The Western civilization shows

• a good understanding of physical nature and human culture through scientific knowledge and advanced practices,
• successful implementation of the idea of political freedom and democracy, 
• strong recognition of the value individual versus subordination to the collective releasing the power of innovation and the growth of wealth, 
• development of advanced communication and transportation systems leading to globalization and the free flow of ideas, capital, economy and people. 

The West was less successful in: 

• finding lasting and balanced solutions to social conflicts among nations, 
• showing the ability to regulate science and technology, which are not only improving conditions of life but also producing weapons of mass destruction and leading to an economy where robots and automation will make humans useless. 
• developing mechanisms to prevent the development of totalitarian (Nazism) semitotalitarian (Fascism) and populist regimes which have trampled on individual freedoms and human dignity and which practice brutal racism.

Western civiliation began in Europe and is a merger of the two cultural zones Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman which arose in the ancient world.

The Hebrews declared that God was one, autonomous superior and motivated for social justice. The religious revolution disconnected them from the Worldviews of the neighboring Mesopotamians and Egyptian.The new view of divinity led to an awareness of the value of the individual.

Roman law was defined by the universal principles of common rationality and humanity.

The period of 200 years of peace in which Augustus (63 BCE-14CE) was the ruler of the Roman Empire was called Pax Romana.The Romans built a network of good roads and aqueducts to supply water.

Pax Romana ended in the third century CE. The Roman Empire was plunged into military anarchy. German tribesman from Vistula river broke through the deteriorating border defenses to raid, loot and destroy.

The Roman Empire ended in 476 , but a part continued to exist and evolved in the Byzantine civilization and the Dark Ages in Europe began.

The Dark Ages lasted almost to the Italian Renaissance of the 15th century.

Early christianity began when the Roman Empire was in decline. It reached out across the Mediterranean world.

It was based on the life, death, resurrection and teachings of Jesu who was executed by the Roman authorities

On 25 December 800, Pope Leo crowned Charlemagne ‘the Emperor of the West’ in St.Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Charlemagne and Leo wanted to revive the glories of the Roman Empire and founded the Holy Roman Empire. It survived from 1254 to 1806 and reflected the desire to merge the formerly barbaric Germans with Christian and Roman elements into a rising new civilization: Western civilization.

The Western (European) civilization was restricted to a small place. The center was in the North, in a triangle between Paris, Cologne and London. The exterior countries such as Spain, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Poland, Bohemia (Czech Republic) and Italy did not share all the manifestations of this civilization; nevertheless, they accepted its basic ideas as Christianity.

Great voyages of exploration and significant mechanical inventions both began in the 15th century, and enabled Western (European) civilization to spread throughout the world.

 It was the first time that many of the peoples of the world came into contact with a single civilization. In the 21st century Western civilization transformed into Global civilization with a layer of Virtual civilization.

Max Weber, a German sociologist, saw the Jews entering history as a tribal confederecy of peasants and husbandmen. The Jews went on to become hegemonic leaders in Canaan, create a series of kingdoms, and write the Bible which is a foundational work for Western civilization. Later, they evolved again and became ‘pariah people’, a group that completed a way from tribal brotherhood to universal otherhood. 

The fall of Judea to Roman legions caused the Jews to become an ‘organically developing historic community’.

Beginning in 1948, all Jews were entitled to refuge in the state of Israel.

In general, individuals in Israel are Jewish if they see themselves as such, are born of at least some Jewish ancestry or are converts, and do not subscribe to another religion.

 Saint Paul, thr most important figure of the Apostolic Age, created numerous Christian churches. He was a Jew and a Roman citizen; therefore, he could easily address both groups. As a result, Christianity grew into separate universalistic faith.

They agreed on the following three principles: 

• Creed: Love, God and each humang being (love your neighbour) §? Observe the Ten Commandments 
• Follow the teaching of the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments.

The four events significant in the ascent of Christianity were:

1. The Crusades: a squence of religious wars authorized by the Roman Catholic Church in the period of 11th-18th centuries.

2. The Inquisition: a judicial institution that was organized in the 13th century by the papacy and sometimes by governments. Their official goal was to contest heresy.

3. Schism: After a break between Rome (Rome I) and Constantinople, Byzantium (Rome II) the quarrel was so intensive that a great Schism took place in 1054. Christianity was divided between the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church.

4. Reformation: Scholars began to question the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching and the administration of the church by its leaders.The printing press was one important reason why there was an appeal for more reliance on the Bible. The result of this was the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

Their major goal was to capture the Eastern Mediterranean and other regions from Islamic rule. Some of the motives were defeating paganism and heresy and fixing conflicts among rival Roman Catholic clusters.

It began in France and went on in Spain, Portugal, and their colonies in Africa, Asia and the Americas.

It started in 1517 in Germany when an Augustinian monk, Martin Luther, nailed his famous ’95 Theses’ to the door of a church in Wittenberg. It was a protest against the sale of indulgences (pardons for sins). Then, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Scotland and several German states adapted the new religion called Protestantism.

When Pope Clement VII refused to allow King Henry VIII to divorce his wife, England broke with Rome. As a result, the Anglican Church was founded.

These are people, education, government, European Union, military, economy and quality of life.

The American Revolution transformed a colonized society into a fully functioning independent nation. A new republic appeared: the United States of America.

It took place in 1789.

Its motto was ‘liberté, égalité, fraternité’, or “liberty, equality, fraternity.

The English and Napoleon’s forces fought in the battle of Waterloo in 1815. It ended with the victory of the English.

It can be defined as a process by which a society transmits its values and wisdom, its learning and its worldviews to the following generations

The Industrial Revolution in England set off the rapid development of education in Western civilization. The operation of the machines required skillful engineers and workers. Besides, the working hours were shortened by the machines which made it possible for the people to spend more time on education.

Education in these countries was a subject of cencorship, particularly with respect to humanities and social sciences. Because of this, particularistic, one-sided information was conveyed to the youth, resulting in dangerous consequences.

This caused China to become the World Factory and India the World Laboratory. Developed nations are losing their middle classes and their purchasing power

The adopted framework was for global education. The conferees created a list of development stages that’represent a continuum germane throughout all levels of education’:

A. Recognition of global systems and their connectedness, including personal awareness and openness to other cultures, values and attitudes at home and abroad.

B. Intercultural skills and direct experiences

C. General knowledge of history and world events - politics, economics, geopgraphy

D. Detailed area studies specialization – expertise in another language, culture or country.

The globally competent learner is :
§? empowered by the experience of global education to help make difference in society, 

• committed to lifelong, global learning, 
• aware of diversity, commonalities and interdependence, 
• recognizes the geopolitical and economic interdependence of the world, 
• appreciates the impact of other cultures on national life, 
• accepts the importance of all peoples, 
• can work in diverse teams, 
• understands the non-universality of culture, religion and values,
• accepts responsibility for global citizenship.

PISA (Programme for International Student Assesment)is a measure of the level of education of 15year-old students in advanced countries most of which belong to the Western civilization.

A well-known educational index is the Academic Ranking of World Universities. It lists the top twenty universities in the world.

After World War I the Great Depression struck the Western civilization leading to the rise of Fascism in Portugal, Spain and Italy and Nazism in Germany and culminating in World War II (1939-1945). The result was the split into the political West (Western civilization without Central Europe) and the political East (Soviet Union and its satellites).

The Cold War began in 1945 and the opponents were the West promoting democracy and capitalim and the East practising state communism and central planning

It began in 1980 and ended in 1989. It was led by the workers movement ’Solidarity’ and was followed by the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, which divided Germany into Western and Eastern republics, and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

It was inspired by the French diplomat Jean Monnet and the Polish émigré-diplomat and founder of the Bilderberg Group ( a club of very influential active and former politicians) in 1951.

The members were France, West Germany, Luxemburg, Belgium, Holland and Italy. They were the core of the coming Western European Unity

The European Atomic Energy Community and the European Economic Community were formed in 1957.

In 1973 Great Britain, Ireland and Denmark joined the community which now was called European Community.

In 1986 Spain, Portugal and Greece were admitted to the community.

The European Union was created in 1993 with a common currency, law and a restructured European Parliament, European Commission, European Council and Court of Justice.

It was formed in 1949 as an alliance of national military forces spearheaded by democratic Western allies like the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Canada.

An alliance of Eastern Europe’s military forces which was led by the Soviet Union was formed in 1955. It was called the Warsaw Pact and its target was Western Europe during the period of the Cold War between the East and West.

According to as of 2015 there are 14.3 million Jews in the world. Today, there are about 1.4 million Jews in Europe, 5.7 million in the United States, and over 6.2 million Jews in Israel.

Some of the findings of the survey were as follows: 

• Jews have a high educational level.
• One-quarter of the Jews have a household income exceeding $150,000. 
• 20% of American Jews report household incomes of less than $30,000 per year.

The legacies of the Greek culture are:

1. A shift from aristrocratic governance to democracy

2. The power of reasoning in daily life and reasoning in daily life and abstract problem solving

3. The importance of ideas and perfecting one’s own personality

4. The first stages of science and medicine

5. The importance to see beauty in life, which led to high art, particularly sculpture and poetry

6. A spreading out of monetarybased trade among distance parties

7. The accumulation of wealth at upper strata of the society

8. The development of colonial cities

An important legacy is liberty and equality as proclaimed by the English (1688), American (1783) and French (1789) Revolutions.

 The legacy can be seen in literatüre, poetry, philosophy, military habits and in substantial food.

Its legacy includes advanced science and technology and American food like fast food. However, today there is a trend to eat healthier. Organic foods are preferred and the calorie intake is lowered.

It is reflected in dance. Tango, a dance performed with great involvement and dynamism and widely adapted to the world, is the contribution of the Latin American culture.

 It can be found in the scope of folklore rich in costumes and dances. Each country has its own patterns and styles.

It can be seen in its amazing interior design and classic fashion brands. The balance of elegant simplicity and minimalism with inviting homeliness and warmth is paid special attention to.

The Jews spoke a form of Aramaic, followed by Greek and Latin. Latin gave birth to six Jewish languages. Ladino (Jewish Spanish), Yiddish (a Jewish adaptation of Middle High German) , Arabic, Judeo_Persian and Gruzinic. The official languages of Israel are Hebrew and Arabic, but languages like English and French are also spoken.

It symbolized the shift from an agrarian, handicraft, labor-intensive economy to one dominated by machine-driven manufacturing, specialization of tasks, a free flow of capital and the concentration of people in the cities of the emerging Industrial Society.

The West developed a form of stocks for investment in companies with some controlled liability, which allowed for a more effective concentration of capital for savings and investments.

The concentration of industrial businesses in cities caused the rapid growth of the cities. Most workers could grow their own food before industralization, but with the rapid growth of the cities they had to rely on services which were developing the landscape of those towns. Today, most of the population lives in cities.

The main trends of the Western civilization in terms of rights are as follows:

• The development of instruments of social justice in terms of freedom and equality 
• The rights to life, liberty and happiness 
• The protection of universal rights like human rights, civil rights, women’s rights, religious rights, freedom of speech or expression and minority rights.

The development of world-wide industrial, information and virtualization waves led to the modernization of all contemporary civilizations.

The Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991.

Western Civilization’s biggest motivation is relentless pursuit of progress, change, and rebuilding. This is reflected in the Italian Renaissance (15th century); the Enlightenment (18th century); the English Revolution (17th century), French Revolution (18th century), and American Revolution (18th century); the Industrial Revolution (18th and 19th centuries); the Scientific and Technological Revolution (20th century); and the Information and Virtualization Waves (21st century). Eventually it has led to the rise of the developed nations of Europe, America, Australia, and New Zealand, where the level of education, industrialization, service, governance, and living is among the highest in the world.

By declaring that God was one, autonomous, superior, and motivated for social justice, the Hebrews provoked a religious revolution that disconnected them from the world-views of the neighboring Mesopotamian and Egyptian peoples. The new view of divinity led to an awareness of the value of the individual.

Greeks perceived law as an achievement of the rational mind rather than as a proclamation imposed by divinities. In the process, they also developed the idea of political freedom and the possibility of democratic and other political institutions. Their philosophers argued that nature is not controlled by blind chance. There are some general rules of nature which can be comprehended by human minds. This led to the search for truth, the collection of data, and the generation of theoretical explanations. Thus, a distinction between medicine and magic was recognized. The quest for truth was also associated for the admiration of beauty, exemplified in architecture, sculptures, pottery, and clothes. Still today, these Greek achievements constitute a basis for Western civilization.

During the early Middle Ages (500 to 1050CE), Western Civilization evolved with Christianity at the center, Rome as the spiritual capital, and Latin as the language of spiritual life; nonetheless, the German tradition was included into the rising new civilization, as well.

On 25 December 800, Pope Leo crowned Charlemagne the “Emperor of the West” in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. In this way Charlemagne and Leo attempted to revive the glories of the Roman Empire and found what would later came to be known as the Holy Roman Empire, which survived from 1254 to 1806. This empire reflected the desire to merge the formerly barbaric Germans with Christian and Roman elements into a rising new civilization, Western Civilization. A distinct Western (read European) civilization took root, but it was centuries away from its maturation.

The Mongol conquest of the 13th century weakened the ties that the Russians had with the West and forced them to face the East for two centuries.

The Jews belong to Western-Jewish civilization even though they are not Christians.

Beginning in 1948, all Jews became entitled to refuge in the state of Israel.

The ascent of Christianity was marked by many significant events. Four were particularly important: Crusades, The Inquisition, Schism, Reformation.

The major differences that remain between the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant Churches are as follows:

• The Roman Catholic Church is ruled by semi-divine Popes and clergy composed of the hierarchy of cardinals, bishops, priests, and deacons. It is one integrated world-wide organization with its capital in the Vatican City (Rome, Italy). 
• The Protestant Churches, by contrast, have many different, theology-oriented branches (Evangelical, Methodist, Reformed, Lutheran,Pentecostal,Baptist,Mormon,Anglican,Presbyterian, Unitarian, and numerous others),most of which are independent and many, but not all, ruled by flat management structures. 
• The theological difference between these two churches is in the complexity of liturgy. The Protestant churches generally follow a simpler liturgy than does the Catholic Church.

The American Revolution (1775-83) transformed a colonized society into a fully functioning independent nation. Many among the colonists had decided to determine their own destiny, and that, coupled with British parliamentary intransigence, led to the war for independence. By the end, a vast new republic, the United States of America, had appeared on the world stage.

The French Revolution of 1789, arguably the most significant event in thousands of years, was a powerful impetus to evaluation of hereditary monarchical governments. Soon this revolution shook the entire continent of Europe. Its main idea was expressed in its motto: liberté, égalité, fraternité, or “liberty, equality, fraternity.”

In 1996, participants at an American Council on International Intercultural Education conference adopted a framework for global education. The conferees created a list of developmental stages that “represent a continuum germane throughout all levels of education”:

A. Recognition of global systems and their connectedness, including personal awareness and openness to other cultures, values, and attitudes at home and abroad.

B. Intercultural skills and direct experiences.

C. General knowledge of history and world events -- politics, economics, geography.

D. Detailed area studies specialization -- expertise in another language, culture, or country.

According to Academic Ranking of World Universities, of the 20 top universities in the world, 19 belong to Western civilization and one to the Japanese civilization.

The Cold War began in 1945 between the West, which promoted democracy and capitalism, and the East, which practiced state communism and central planning.

France, West Germany, Luxemburg, Belgium, Holland, and Italy became the core countries of the coming Western European unity as they were the members of the European Coal and Steel Community established in 1951.

Greek culture brought a shift from aristocratic governance to democracy in the Western culture.

The legacy of Latin American culture is best reflected in dance. This culture has contributed a dance, the tango, which is performed with great involvement and dynamism and is widely adapted to the world.

High Culture refers to good taste, the aspirational levels in music, paintings, and theatre.

The term “Industrial Revolution” symbolized the shift from an agrarian, handicraft, labor-intensive economy to one dominated by machine-driven manufacturing, specialization of tasks (at the shop-floor and in the office where bureaucracy was born), a free flow of capital, and the concentration of people in the cities of the emerging Industrial Society.