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Gabriela Linares Prof. Thomas Burke Scholar: Beauty & Culture 23 August 2010 What is Western Culture? When most people think of the term western culture, they usually refer to European civilization or societies in which their cultures are strongly influenced by European cultures. (Spielvogel) This is probably because most societies considered a part of western culture are derived from customs and traditions rooted in European history. According to the author of Western Civilization, Jackson J. Spielvogel, western culture can is easily identified in a society if its it is focused on pro-human customs. In other words, you can generally tell by a societys life-expectancy rate. Most agree that the origins of western culture began with the civilizations of the Ancient Greeks and Romans, was developed with the arts of the Renaissance and the thoughts of the Enlightenment, and finally globalized with the expansion of European empires through colonization. (Barzun) Western culture is also closely related to social movements that brought about naturalism, romanticism, science, democracy, and socialism. (Merriman) There are many basic themes and traditions that connect societies influenced by western culture. They can have similar heritages, social norms, ethical values, religious beliefs, and political systems. Generally, these themes can be summed up as individualism, effective reasoning, rule of law and monotheism (or belief in one God). (Knowledge) Most, if not all, societies influenced by western culture carry their effective reasoning and individualism from the thoughts of Enlightenment thinkers like, Plato, Aristotle, and Homer. They usually use

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the Greek Alphabet and have words with Greek and Latin roots. Their religions are rooted in some form of Christianity. There is importance in the rule of law and a need to protect the rights of the people through democracy, constitutionalism and parliamentarism. And there is an inherent admiration for both the scholar and the artist. (Barzun) When I think of western culture I generally think of the art of the Renaissance, the architecture of Greece, the philosophy of the Enlightenment, the Roman democracy, and some form of monotheistic religion. Most of these themes are in fact derived from European customs and history. I also know that when some people think of western culture they think of a more civilized, maybe even superior, form of society. I think thats where the concept of western culture can become a little shady. I also think of the European empires and colonies, where Europe was able to spread their customs and traditions across the globe. I also think that the Cold War was another opportunity for the newly revised version of western culture was able to expand when the US and its allies tried to influence other countries with ideas of democracy, capitalism, and in some ways Christian religion. Western culture is probably the underlying theme of most modern-day cultures. Because European countries were so powerful and influential for such a long time, its almost hard to see its influence in any culture. I believe that my idea of western culture is very similar to the themes mentioned above: individualism, effective reasoning, rule of law and monotheism (or belief in one God).

Linares 3 Works Cited Barzun, Jacques From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life 1500 to the Present HarperCollins (2000) Western Culture. KnowledgeRush. Knowledge Rush. 2009. Web. 23 Aug. 2010 Merriman, John Modern Europe: From the Renaissance to the Present W. W. Norton (1996)
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