AddisonDM 22:33, 15 April 2009 (EDT)
1.The Industrial Revolution lasted approximately from 1750 to 1900, or about a century and a half. It was earliest and greatest in England, though it spread to parts of Continental Europe and even the North American colonies, all in or before the 1800s. For some other countries the Industrial Revolution came later, and it ended in those countries in about 1900.
2.I like Louis Pasteur because he discovered both a problem (germs) and a solution (pasteurization), and also because he believed that Christianity is compatible with science. My second choice is Charles Darwin! I can’t say he is one of my favorites, but whatever one’s opinion on the theory of evolution, his publishing of Origin of Species is admirable. This is because he knew his theory would be disruptive to his society and cause conflict and ridicule, but he published it anyway because he felt he was right.
3.The Industrial Revolution was good, with some bad effects. Modern life would be impossible without the industrial technology that the Revolution spearheaded and developed. Also, capitalism suggests that such progress is inevitable. Unless government suppresses progress, it will happen. The bad effects of the Revolution were the poor working conditions in the factories, pollution caused by factories, and the low quality of living in factory towns and slums. But with these unfortunate effects eventually came affordable clothing and food, increased sanitation, and a new production network that enabled modern manufacturing and communications to flourish within a century.
4.In Italy Giuseppe Mazzini founded the Brotherhood of Young Italy in 1831 to argue for unification of Italy into one nation. Mazzini’s call was too early to be effective at the time, but was not meaningless. By 1861 most of Italy unified, and by 1870 Venice and Rome joined too.
5.Imperialism is the direct or indirect control of one nation over another, especially regarding economics and culture. The four “patterns” or means of exerting imperialism are: the establishment of colonies which are then controlled or exploited by the mother country; the establishment of protectorates, where a country is “protected” by the imperializing country; spheres of influence, in which one or a few countries only have trade rights with another country; and economic imperialism, or imperialism imposed by private companies in order to make money.
6.I like the expedition of Henry Livingstone in central Africa. Rather than going to Africa to imperialize and exploit, he went to preach the Gospel and make a natural discovery: finding the source of the Nile. Had more independent people or small groups visited Africa to help it by moderizing it, but not exploit it, it would be a more peaceful place today.
7.I find it interesting that Japan, which is geographically tiny compared to Russia and China was able to defeat both of them in quick succession (Russia in the 1900s, not 1800s). It's surprising that Japan could even have a large enough military to prevent being completely overrun by hordes of Chinese and Russians. Japan's battles with these two nations reminds of the 300 Spartans who held back the Persian army of hundreds of thousands.
Honors
1.Utilitarianism is an economic theory that teaches the only standard by which to judge something is economic gain. It is like an economic counterpart to pragmatism, in which the standard is “what works best?” Utilitarianism does not evaluate the right and wrong or the moral aspects of a situation, and thus can be used to justify almost anything, as long as it makes money. It’s really the result of taking capitalism to its logical end, although my guess would be that capitalist economists did not accept it. My own opinion is that the moral aspect must always be considered, and the choice that “works” or makes most money is not always right.
3.I think nationalism is a bad thing. It was nationalism that underlied the brutal fascist dictatorships of Nazi Germany and Mussolini’s Italy. It was nationalism that enabled Big Brother to rule in 1984, while the people were made to blindly accept his cruel rule and hate everyone who belonged to another country. Nationalism is more often an excuse to distract the people in order to impose collectivism and dictatorship than a positive force. What we want is patriotism, the love of one’s country and the desire to be a good citizen, not nationalism, the blind obedience of a dictator who symbolizes the country. The basic differenence is that patriotism recognizes a difference between country and government, while in nationalism, they are essentially interchangeable and synonymous.
5.Evolution. I think the philosophical implications of Darwinism, and the twisted theories that came from it such as Social Darwinism and the eugenics movement, have to be separated from the pure science. Science is not ideological. It’s either true or false. Either biological processes caused simple life forms to become more complex, or they didn’t. If this theory is true, then I believe God somehow directed these processes, using them as a means of creation. If it’s false, then Darwin was wrong. But we shouldn’t condemn Darwin for developing a scientific theory. We should refute it, or accept it, based on science.
Categories: [World History lectures]