Wednesday, February 11, 2009

How did Europeans define civilization? Do you agree? Do you have an alternative definition?

Europeans considered only those cultures that were similar to theirs to be "civilized". European countries, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia were the only ones who received "civilized" status in the eyes of Europe. I disagree with their definition. European civilization is not the only form of civilization, and Europeans did not alot any respect for other cultures. The Japanese, for example, had a highly organized and structured society. However, Europeans considered countries like Japan to be "backward". In my opinion, civilization is better defined as any kind of structured society.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I agree with Sam. I don't think that European countries were more civilized. They were more "modern" in the sense that they had a control of the world at the time. Their more efficient political and economic systems enalbed them to be much more powerful. But that doesn't mean they were more "civilized."