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Western Civilizations : Questions And Answers On Western Civilizations

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1. How did mythical (or mythopoeic) thought shape the first civilizations? The first civilizations used mythical thought to resolve questions that are now answered using science (27). Mythmaking was humanity’s first way of thinking; it was the earliest attempt to explain the beginnings of the universe and human history, and to make nature’s mysteries and life’s uncertainties comprehensible (27). Mythical thought gave Near Eastern peoples a framework with which to pattern their experience into a meaningful order, justify their rules of conduct, and help them to overcome the uncertainty of existence (27). 2. How did Hebrew thought shape Western civilization? The Hebrews’ revolutionary view of God shaped Western civilization. The Hebrews regarded their God, Yahweh, as fully sovereign, which was vastly different from the Near Eastern religion’s gods (37). Furthermore, the Hebrews separated God from nature, and saw rivers, mountains, storms, and stars as His creations rather than entities in themselves; the removal of the gods from nature was a prerequisite for scientific thought (38). 3. What differences can you discern between Platonic and Aristotelian thought? A difference between Plato and Aristotle were their opinions on the theory of ideas. Plato suggested the existence of a higher world of reality, independent of the world of things that we experience every day; this higher reality is the realm of Forms – unchanging, eternal, absolute, and universal standards of beauty, goodness, justice, and truth (81). To know these Forms is to grasp ultimate truth, and truth resides in this world of Forms and not in the world made known through the senses (81). However, Aristotle renewed confidence in sense perception, and he appreciated the world of phenomena, of concrete things (84). 4. What are the basic tenets of St. Augustine’s Christian philosophy? Augustine believed that the ideal state existed only in heaven; therefore, the collapse of Rome did not diminish the greatness of Christianity because the true Christian was a citizen of a heavenly city that could not be pillaged and would endure forever (188). Augustine’s belief did not focus on the passing of cities and empires, but the individual’s spiritual

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