out there is no way to even come close to achieving this goal, let alone actually hitting the "accurate prediction" part. Other philosophers claim, that progress can be measured by the increase in the quality of human life, or the length and health of human life, or even the mere increase in the quantity of happiness experienced by sentient beings. Progress, in this sense, is a moving target. We can never hope to hit it, but we can hope to keep moving closer.

Humanity has always wrestled with the tension between progress and preservation. Will we find a way to embrace conservation, and slow down the pace of change, so that we can preserve the things, that we love and the ways of life that we treasure? Or will we fall into the rampant individualism, that has plagued us for so long, where each of us is driven by the desire for personal gain and fulfillment and we destroy the things around us, that we cannot replace?

These are the questions, that will be answered by future human beings. We cannot answer them for them. We can only hope they choose wisely.

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