Category Archives: European history

Essays on European history

Pious Scientists in the Late Middle Ages

Piety, the awe and respect for God and His Creation, drove philosophers and scientists throughout the Christian era beginning during the Roman Empire and continuing through the European Middle Ages—and beyond. Christian philosopher-scientists relied heavily on their Greek and Roman … Continue reading

Posted in books, Christianity, European history, History of Science | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Early Medieval Pious Scientists

The Fall of Rome had a profound effect on learning and knowledge. After the fifth century A.D. those who were concerned with philosophy, which at this time included science, scrambled to keep track of the great books of the Greco-Roman … Continue reading

Posted in Christianity, European history, History of Science | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Philo Judaeus the Pious Scientist

Ancient thinkers–philosophers and scientists–of the Mediterranean world knew that wisdom is a universal that transcends individual knowing, an awareness of truth that transcends the individual existence of each person. The Old Testament and New Testament imply that the Creation has … Continue reading

Posted in books, Christianity, European history, History of Science | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Piety and Science

Records of the human quest for knowledge have existed for four to five thousand years, revealing that as humans have confronted the vastness of the cosmos, as they have watched and listened and felt the natural environment, their response has … Continue reading

Posted in books, Christianity, European history, History of Science | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dr. Seuss and Racism

In 2017, an elementary school librarian in Massachusetts criticized a gift of Dr. Seuss books from then First Lady Melania Trump as being “steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes.” A school district in Virginia claimed that “Research in … Continue reading

Posted in American History, European history | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Democracy

            The idea of democracy, like the idea of capitalism, promises much, though the reality always falls short. The promise is of wide participation in government, free and open competition among diverse groups, self-determination. Democracy offers the vision of individuals … Continue reading

Posted in European history, General Essays, Government | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

From Modernization to Globalization

Modernization is a major social scientific theory that emerged in the 1950s to explain different levels of development in the world’s societies. Although the roots of modernization theory developed in the response of nineteenth-century American and European intellectuals to industrialization, … Continue reading

Posted in European history, General Essays, Government | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Liberalism

          Liberalism refers to a system of thought that focuses on the good of the whole of society as opposed to its neglect in the service of the restricted few. Liberalism began at a time of rejection of traditional feudal … Continue reading

Posted in American History, European history, General Essays, Government | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Conservatism

Conservatism is a system of thought that focuses upon upholding traditional values, social structure, government, and economic systems. Conservatives hold specific views about the role of government in the economy and the value of democracy. Conservatives have sometimes been suspicious … Continue reading

Posted in American History, Christianity, European history, General Essays, Government | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Science in the Ancient World: From Antiquity through the Middle Ages

            Ancient science was the intellectual pursuit to understand the origins and workings of nature and humanity. Science is a term that encompasses many methods and varied disciplines over time. Science has engaged human thought for millennia. The questions that … Continue reading

Posted in books, European history, History of Science | Tagged , , | Leave a comment