Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, for many a symbol of the changes of the Western culture during the Renaissance.

Western culture or Western civilization is a term used to generally refer to most of the cultures of European origin and most of their descendants. It comprises the broad, geographically based, heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs (such as religious beliefs) and specific artifacts and technologies as shared within the Western sphere of influence. In the West, the term Eastern culture refers very broadly to the various cultures, social structures and philosophical systems of the East, namely Asia (including China, India, Japan, and surrounding regions). ... Western Culture is an album by British avant-garde rock group Henry Cow, recorded at Sunrise Studios in Kirchberg, Switzerland in July and August 1978. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 441 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2258 × 3070 pixel, file size: 5. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 441 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2258 × 3070 pixel, file size: 5. ... “Da Vinci” redirects here. ... Leonardo da Vincis Vitruvian Man (1492). ... This article is about the European Renaissance of the 14th-17th centuries. ... For other uses, see Culture (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Tradition (disambiguation). ... In sociology, a norm, or social norm, is a pattern of behavior expected within a particular society in a given situation. ... For other uses, see Ethics (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Various Religious symbols, including (first row) Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Bahai, (second row) Islamic, tribal, Taoist, Shinto (third row) Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu, Jain, (fourth row) Ayyavazhi, Triple Goddess, Maltese cross, pre-Christian Slavonic Religion is the adherence to codified beliefs and rituals that generally involve a faith in a spiritual... Occident redirects here. ... For the astrodynamics term, see sphere of influence (astrodynamics). ...

The East-West contrast is sometimes criticized as relativistic and arbitrary. It can be difficult to determine which individuals fit into which category. In some ways it has grown out of use, or has been transformed or clarified to fit more precise uses. Though it is directly descendent from academic Orientalism and Occidentalism, the changing usage of the distinction "East-West" has come to be useful as a means to identify important cultural similarities and differences — both within an increasingly larger concept of local region, as well as with regard to increasingly familiar "alien" cultures. For the book by Edward Said, see Orientalism (book). ... Occidentalism is a term for stereotyped and sometimes dehumanizing views of the so-called Western world, including Europe, the United States, Australia and so on. ...

During the Cold War, the West-East contrast became synonymous with the competing governments of the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies, respectively, although the nature of that contrast is not in any way based on the distinction between Eastern and Western cultures. The culture of the most of the Soviet Union (Russia and other former Soviet republics from Eastern European region) and its Eastern European allies is pronouncedly Western, as defined below. In the United States during the Cold War period the terms "East" and "Asia" were often used disparagingly by the official propaganda machine, which explains the general tendency to apply these terms to the Soviet Union and its allies and misguided attempts to represent it as a conflict between the Western and Eastern cultures. For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... In its final decades of its existence, the Soviet Union consisted of 15 Soviet Socialist Republics (SSR), often called simply Soviet republics. ...

Socrates taught others via inquiry

William Shakespeare, a major influence on modern Western literature.

The concept of Western culture is generally linked to the classical definition of Western world. In this definition, Western culture is the set of literary, scientific, musical, and philosophical principles which set it apart from other civilizations. It applies to countries whose history is strongly marked by Western European immigration or settlement, and is not restricted to Western Europe. Much of this set of traditions and knowledge is collected in the Western canon. ^[1] Various uses of the concept of Western culture have included, rightly or wrongly, critiques of American culture, materialism, industrialism, capitalism, commercialism, hedonism, imperialism or modernism. Image File history File links Socrates. ... Image File history File links Socrates. ... This page is about the Classical Greek philosopher. ... Inquiry education (sometimes known as the inquiry method) is a student-centered method of education focused on asking questions. ... Image File history File links Hw-shakespeare. ... Image File history File links Hw-shakespeare. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Occident redirects here. ... Old book bindings at the Merton College library. ... A magnet levitating above a high-temperature superconductor demonstrates the Meissner effect. ... For other uses, see Music (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ... This article is about the study of time in human terms. ... The Western canon is a canon of books and art (and specifically one with very loose boundaries) that has allegedly been highly influential in shaping Western culture. ... This article very generally discusses the customs and culture of the United States; for the culture of the United States, see arts and entertainment in the United States. ... In philosophy, materialism is that form of physicalism which holds that the only thing that can truly be said to exist is matter; that fundamentally, all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions; that matter is the only substance. ... For other uses, see Capitalism (disambiguation). ... Commercialism, in its original meaning, is the practices, methods, aims, and spirit of commerce or business. ... This article does not cite any sources. ... Cecil Rhodes: Cape-Cairo railway project. ... For Christian theological modernism, see Liberal Christianity and Modernism (Roman Catholicism). ...

Other tendencies that define Western societies are the existence of political pluralism, prominent subcultures or countercultures (such as New Age movements), increasing cultural syncretism resulting from globalization and human migration, and its notorious tendency to overwhelm or destroy other cultures. The Native American and Australian Aboriginal cultures are the most bloody examples of the death of living cultures as a direct consequence of conquest and genocide of the natives by the Europeans. A society is a group of people living or working together. ... In the social sciences, pluralism is a framework of interaction in which groups show sufficient respect and tolerance of each other, that they fruitfully coexist and interact without conflict or assimilation. ... In biology, a subculture in a population of a microorganism is when one microbe colony in such a population is transferred onto blank growth medium and allowed to freely reproduce. ... In sociology, counterculture is a term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. ... New Age describes a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The rise of multinational corporations and outsourcing have played a crucial part in globalization. ... Net migration rates for 2006: positive (blue), negative (orange) and stable (green). ... The word culture comes from the Latin root colere (to inhabit, to cultivate, or to honor). ... Native Americans redirects here. ... Australian Aborigines are the indigenous peoples of Australia. ... Look up conquest in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Genocide (disambiguation). ... The term native as an adjective or noun has the following meanings. ... The European peoples are the various nations and ethnic groups of Europe. ...

Foundations

The origins of Western culture are often referred to as "three pillars": ancient Greece (concretely Greek philosophy), the Roman Empire (specifically Roman law), and Christianity (specifically Catholicism and Protestantism). Broadly, these foundations are referred to as Greco-Roman and Christian roots. Germanic, Slavic, Celtic, Jewish and Islamic cultures also took part in the formation of the culture of medieval Europe. The influence of secular humanism has been profound since the European Renaissance, as well as Enlightenment's thought and Rationalism, romantic ideals, and later tendences such as Modernism, Pop culture, and various subcultural and countercultural movements. The term ancient Greece refers to the periods of Greek history in Classical Antiquity, lasting ca. ... Greek philosophy focused on the role of reason and inquiry. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Using the term Roman law in a broader sense, one may say that Roman law is not only the legal system of ancient Rome but the law that was applied throughout most of Europe until the end of the 18th century. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      As a... Protestantism encompasses the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated with the doctrines of the Reformation. ... The Greco-Roman period of history refers to the culture of the peoples who were incorporated into the Roman Republic and Roman Empire. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... Distribution of Slavic people by language The Slavic peoples are a linguistic and ethnic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in Europe, where they constitute roughly a third of the population. ... Muiredacha Cross. ... The Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain, also known as the Golden Age of Arab Rule in Spain, refers to a period of history during the Muslim occupation of Spain in which Jews were generally accepted in Spanish society and Jewish religious, cultural, and economic life blossomed. ... During the Islamic Golden Age, usually dated from the 8th century to the 13th century,[1] engineers, scholars and traders of the Islamic world contributed enormously to the arts, agriculture, economics, industry, literature, navigation, philosophy, sciences, and technology, both by preserving and building upon earlier traditions and by adding many... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Secular humanism is a humanist philosophy that upholds reason, ethics, and justice, and specifically rejects the supernatural and the spiritual as warrants of moral reflection and decision-making. ... By Region: Italian Renaissance Northern Renaissance -French Renaissance -German Renaissance -English Renaissance The Renaissance was an influential cultural movement which brought about a period of scientific revolution and artistic transformation, at the dawn of modern European history. ... The Enlightenment (French: ; German: ; Italian: ; Portuguese: ) was an eighteenth century movement in European and American philosophy — some classifications also include 17th century philosophy (usually called the Age of Reason). ... The Age of Reason is either Thomas Paines book The Age of Reason. ... Romantics redirects here. ... For Christian theological modernism, see Liberal Christianity and Modernism (Roman Catholicism). ... Popular culture, or pop culture, is the vernacular (peoples) culture that prevails in a modern society. ... In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a set of people with a set of behaviors and beliefs, culture, which could be distinct or hidden, that differentiate them from the larger culture to which they belong. ... In sociology, counterculture is a term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. ...

Western culture has developed many themes and traditions. Some important ones are:

• Greco-Latin classic letters, arts, architecture, philosophical and cultural tradition, that include a large and vast influence of very important and preeminent authors such as Plato, Aristotle, Homer, Herodotus or Caesar, as well as a very long mythologic tradition (approximately synchretic to other Mediterranean ones such as Phoenician or Egyptian).
• Biblic and Evangelic Judaeo-Christian mythologic and cultural tradition, as well as part of Christian Theology and Philosophy, and an abundant tradition on the philosophical discipline of Ethics.
• Secular Humanism, Rationalism and Enlightenment thought, as opposed to traditionally preeminent Catholicism and Protestant Christianity religious and moral doctrines in lifestyle. Though such opposition hasn't fully ended, it setted the basis for a new critical attitude and open questioning of religion, favouring freethinking and questioning of the Church as an authority, what resulted in open-minded and reformist ideals inside, such as Liberation Theology, which partly adopted these currents, and secular and political tendences such as Laicism, Agnosticism, Materialism and Atheism.
• A tradition and idea of importance of law which has its roots in Roman law.
• Widespread usage of terms and specific vocabulary borrowed, based or derivated from Greek and Latin roots or etymologies, for almost any field of arts, science and human knowledge, becoming easily understandable and common to almost any European language, and being a source for inventing 'internationalized' neologisms for nearly any purposes. It is not either rare for full loan Latin phrases or expressions, such as in situ, grosso modo or tempus fugit to be in usage, many of them giving name to artistic or literatic concepts or currents. Not to forget to mention the standardized usage of such roots and phrases when giving official scientifical names for biological species (such as Homo sapiens or Tyrannosaurus rex). This shows a reverence for these languages, called classics.
• Generalized usage of some form of Latin or Greek alphabet. Last one includes the cases of Greece, in its standard form, and in derived forms, such as Cyrillic, the case of those Slavic Eastern countries of Christian Orthodox tradition, historically under the Byzantine and later Russian Czarist or Soviet area of influence. Other variants of it are encountered for Gothic and Coptic alphabets, that historically substituted older scripts, such as Runic, and Demotic or Hieroglyphic systems.
• Scholasticism.
• Renaissance arts and letters.
• The Scientific method.
• The Western canon.
• Natural law, human rights and liberal democracy in recent times but prior to the 20th century, most Western governments were monarchies.
• A large influence, in Modern times, of many of the ideals and values developed and heritaged from Romanticism, and to some extent Modernism, Surrealism and related vanguards.
• Several Subcultures (sometimes deriving into urban tribes) and countercultural movements, such as hippie lifestyle or New Age, that have left several influences on contemporary mainstream or subcultural tendences (some of them, especially in mainstream, can become merely aesthetical).

For other uses, see Plato (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Aristotle (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Homer (disambiguation). ... Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: HÄ“rodotos Halikarnāsseus) was a Greek historian from Ionia who lived in the 5th century BC (ca. ... For other uses, see Julius Caesar (disambiguation). ... The bust of Zeus found at Otricoli (Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican) Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the Ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. ... Phoenicia (or Phenicia ,[1] from Biblical Phenice [1]) was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coast of modern day Lebanon and Syria. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... Gospel, from the Old English good tidings is a calque of Greek () used in the New Testament (see Etymology below). ... Judeo-Christian tradition (also spelled Judaeo-Christian) is the body of concepts and values held in common by Christianity and Judaism. ... Theology finds its scholars pursuing the understanding of and providing reasoned discourse of religion, spirituality and God or the gods. ... For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Ethics (disambiguation). ... Secular humanism is a humanist philosophy that upholds reason, ethics, and justice, and specifically rejects the supernatural and the spiritual as warrants of moral reflection and decision-making. ... In epistemology and in its broadest sense, rationalism is any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification (Lacey 286). ... The Enlightenment (French: ; German: ; Italian: ; Portuguese: ) was an eighteenth century movement in European and American philosophy — some classifications also include 17th century philosophy (usually called the Age of Reason). ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      As a... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Freethought. ... In Christianity, liberation theology is a school of theology that focuses on Jesus Christ as not only the Redeemer but also the Liberator of the oppressed. ... REDIRECT Laïcité ... Agnosticism (from the Greek a, meaning without, and gnosticism or gnosis, meaning knowledge) is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims—particularly metaphysical claims regarding theology, afterlife or the existence of God, gods, deities, or even ultimate reality—is unknown or, depending on the form of agnosticism... In philosophy, materialism is that form of physicalism which holds that the only thing that can truly be said to exist is matter; that fundamentally, all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions; that matter is the only substance. ... “Atheist” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Law (disambiguation). ... Using the term Roman law in a broader sense, one may say that Roman law is not only the legal system of ancient Rome but the law that was applied throughout most of Europe until the end of the 18th century. ... The following is an alphabetical list of Greek and Latin roots commonly used in English uced in Medicine and Medical Terminology are not listed here but instead in Wikipedias List of medical roots. ... Etymology is the study of the origins of words. ... A neologism is a word, term, or phrase which has been recently created (coined) — often to apply to new concepts, or to reshape older terms in newer language form. ... For other uses, see Species (disambiguation). ... Homo sapiens (Latin: wise man) is the scientific name for the human species. ... Binomial name Tyrannosaurus rex Osborn, 1905 Synonyms Manospondylus gigas Dynamosaurus imperiosus Dinotyrannus megagracilis Nanotyrannus lancensis? Tyrannosaurus (IPA pronunciation or ; from the Greek τυραννόσαυρος, meaning tyrant lizard) is a genus of tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaur. ... For other uses, see Classics (disambiguation). ... The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. ... The Greek alphabet (Greek: ) is an alphabet consisting of 24 letters that has been used to write the Greek language since the late 8th or early 9th century BC. It was the first alphabet in the narrow sense, that is, a writing system using a separate symbol for each vowel... The Cyrillic alphabet (pronounced also called azbuka, from the old name of the first two letters) is actually a family of alphabets, subsets of which are used by certain Slavic languages — Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Rusyn, Serbian, and Ukrainian—as well as many other languages of the former Soviet Union... Eastern Christianity refers collectively to the Christian traditions and churches which developed in Greece, Russia, Armenia, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, northeastern Africa and southern India over several centuries of religious antiquity. ... Byzantine redirects here. ... Tsar, (Bulgarian цар�, Russian царь; often spelled Czar or Tzar in English), was the title used for the autocratic rulers of the First and Second Bulgarian Empires since 913, in Serbia in the middle of the 14th century, and in Russia from 1547 to 1917. ... CCCP redirects here. ...   The Gothic alphabet is an alphabetic writing system attributed by Philostorgius to Wulfila, used exclusively for writing the ancient Gothic language. ... The Coptic alphabet is an alphabet used for writing the Coptic language. ... Technical note: Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... Look up Demotic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Hieroglyphs are a system of writing used by the Ancient Egyptians, using a combination of logographic, syllabic, and alphabetic elements. ... Scholasticism comes from the Latin word scholasticus, which means that [which] belongs to the school, and is the school of philosophy taught by the academics (or schoolmen) of medieval universities circa 1100–1500. ... This article is about the European Renaissance of the 14th-17th centuries. ... Scientific method is a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. ... The Western canon is a canon of books and art (and specifically one with very loose boundaries) that has allegedly been highly influential in shaping Western culture. ... Natural law or the law of nature (Latin: lex naturalis) is an ethical theory that posits the existence of a law whose content is set by nature and that therefore has validity everywhere. ... Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... Liberal democracy is a form of government. ... The term Modern Times is used by historians to loosely describe the period of time immediately following what is known as the Early Modern Times. ... Romantics redirects here. ... For Christian theological modernism, see Liberal Christianity and Modernism (Roman Catholicism). ... Max Ernst. ... In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a set of people with a set of behaviors and beliefs, culture, which could be distinct or hidden, that differentiate them from the larger culture to which they belong. ... Urban Tribes are the rapidly growing groups of never-marrieds between the ages of 25 and 39 who gather in common-interest groups and enjoy the urban lifestyle. ... In sociology, counterculture is a term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. ... Singer of a modern Hippie movement in Russia The hippie subculture was a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread around the world. ... New Age describes a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture. ... The Parthenons facade showing an interpretation of golden rectangles in its proportions. ...

History

Further information: History of western civilization

Western culture is neither homogeneous nor unchanging. As with all other cultures it has evolved and gradually changed over time. All generalities about it have their exceptions at some time and place. The organisation and tactics of the Greek Hoplites differed in many ways from the Roman Legions. The polis of the Greeks is not the same as the American superpower of the 21st century. The gladiatorial games of the Roman Empire are not identical to present-day soccer. The art of Pompeii is not the art of Hollywood. Nevertheless, it is possible to follow the evolution and history of the West, and appreciate its similarities and differences, its borrowings from and contributions to, the other cultures of humanity. The history of western civilization traces its roots back to the fall of the Roman Empire and continues to the present era in Europe, North America, and Australia. ... Warfare in Hellenic Greece centered mainly around heavy infantrymen called hoplites. ... The Roman Legion (from Latin , from lego, legere, legi, lectus — to collect) is a term that can apply both as a transliteration of legio (conscription or army) to the entire Roman army and also, more narrowly (and more commonly), to the heavy infantry that was the basic military unit of... A polis (πόλις, pronunciation pol-is) plural: poleis (πόλεις) is a city, a city-state and also citizenship and body of citizens. ... For other uses, see Superpower (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Gladiator (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Soccer redirects here. ... Prehistoric erotic art The pre-historic era doesnt have much information available, taking in to account the kind of communication humans used to have. ... ... This article is about modern humans. ...

The ancient Greek conception of science, philosophy, democracy, architecture, literature, and art provided a foundation embraced and built upon by the Roman Empire as it swept up Greece in its conquests in the 1st century BC. For five hundred years, the Roman Empire spread the Greek and Latin languages and Roman law across Europe, although it rejected the democratic concepts pioneered in ancient Athens. With the rise of Christianity in the midst of the Roman world, much of Rome's tradition and culture were absorbed by the new religion, and transformed into something new, which would serve as the basis for the development of Western civilisation after the fall of Rome. Also, Roman culture mixed with the pre-existing Germanic, Slavic, and Celtic cultures, which slowly became integrated into Western culture starting, mainly, with their acceptance of Christianity. Scientific method is a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. ... For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ... From the point of view of modern times, the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean sometimes seem to blend smoothly into one melange we call the Classical. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... This article is about the philosophical concept of Art. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... Using the term Roman law in a broader sense, one may say that Roman law is not only the legal system of ancient Rome but the law that was applied throughout most of Europe until the end of the 18th century. ... For other uses, see Culture (disambiguation). ... Distribution of Slavic people by language The Slavic peoples are a linguistic and ethnic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in Europe, where they constitute roughly a third of the population. ... Muiredacha Cross. ...

After the fall of Rome much of Greco-Roman art, literature, science and even technology were lost. Europe fell into political anarchy, with many warring kingdoms and principalities, and evolved into feudalism. However, much of the basis of the post-Rome world had been set before the fall of the Empire, mainly through the integrating and reshaping of Roman ideas through Christian thought. The Greek and Roman paganism had been completely replaced by Christianity around the 4th and 5th centuries, since it became the official State religion following the baptism of emperor Constantine I. Roman Catholic Christianity served as a unifying force in Western Europe, and in some respects replaced or competed with the secular authorities. Art and literature, law, education, and politics were preserved in the teachings of the Church, in an environment that, otherwise, would have probably seen their loss. The Church founded many cathedrals, universities, monasteries and seminaries, some of which continue to exist today. In the Medieval period, the route to power for many men was in the Church. The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, a major literary achievement of Eighteenth Century, was written by the English historian, Edward Gibbon. ... Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste. ... Religion in ancient Rome combined several different cult practices and embraced more than a single set of beliefs. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... For other uses, see Constantine I (disambiguation). ... A current understanding of Western Europe. ... Catholic Church redirects here. ... A Cathedral is a Christian church building, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy, which serves as the central church of a bishopric. ... For the community in Florida, see University, Florida. ... Monastery of St. ... For the Ecuadorian artist, see Manuel Rendón Seminario. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ...

The rediscovery of the Justinian Code in the early 10th century rekindled the West's passion for the discipline of law. Roman law became the foundation on which all legal concepts and systems were based, and its influence can be traced to this day in all Western legal systems (although in different manners and to different extents in the common (Anglo-American) and the civil (continental European) legal traditions). The study of canon law, the legal system of the Catholic Church, fused with that of Roman law to form the basis of the refounding of Western legal scholarship. The ideas of civil rights, equality before the law, procedural justice, and democracy as the ideal form of society, and were principles which formed the basis of modern Western culture. Using the term Roman law in a broader sense, one may say that Roman law is not only the legal system of ancient Rome but the law that was applied throughout most of Europe until the end of the 18th century. ... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... For other uses of civil law, see civil law. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Canon law is the term used for... Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ... Social equality is a social state of affairs in which certain different people have the same status in a certain respect, minimally at least in voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, and property rights. ... For other uses, see Law (disambiguation). ... Procedural justice concerns the fairness of the processes by which decisions are made--as contrasted with the distributive justice (fairness in the distribution of rights or resources) and corrective justice (fairness in the rectification of wrongs). ... For other uses, see Society (disambiguation). ...

It actively encouraged the spreading of Christianity, which was inexorably linked to the spread of Western culture. Owing to the influence of Islamic culture and Islamic civilization — a culture that had preserved some of the knowledge of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, Persia, Greece, and Rome, and improved on them significantly — in Islamic Spain and southern Italy, and in the Levant during the Crusades, Western Europeans translated many Arabic texts into Latin during the Middle Ages. Later, with the fall of Constantinople and the Ottoman conquest of the Byzantine Empire, followed by a massive exodus of Greek Christian priests to Italian towns like Venice, bringing with them as many scripts from the Byzantine archives as they could, and coming in contact with their teachings, revified scholars interest for the Greek language and classic works, topics and lost files. Both the Greek and Arabic influences eventually led to the beginnings of Renaissance. From the late 15th century to the 17th century, Western culture began to be spread to other parts the world by intrepid explorers and missionaries during the Age of Discovery, followed by imperialists from the 17th century to the early 20th century. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... Muslim culture is a term primarily used in secular academia to describe all cultural practices common to historically Islamic peoples. ... During the Islamic Golden Age, usually dated from the 8th century to the 13th century,[1] engineers, scholars and traders of the Islamic world contributed enormously to the arts, agriculture, economics, industry, literature, navigation, philosophy, sciences, and technology, both by preserving and building upon earlier traditions and by adding many... Mesopotamia was a cradle of civilization geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq. ... Persia redirects here. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Al-Andalus is the Arabic name given the Iberian Peninsula by its Muslim conquerors; it refers to both the Caliphate proper and the general period of Muslim rule (711–1492). ... The Islamic conquest and domination of Sicily (as well as parts of southern Italy) is a process whose origin must be traced back in the general expansion of Islam from the 7th century onwards (see Muslim conquests for more details). ... The Levant The Levant (IPA: ) is an imprecise geographical term historically referring to a large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern Arabian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia to the east. ... This article is about the medieval crusades. ... The 12th century saw a major search by European scholars for new learning, which led them to the Arabic fringes of Europe, especially to Spain and Sicily. ... Combatants  Byzantine Empire Ottoman Sultanate Commanders Constantine XI †, Loukas Notaras, Giovanni Giustiniani †[1] Mehmed II, ZaÄŸanos Pasha Strength 80,000[2] 80,000[1]-200,000[1][3] Casualties 4,000 dead[4] [5][6] unknown The Fall of Constantinople refers to the capture of the Byzantine Empires... Combatants Byzantine Empire Ottoman Turks The Byzantine Ottoman wars was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Turks and the Byzantines that led to the final destruction of the Byzantine empire and the rise of the Ottoman empire. ... For other uses, see Venice (disambiguation). ... Greek ( IPA: or simply IPA: — Hellenic) has a documented history of 3,500 years, the longest of any single language in the Indo-European language family. ... This article is about the European Renaissance of the 14th-17th centuries. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... See also: Age of Sail and Afro-Asiatic age of discovery For the computer wargame, Age of Discovery, see Global Diplomacy. ... Cecil Rhodes: Cape-Cairo railway project. ...

The architecture of the White House deliberately recalls ancient Roman temples.

Japan has adopted some aspects of Western culture, whilst maintaining strong Japanese traditions.

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1536x1024, 274 KB)Photographed and uploaded by user:Geographer. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1536x1024, 274 KB)Photographed and uploaded by user:Geographer. ... For other uses, see White House (disambiguation). ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x768, 470 KB) Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, Japan Photo taken summer 2003 by user en:user:Willswe. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x768, 470 KB) Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, Japan Photo taken summer 2003 by user en:user:Willswe. ...

Influence of Western Culture

Elements of Western culture have had a very influential role on other cultures worldwide. People of many cultures, both Western and non-Western, equate "modernisation" (adoption of technological progress) with "westernisation," (adoption of Western culture). Some members of the non-Western world have suggested that the link between technological progress and certain harmful Western values provides a reason why much of "modernity" should be rejected as being incompatible with their vision and the values of their societies.

What is generally uncontested, is that much of the technology and social patterns which make up what is defined as "modernisation" were developed in the Western world. Whether these technological and social patterns are intrinsically part of Western culture, is more difficult to answer. Many would argue that the question cannot be answered by a response from positivistic science and instead is a "value" question which must be answered from a value system (e.g. philosophy, religion, political doctrine). Nonetheless, much of anthropology today has shown the close links between the physical environment and daily activities and the formation of a culture (the findings of cultural ecology, among others). Occident redirects here. ... Positivism is a philosophy that states that the only authentic knowledge is scientific knowledge, and that such knowledge can only come from positive affirmation of theories through strict scientific method. ... A magnet levitating above a high-temperature superconductor demonstrates the Meissner effect. ... Cultural ecology is ecology including humans. ...

Music, art, story-telling and architecture

Some cultural and artistic modalities are also characteristically Western in origin and form. While dance, music, story-telling, and architecture are human universals, they are expressed in the West in certain characteristic ways.

The symphony has its origins in Italy. Many important musical instruments used by cultures all over the world were also developed in the West; among them are the violin, piano, pipe organ, saxophone, trombone, clarinet, and the theremin. The solo piano, symphony orchestra and the string quartet are also important performing musical forms. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For the Anne Rice novel, see Violin (novel). ... A short grand piano, with the lid up. ... The baroque organ in Roskilde Cathedral, Denmark The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by forcing pressurized air (referred to as wind) through a series of pipes. ... The saxophone (colloquially referred to as sax) is a conical-bored instrument of the woodwind family. ... The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. ... Two soprano clarinets: a B♭ clarinet (left, with capped mouthpiece) and an A clarinet (right, with no mouthpiece). ... Léon Theremin playing an early theremin The theremin (originally pronounced but often anglicized as [1]), or thereminvox, is one of the earliest fully electronic musical instruments. ... A short grand piano, with the lid up. ... Orchestra at City Hall (Edmonton). ... The resident string quartet of the Library of Congress in 1963 A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string instruments—usually two violins, a viola and cello—or a piece written to be performed by such a group. ...

The ballet is a distinctively Western form of performance dance. The ballroom dance is an important Western variety of dance for the elite. The polka, the square dance, and the Irish step dance are very well-known Western forms of folk dance. For other uses, see Ballet (disambiguation). ... Gaskell Ball Ballroom dance, refers collectively to a set of partner dances, which originated in the Western world and are now enjoyed both socially and competitively around the globe. ... Street musicians in Prague playing a polka Polka is a fast, lively Central European dance, and also a genre of dance music. ... Square dance is often used as a general term for modern Western square dance. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Folk dance is a term used to describe a large number of dances, mostly of European origin, that tend to share the following attributes: They were originally danced in about the 19th century or earlier (or are, in any case, not currently copyrighted); Their performance is dominated by an inherited...

The main forms of western music are historically European Folk, Classical, and Country are genres of music invented by westerners. Folk can refer to a number of different things: It can be short for folk music, or, for folksong, or, for folklore; it may be a word for a specific people, tribe, or nation, especially one of the Germanic peoples; it might even be a calque on the related German... Look up Classical in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ...

While epic literary works in verse such as the Mahabarata and Homer's Iliad are ancient and occurred worldwide, the novel as a distinct form of story telling only arose in the West (with the possible exception, though isolated, of the Japanese Tale of Genji, five greats epics of Tamil and Persian Shahnama) in the period 1200 to 1750. Photography and the motion picture as a technology and as the basis for entirely new art forms were also developed first in the West. The soap opera, a popular culture dramatic form originated in the United States first on radio in the 1930s, then a couple of decades later on television. The music video was also developed in the West in the middle of the twentieth century. The Mahabharata (Devanagari: महाभारत, phonetically Mahābhārata - see note), sometimes just called Bharata, is the great religious, philosophical and mythological epic of India. ... title page of the Rihel edition of ca. ... This article is about the literary concept. ... Genji Monogatari (源氏物語), frequently translated as The Tale of Genji, is a classic work of Japanese literature attributed to the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century, around the peak of the Heian period. ... Events University of Paris receives charter from Philip II of France The Kanem-Bornu Empire was established in northern Africa around the year 1200 Mongol victory over Northern China — 30,000,000 killed Births Al-Abhari, Persian philosopher and mathematician (died 1265) Ulrich von Liechtenstein, German nobleman and poet (died... Events March 2 - Small earthquake in London, England April 4 - Small earthquake in Warrington, England August 23 - Small earthquake in Spalding, England September 30 - Small earthquake in Northampton, England November 16 – Westminster Bridge officially opened Jonas Hanway is the first Englishman to use an umbrella James Gray reveals her sex... The first TIME cover devoted to soap operas: Dated January 12, 1976, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of Days of our Lives are featured with the headline Soap Operas: Sex and suffering in the afternoon. A soap opera is an ongoing, episodic work of fiction, usually broadcast on television... A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song. ...

The arch, the dome, and the flying buttress as architectural motifs were first used by the Romans. Important western architectural motifs include the Doric, Corinthian, and Ionic columns, and the Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque, and Victorian styles are still widely recognised, and used even today, in the West. Much of Western architecture emphasises repetition of simple motifs, straight lines and expansive, undecorated planes. A modern ubiquitous architectural form emphasising this characteristic, first developed in New York and Chicago, is the skyscraper. For other uses, see Arch (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Dome (disambiguation). ... Flying buttresses at Bath Abbey, Bath, England. ... The Doric order was one of the orginal pokersthree orders or organizational systems of Ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. ... The Corinthian order as used for the portico of the Pantheon, Rome provided a prominent model for Renaissance and later architects, through the medium of engravings. ... Architects first real look at the Greek Ionic order: Julien David LeRoy, Les ruines plus beaux des monuments de la Grèce Paris, 1758 (Plate XX) Ionic order: 1 - entrablature, 2 - column, 3 - cornice, 4 - frieze, 5 - architrave or epistyle, 6 - capital (composed of abacus and volutes), 7 - shaft, 8... South transept of Tournai Cathedral, Belgium, 12th century. ... The western facade of Reims Cathedral, France. ... For other uses, see Baroque (disambiguation). ... Manchester Town Hall is an example of Victorian architecture found in Manchester, UK. The Carson Mansion is an example of a Victorian home in Eureka, California, USA The term Victorian architecture can refer to one of a number of architectural styles predominantly in the Victorian era. ... For other uses, see Skyscraper (disambiguation). ...

Oil painting is said to have originated by Jan van Eyck, and perspective drawings and paintings had their earliest practitioners in Florence. In art, the Celtic knot is a very distinctive Western repeated motif. Depictions of the nude human male and female in photography, painting and sculpture are frequently considered to have special artistic merit. Realistic portraiture is especially valued. In Western dance, music, plays and other arts, the performers are only very infrequently masked. There are essentially no taboos against depicting God, or other religious figures, in a representational fashion. Mona Lisa, Oil on wood panel painting by Leonardo da Vinci. ... Portrait of a Man in a Turban (actually a chaperon), probably a self-portrait, painted 1433 Jan van Eyck or Johannes de Eyck (pronounced: vān ike)(c. ... A cube in two-point perspective. ... A classic Celtic knot pattern Celtic knots are a variety of (endless) knots and stylized graphical representations of knots used for decoration, first known to have been used by the Celts. ... The word nude may refer to: The state of nudity. ... For other uses, see Portrait (disambiguation). ...

Many forms of popular music have been derived from African-Americans' folklore and music during 20th and 19th centuries, initially by themselves, but later played and further developed by Americans, British people, and Westerners in general. These include Jazz, Blues and Rock music (that in wide sense include Rock and roll and Heavy Metal branches), Rhythm and blues, Funk, Rap, and also Ska or Reggae in an African-Caribbean, Jamaican background. Several other related or derived styles were developed and introduced by western pop culture such as Pop, Pop-Rock, Technopop, Dance, Techno or Rave, Nu metal, etc. For the music genre, see Pop music. ... Languages Predominantly American English Religions Predominantly Christianity and Islam Related ethnic groups Sub-Saharan Africans and other African groups, some with Native American groups. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Folk music can have a number of different meanings, including: Traditional music: The original meaning of the term folk music was synonymous with the term Traditional music, also often including World Music and Roots music; the term Traditional music was given its more specific meaning to distinguish it from the... The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the G8, the European Union, and NATO. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, the UK, or (inaccurately) as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent... For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... Blues music redirects here. ... For other uses, see Rock music (disambiguation). ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... Heavy metals, in chemistry, are chemical elements of a particular range of atomic weights. ... For other uses, see Rhythm and blues (disambiguation). ... For other uses, including related musical genres, see Funk (disambiguation). ... RAP may mean: the IATA airport code for Rapid City Regional Airport Rassemblement pour lalternative progressiste, a Québecois political party. ... For other uses, see SKA (disambiguation). ... Reggae is a music genre developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. ... Popular culture, or pop culture, is the vernacular (peoples) culture that prevails in a modern society. ... For other uses, see Pop music (disambiguation). ... This article is about the music genre. ... Technopop, Inc. ... For other uses, see Dance (disambiguation). ... For the comic book character previously known as Techno, see Fixer (comics). ... For other uses, see Rave (disambiguation). ... Nu metal (also called aggro metal, or nü metal using the traditional heavy metal umlaut) is a musical genre that has origins in the mid 1990s. ...

Western scientific and technological achievements

A feature of Western culture is its focus on science and technology, and its ability to generate new processes, materials and material artifacts.

It was the West that first developed steam power and adapted its use into factories, and for the generation of electrical power. The Otto and the Diesel internal combustion engines are products whose genesis and early development were in the West. Nuclear power stations are derived from the first atomic pile in Chicago (1942). The electrical dynamo, transformer, electric motor, and electric light, and indeed most of the familiar electrical appliances, were inventions of the West. Today Internal combustion engines in cars, trucks, motorcycles, construction machinery and many others, most commonly use a four-stroke cycle. ... A diesel engine built by MAN AG in 1906 Rudolf Diesels 1893 patent on his engine design A Diesel engine is an internal combustion engine which operates using the Diesel cycle. ... This article is about applications of nuclear fission reactors as power sources. ... Core of a small nuclear reactor used for research. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about machines that produce electricity. ... For other uses, see Transformer (disambiguation). ...

Communication devices and systems including the telegraph, the telephone, radio, television, communication and navigation satellites, mobile phone, and the Internet were all invented by Westerners. The pencil, ballpoint pen, CRT, LCD, LED, photograph, photocopier, laser printer, ink jet printer and plasma display screen were also invented in the West. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Global Navigation Satellite System. ... Cathode ray tube employing electromagnetic focus and deflection Cutaway rendering of a color CRT: 1. ... LCD redirects here. ... External links LEd Category: TeX ... 1993 Apple LaserWriter Pro 630 laser printer A laser printer is a common type of computer printer that rapidly produces high quality text and graphics on plain paper. ... Ink jet printers are the most common type of computer printer; and industry and commerce also use them extensively for special-purpose applications. ... An example of a plasma display Composition of plasma display panel A plasma display panel (PDP) is a type of flat panel display now commonly used for large TV displays (typically above 37-inch or 940 mm). ...

Furthermore, ubiquitous materials including concrete, aluminum, clear glass, synthetic rubber, synthetic diamond and the plastics polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC and polystyrene were invented in the West. Iron and steel ships, bridges and skyscrapers first appeared in the West. Nitrogen fixation and petrochemicals were invented by Westerners. Most of the elements, as well as the current notion of elements themselves were created in the West. This article is about the construction material. ... This article is about the material. ... Synthetic rubber is any type of artificially made polymer material which acts as an elastomer. ... A collection of colorless cultured diamonds grown by Apollo Diamond, Inc. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Polypropylene lid of a Tic Tacs box, with a living hinge and the resin identification code under its flap Mi