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What are the Five Civilizations? (Summary Page) (whatare) |
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We are using the word "civilization" in a different way than most historians and civilizational scholars do. Most (including Arnold Toynbee) associate a civilization with a society that existed in a certain time and place - for instance, the Minoan civilization on Crete in the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C. In contrast, the scheme of history presented in this web site sees civilization as a worldwide cultural entity. It is a stage in the development of human society as it progresses from embodiment in small tribal communities to the type of society we have today. Civilizations are types of culture which emerged in successive epochs of world history. Each was associated with a communication technology which became dominant during that time. Each civilization also featured an institution of power that had recently developed. Four of the five civilizations have now reached maturity. The fifth civilization, associated with computer technology, has appeared on the horizon but is too new to have a history. Our basic approach to world history and to civilizations is presented in a page titled Civilizations and Historical Epochs (13,055 words) www.civepochs.html. This is the first chapter of the book, Five Epochs of Civilization. It places this theory of history in a context with other theories. See another summary of this scheme, "World History in Five Epochs of Civilization". www.worldhistory.html - 5 foreign languages |
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Click here for headline events: in the history of Civilization I (474 words) www.events1.html - 5 foreign languages in the history of Civilization II (500 words) www.events2.html - 5 foreign languages in the history of Civilization III (395 words) www.events3.html - 5 foreign languages in the history of Civilization
IV (438 words) www.events4.html - 5 foreign languages |
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With respect to the two keys used to identify civilizations, we have the following scheme in tabular form.
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Pointing the way to the future -
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The history of the fifth civilization lies mostly in the future. Click here for brief speculation on how computers might affect important institutions in society: Civilization V (411 words) (This is the computer civilization) www.fifthciv.html - 5 foreign languages Geeks and Nerds, personality types of the new civilization (592 words) www.geeks.html - 5 foreign languages |
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Some may wonder when these successive civilizations appeared in chronological terms. The time line is roughly: Civilization I - 3000 B.C. to 550 B.C. Civilization II - 550 B.C. to 1450 A.D. Civilization III - 1450 A.D. to 1920 A.D. Civilization IV - 1920 A.D. to 1990 A.D. Civilization V - 1990 A.D. to present But, in fact, the different societies on earth entered these civilizations at different times. Civilizations are a cultural complex whose development is not set chronologically but by an organic process of growth and decay.
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