Civilisations Essay           

Civilisation as a whole is on the right path, that is the progressive path. This is a result of education/literacy, and technological and medical innovation. This is especially true if you compare now to previous times at almost any point in history. From the Black Death, to the Crusades, to the two World Wars, this is the most peaceful era in history.

The quote by Steven Pinker “law of competition is best for it ensure the survival of the fittest” is one I strongly disagree with, as I am an egalitarianist. Competition, which in today’s world is the equivalent to capitalism, creates mass inequality amongst people, and the gap continues to grow. This inequality ultimately leads to bitter resentment and crime/instability, dividing a society and pulling it apart. We have seen this in many parts of the world, such as Brazil, in the massive shantytowns or “favelas” of Rio De Janeiro, where inequality has caused poverty and crime to run rampant.

   The quote from Kenneth Clark about the Apollo embodying a higher civilisation is rather subjective; however I do happen to agree with it. The Apollo sculpture has a complex design and took much material to build. It is especially advanced in comparison to the African mask we compared it to in class. My opinion is likely biased as I live in a western society, and grew up around western culture.

    Pinker’s idea that education and literacy help our society to progress is true, as education is the building block for innovation and inventions, which ultimately propels a society forwards. Without education and literacy, society would be very backward. This is also the reason that society as a whole has become less and less violent as time has gone on. We have replaced violence with rationalism, empathy, and the rule of law. Society in general has also become less religious in no small part to education, which gives us a new world view, other than creationism. Atheism was almost unheard of until relatively recently. Today it is common and widely accepted, at least in the Western World.