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Comment on: What forces have shaped humanity most?

Bigthink — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:39:33 +0100

Greed

Comment on: What forces have shaped humanity most?

Bigthink — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:09:45 +0100

id say faith cause weather god or not it moved people to do thing they never would have . roakes said the most important thing in the past 500 years is the printing press and when it was made aalmost all the books that were being writin were copys after copys of the bible and we may not have had the motavation to invent that without the need to make 10000s of copys of one book and it then started being used for other stuff that helped shape civilisation
there are many more EX. of this but weather you belive in god or not others faith helped shape the world
in my opinion

Comment on: What forces have shaped humanity most?

Bigthink — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 06:12:31 +0100

Big question.

If the time frame was 100,000 years, I would say the family group, because it provided the model of cooperation and reciprocity that allowed civilized societies to come into being and to work.

If the time frame was 500 years and the focus is on the West, I would say the printing press. Almost the moment it appeared, authority structures that dominated Europe for a thousand years began to fall apart as heretical ideas moved too quickly to be controlled. The rise of individualism, science and the secular society date from the advent of this astonishing invention.

Comment on: What forces have shaped humanity most?

Bigthink — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 05:03:48 +0100

Weight Loss Powder

Comment on: What forces have shaped humanity most?

Bigthink — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:26:29 +0100

Consumerism.

In its most basic form, the first humans formed into clans and tribes to give them an edge on their animal prey and to collect more edible bits. Every movement was in pursuit of a full belly.

The first civilizations of antiquity were built around securing grain, which meant finding good soil, access to water, fair climate, and building material. Once it was found, cities were built. People grew, built, traded...and ate more and more.

As consumer tastes became more advanced, people learned to manufacture, import, and explore. The world was mapped on shipping routes in search of supplies of coffee, tea, spice, wine, etc. Trading companies were dispatched and colonies formed.

There is no question that the world today is a consumer world. The market determines what is built, innovated, produced, and marketed. And the fundamental rule of the market: the consumer's demands must be met. The insatiable consumer appetite keeps our economy moving, and when it gorges, our economy responds with a massive tummy-ache.

Religions change, evolve, and die; rulers, and their methods of ruling can at best be described as "periods" or "eras." The impulse to consume will never go away.

Comment on: What forces have shaped humanity most?

Bigthink — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 18:39:13 +0100

One of the largest forces that have propelled humanity through our collective histories are the major religions. While each of them have their good stories and bad stories, their ability to maintain an emotional stranglehold over the masses, has allowed them to dictate human behavior to a large extent for a VERY long time. Is there any other collective human force that has been so influential on Earth? The fact that most of these large religions claim peace to be their main tenant, and yet have gone on to keep mankind in fear, is something that will have to be dealt with in this century.
And yet it will be another blip of an event in our history!

Comment on: What forces have shaped humanity most?

Bigthink — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 04:35:38 +0100

Fear and Greed are the prime movers of human actions and decisions in the short term. Love and the need for acceptance are forces that last over time, even allowing one to overcome the fear and greed at times.

Comment on: What forces have shaped humanity most?

Bigthink — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 17:12:55 +0100

The artist Radon painted a piece which he named after a famous statement by Pascal "The Eternal Silence of these Infinite Spaces Makes Me Afraid." Summed up in the words and image are key forces which shaped us: fear of the unknown, wonder at it all, the need for community, and our susceptibility to charlatans.