Produced by Al Haines
[Transcriber's note: Extensive research found no evidence
that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
HISTORY OF
HUMAN SOCIETY
BY
FRANK W. BLACKMAR
PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
NEW YORK ---- CHICAGO ---- BOSTON
ATLANTA ---- SAN FRANCISCO
Copyright, 1926, by
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
Printed in the United States of America
{v}
PREFACE
This book tells what we know of man, how he first lived, how he worked
with other men, what kinds of houses he built, what tools he made, and
how he formed a government under which to live. So we learn of the
activities of men in the past and what they have passed on to us. In
this way we may become acquainted with the different stages in the
process which we call civilization.
The present trend of specialization in study and research has brought
about widely differentiated courses of study in schools and a large
number of books devoted to special subjects. Each course of study and
each book must necessarily represent but a fragment of the subject.
This method of intensified study is to be commended; indeed, it is
essential to the development of scientific truth. Those persons who
can read only a limited number of books and those students who can take
only a limited number of courses of study need books which present a
connected survey of the movement of social progress as a whole, and
which blaze a trail through the accumulation of learning, and give an
adequate perspective of human achievement.
It is hoped, then, that this book will form the basis of a course of
reading or study that will give the picture in small compass of this
most fascinating subject. If it serves its purpose well, it will be
the introduction to more special study in particular fields or periods.
That the story of this book may be always related more closely with the
knowledge and experience of the individual reader, questions and
problems have been added at the conclusion of each chapter, which may
be used as subjects for {vi} discussion or topics for themes. For those
who wish to pursue some particular phase of the subject a brief list of
books has been selected which may profitably be read more intensively.
F. W. B.
{vii}
CONTENTS
_PART I_
CIVILIZATION AND PROGRESS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. WHAT IS CIVILIZATION? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
The human trail. Civilization may be defined. The material evidences
of civilization are all around us. Primitive man faced an unknown
world. Civilization is expressed in a variety of ways. Modern
civilization includes some fundamentals. Progress an essential
characteristic of civilization. Diversity is necessary to progress.
What is the goal of civilized man? Possibilities of civilization.
Civilization can be estimated.
II. THE ESSENTIALS OF PROGRESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
How mankind goes forward on the trail. Change is not necessarily
progress. Progress expresses itself in a variety of ideals and aims.
Progress of the part and progress of the whole. Social progress
involves individual development. Progress is enhanced by the
interaction of groups and races. The study of uncultured races of
to-day. The study of prehistoric types. Progress is indicated by
early cultures. Industrial and social life of primitive man. Cultures
indicate the mental development of the race. Men of genius cause
mutations which permit progress. The data of progress.
III. METHODS OF RECOUNTING HUMAN PROGRESS . . . . . . . . . . 35
Difficulty of measuring progress. Progress may be measured by the
implements used. The development of art. Progress is estimated by
economic stages. Progress is through the food-supply. Progress
estimated by the different forms of social order. Development of
family life. The growth of political life. Religion important in
civilization. Progress through moral evolution. Intellectual
development of man. Change from savagery to barbarism. Civilization
includes all kinds of human progress. Table showing methods of
recounting human progress.
_PART II_
FIRST STEPS OF PROGRESS
IV. PREHISTORIC MAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
The origin of man has not yet been determined. Methods of recounting
prehistoric time: (1) geologic method, (2) paleontology, (3) anatomy,
(4) cultures. Prehistoric types of the human race. The unity of the
human race. The primitive home of man may be determined in a general
way. The antiquity of man is shown in racial differentiation. The
evidences of man's ancient life in different localities: (1) caves, (2)
shell mounds, (3) river and glacial drifts, (4) burial-mounds, (5)
battle-fields and village sites, (6) lake-dwellings. Knowledge of
man's antiquity influences reflective thinking.
{viii}
V. THE ECONOMIC FACTORS OF PROGRESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
The efforts of man to satisfy physical needs. The attempt to satisfy
hunger and protect from cold. The methods of procuring food in
primitive times. The variety of food was constantly increased. The
food-supply was increased by inventions. The discovery and use of
fire. Cooking added to the economy of the food-supply. The
domestication of animals. The beginnings of agriculture were very
meagre. The manufacture of clothing. Primitive shelters and houses.
Discovery and use of metals. Transportation as a means of economic
development. Trade, or exchange of goods. The struggle for existence
develops the individual and the race.
VI. PRIMITIVE SOCIAL LIFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
The character of primitive social life. The family is the most
persistent of social origins. Kinship is a strong factor in social
organization. The earliest form of social order. The reign of custom.
The Greek and Roman family was strongly organized. In primitive
society religion occupied a prominent place. Spirit worship. Moral
conditions. Warfare and social progress. Mutual aid developed slowly.
_PART III_
SEATS OF EARLY CIVILIZATION
VII. LANGUAGE AND ART AS A MEANS OF CULTURE AND
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
The origin of language has been a subject of controversy. Language is
an important social function. Written language followed speech in
order of development. Phonetic writing was a step in advance of the
ideograph. The use of manuscripts and books made permanent records.
Language is an instrument of culture. Art as a language of aesthetic
ideas. Music is a form of language. The dance as a means of dramatic
expression. The fine arts follow the development of language. The
love of the beautiful slowly develops.
VIII. THE INFLUENCE OF PHYSICAL NATURE ON HUMAN PROGRESS . . 141
Man is a part of universal nature. Favorable location is necessary for
permanent civilization. The nature of the soil an essential condition
of progress. The use of land the foundation of social order. Climate
has much to do with the possibilities of progress. The general aspects
of nature determine the type of civilization. Physical nature
influences social order.
IX. CIVILIZATION OF THE ORIENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
The first nations with historical records in Asia and Africa.
Civilization in Mesopotamia. Influences coming from the Far East.
Egypt becomes a centre of civilization. The coming of the Semites.
The Phoenicians became the great navigators. A comparison of the
Egyptian and Babylonian empires. The Hebrews made a permanent
contribution to world civilization. The civilization of India and
China. The coming of the Aryans.
X. THE ORIENTAL TYPE OF CIVILIZATION . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
The governments of the early Oriental civilizations. War existed for
conquest and plunder. Religious belief was an important factor in
despotic {ix} government. Social organization was incomplete.
Economic influences. Records, writing, and paper. The beginnings of
science were strong in Egypt, weak in Babylon. The contribution to
civilization.
XI. BEGINNINGS OF CIVILIZATION IN AMERICA . . . . . . . . . . 186
America was peopled from the Old World. The Incas of Peru. Aztec
civilization in Mexico. The earliest centres of civilization in
Mexico. The Pueblo Indians of the Southwest. The Mound-Builders of
the Mississippi Valley. Other types of Indian life. Why did the
civilization of America fail?
_PART IV_
WESTERN CIVILIZATION
XII. THE OLD GREEK LIFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
The old Greek life was the starting-point of Western civilization. The
Aegean culture preceded the coming of the Greeks. The Greeks were of
Aryan stock. The coming of the Greeks. Character of the primitive
Greeks. Influence of old Greek life.
XIII. GREEK PHILOSOPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
The transition from theology to inquiry. Explanation of the universe
by observation and inquiry. The Ionian philosophy turned the mind
toward nature. The weakness of Ionian philosophy. The Eleatic
philosophers. The Sophists. Socrates the first moral philosopher (b.
469 B.C.). Platonic philosophy develops the ideal. Aristotle the
master mind of the Greeks. Other schools. Results obtained in Greek
philosophy.
XIV. THE GREEK SOCIAL POLITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
The struggle for Greek equality and liberty. The Greek government an
expanded family. Athenian government a type of Grecian democracy.
Constitution of Solon seeks a remedy. Cleisthenes continues the
reforms of Solon. Athenian democracy failed in obtaining its best and
highest development. The Spartan state differs from all others. Greek
colonization spreads knowledge. The conquests of Alexander.
Contributions of Greece to civilization.
XV. ROMAN CIVILIZATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
The Romans differed in nature from the Greeks. The social structure of
early Rome and that of early Greece. Civil organization of Rome. The
struggle for liberty. The development of government. The development
of law is the most remarkable phase of the Roman civilization.
Influence of the Greek life on Rome. Latin literature and language.
Development of Roman art. Decline of the Roman Empire. Summary of
Roman civilization.
XVI. THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Important factors in the foundation of Western civilization. The
social contacts of the Christian religion. Social conditions at the
beginning of the Christian era. The contact of Christianity with
social life. Christianity influenced the legislation of the times.
Christians come into conflict with civil authority. The wealth of the
church accumulates. Development of the hierarchy. Attempt to dominate
the temporal powers. Dogmatism. The church becomes the conservator of
knowledge. Service of Christianity.
{x}
XVII. TEUTONIC INFLUENCE ON CIVILIZATION . . . . . . . . . . 281
The coming of the barbarians. Importance of Teutonic influence.
Teutonic liberty. Tribal life. Classes of society. The home and the
home life. Political assemblies. General social customs. The
economic life. Contributions to law.
XVIII. FEUDAL SOCIETY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Feudalism a transition of social order. There are two elementary
sources of feudalism. The feudal system in its developed state based
on land-holding. Other elements of feudalism. The rights of
sovereignty. The classification of feudal society. Progress of
feudalism. State of society under feudalism. Lack of central
authority in feudal society. Individual development in the dominant
group.
XIX. ARABIAN CONQUEST AND CULTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
The rise and expansion of the Arabian Empire. The religious zeal of
the Arab-Moors. The foundations of science and art. The beginnings of
chemistry and medicine. Metaphysics and exact science. Geography and
history. Discoveries, inventions, and achievements. Language and
literature. Art and architecture. The government of the Arab-Moors
was peculiarly centralized. Arabian civilization soon reached its
limits.
XX. THE CRUSADES STIR THE EUROPEAN MIND . . . . . . . . . . . 319
What brought about the crusades. Specific causes of the crusades.
Unification of ideals and the breaking of feudalism. The development
of monarchy. The crusades quickened intellectual development. The
commercial effects of the crusades. General influence of the crusades
on civilization.
XXI. ATTEMPTS AT POPULAR GOVERNMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
The cost of popular government. The feudal lord and the towns. The
rise of free cities. The struggle for independence. The
affranchisement of cities developed municipal organization. The
Italian cities. Government of Venice. Government of Florence. The
Lombard League. The rise of popular assemblies in France. Rural
communes arose in France. The municipalities of France. The
States-General was the first central organization. Failure of attempts
at popular government in Spain. Democracy in the Swiss cantons. The
ascendancy of monarchy. Beginning of constitutional liberty in England.
XXII. THE INTELLECTUAL AWAKENING OF EUROPE . . . . . . . . . 347
Social evolution is dependent upon variation. The revival of progress
throughout Europe. The revival of learning a central idea of progress.
Influence of Charlemagne. The attitude of the church was
retrogressive. Scholastic philosophy marks a step in progress.
Cathedral and monastic schools. The rise of universities. Failure to
grasp scientific methods. Inventions and discoveries. The extension
of commerce hastened progress.
XXIII. HUMANISM AND THE REVIVAL OF LEARNING . . . . . . . . . 364
The discovery of manuscripts. Who were the humanists? Relation of
humanism to language and literature. Art and architecture. The effect
of humanism on social manners. Relation of humanism to science and
philosophy. The study of the classics became fundamental in education.
General influence of humanism.
{xi}
XXIV. THE REFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
The character of the Reformation. Signs of the rising storm. Attempts
at reform within the church. Immediate causes of the Reformation.
Luther was the hero of the Reformation in Germany. Zwingli was the
hero of the Reformation in Switzerland. Calvin establishes the Genevan
system. The Reformation in England differed from the German. Many
phases of reformation in other countries. Results of the Reformation
were far-reaching.
XXV. CONSTITUTIONAL LIBERTY AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION . . . . 392
Progress of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The struggle of
monarchy with democracy. Struggle for constitutional liberty in
England. The place of France in modern civilization. The divine right
of kings. The power of the nobility. The misery of the people. The
church. Influence of the philosophers. The failure of government.
France on the eve of the revolution. The revolution. Results of the
revolution.
_PART V_
MODERN PROGRESS
XXVI. PROGRESS OF POLITICAL LIBERTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
Political liberty in the eighteenth century. The progress of popular
government found outside of great nations. Reform measures in England.
The final triumph of the French republic. Democracy in America.
Modern political reforms. Republicanism in other countries. Influence
of democracy on monarchy.
XXVII. INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
Industries radiate from the land as a centre. The early medieval
methods of industry. The beginnings of trade. Expansion of trade and
transportation. Invention and discoveries. The change from handcraft
to power manufacture. The industrial revolution. Modern industrial
development. Scientific agriculture. The building of the city.
Industry and civilization.
XXVIII. SOCIAL EVOLUTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
The evolutionary processes of society. The social individual. The
ethnic form of society. The territorial group. The national group
founded on race expansion. The functions of new groups. Great society
and the social order. Great society protects voluntary organizations.
The widening influence of the church. Growth of religious toleration.
Altruism and democracy. Modern society a machine of great complexity.
Interrelation of different parts of society. The progress of the race
based on social opportunities. The central idea of modern civilization.
XXIX. THE EVOLUTION OF SCIENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458
Science is an attitude of mind toward life. Scientific methods.
Measurement in scientific research. Science develops from centres.
Science and democracy. The study of the biological and physical
sciences. The evolutionary theory. Science and war. Scientific
progress is cumulative. The trend of scientific investigation.
Research foundations.
{xii}
XXX. UNIVERSAL EDUCATION AND DEMOCRACY . . . . . . . . . . . 475
Universal public education is a modern institution. The mediaeval
university permitted some freedom of choice. The English and German
universities. Early education in the United States. The common, or
public, schools. Knowledge, intelligence, and training necessary in a
democracy. Education has been universalized. Research an educational
process. The diffusion of knowledge necessary in a democracy.
Educational progress. Importance of state education. The
printing-press and its products. Public opinion.
XXXI. WORLD ECONOMICS AND POLITICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486
Commerce and communication. Exchange of ideas modifies political
organization. Spread of political ideas. The World War breaks down
the barriers of thought. Attempt to form a league for permanent peace.
International agreement and progress. The mutual aid of nations.
Reorganization of international law. The outlook for a world state.
XXXII. THE TREND OF CIVILIZATION IN THE UNITED STATES . . . . 495
The economic outlook. Economics of labor. Public and corporate
industries. The political outlook. Equalization of opportunity. The
influence of scientific thought on progress. The relation of material
comfort to spiritual progress. The balance of social forces.
Restlessness vs. happiness. Summary of progress.
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504
INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
{3}
_PART I_
CIVILIZATION AND PROGRESS
HISTORY OF HUMAN SOCIETY
CHAPTER I
WHAT IS CIVILIZATION?
_The Human Trail_.--The trail of human life beginning in the mists of
the past, winding through the ages and stretching away toward an
unknown future, is a subject of perennial interest and worthy of
profound thought. No other great subject so invites the attention of
the mind of man. It is a very long trail, rough and unblazed,
wandering over the continents of the earth. Those who have travelled
it came in contact with the mysteries of an unknown world. They faced
the terrors of the shifting forms of the earth, of volcanoes,
earthquakes, floods, storms, and ice fields. They witnessed the
extinction of forests and animal groups, and the changing forms of
lakes, rivers, and mountains, and, indeed, the boundaries of oceans.
It is the trail of human events and human endeavor on which man
developed his physical powers, enlarged his brain capacity, developed
and enriched his mind, and became efficient through art and industry.
Through inventions and discovery he turned the forces of nature to his
use, making them serve his will. In association with his fellows, man
learned that mutual aid and co-operation were necessary to the survival
of the race. To learn this caused him more trouble than all the
terrors and mysteries of the natural world around him. Connected with
the trail is a long chain of causes and effects, trial and error,
success and failure, out of which has come the advancement of the race.
The accumulated results of life on the trail are called _civilization_.
_Civilization May Be Defined_.--To know what civilization is by study
and observation is better than to rely upon a formal {4} definition.
For, indeed, the word is used in so many different ways that it admits
of a loose interpretation. For instance, it may be used in a narrow
sense to indicate the character and quality of the civil relations.
Those tribes or nations having a well-developed social order, with
government, laws, and other fixed social customs, are said to be
civilized, while those peoples without these characters are assumed to
be uncivilized. It may also be considered in a somewhat different
sense, when the arts, industries, sciences, and habits of life are
stimulated--civilization being determined by the degree in which these
are developed. Whichever view is accepted, it involves a contrast of
present ideals with past ideals, of an undeveloped with a developed
state of human progress.
But whatever notion we have of civilization, it is difficult to draw a
fixed line between civilized and uncivilized peoples. Mr. Lewis H.
Morgan, in his _Ancient Society_, asserts that civilization began with
the phonetic alphabet, and that all human activity prior to this could
be classified as savagery or barbarism. But there is a broader
conception of civilization which recognizes all phases of human
achievement, from the making of a stone axe to the construction of the
airplane; from the rude hut to the magnificent palace; from crude moral
and religious conditions to the more refined conditions of human
association. If we consider that civilization involves the whole
process of human achievement, it must admit of a great variety of
qualities and degrees of development, hence it appears to be a relative
term applied to the variation of human life. Thus, the Japanese are
highly civilized along special lines of hand work, hand industry, and
hand art, as well as being superior in some phases of family
relationships. So we might say of the Chinese, the East Indians, and
the American Indians, that they each have well-established customs,
habits of thought, and standards of life, differing from other nations,
expressing different types of civilization.
When a member of a primitive tribe invented the bow-and-arrow, or began
to chip a flint nodule in order to make a stone {5} axe, civilization
began. As soon as people began to co-operate with one another in
obtaining food, building houses, or for protection against wild animals
and wild men, that is, when they began to treat each other civilly,
they were becoming civilized. We may say then in reality that
civilization has been a continuous process from the first beginning of
man's conquest of himself and nature to the modern complexities of
social life with its multitude of products of industry and cultural
arts.
It is very common for one group or race to assume to be highly
civilized and call the others barbarians or savages. Thus the Hebrews
assumed superiority when they called other people Gentiles, and the
Greeks when they called others barbarians. Indeed, it is only within
recent years that we are beginning to recognize that the civilizations
of China, Japan, and India have qualities worth studying and that they
may have something worth while in life that the Western civilization
has not. Also there has been a tendency to confuse the terms Christian
and heathen with civilized and uncivilized. This idea arose in
England, where, in the early history of Christianity, the people of the
towns were more cultured than the people of the country.
It happened, too, that the townspeople received Christianity before the
people of the country, hence heathens were the people who dwelt out on
the heath, away from town. This local idea became a world idea when
all non-Christian peoples were called uncivilized. It is a fatal error
for an individual, neighborhood, tribe, or nation to assume superiority
to the extent that it fails to recognize good qualities in others. One
should not look with disdain upon a tribe of American Indians, calling
them uncivilized because their material life is simple, when in reality
in point of honor, faithfulness, and courage they excel a large
proportion of the races assuming a higher civilization.
_The Material Evidences of Civilization Are All Around Us_.--Behold
this beautiful valley of the West, with its broad, {6} fertile fields,
yielding rich harvests of corn and wheat, and brightened by varied
forms of fruit and flower. Farmhouses and schoolhouses dot the
landscape, while towns and cities, with their marts of trade and busy
industries, rise at intervals. Here are churches, colleges, and
libraries, indicative of the education of the community; courthouses,
prisons, and jails, which speak of government, law, order, and
protection. Here are homes for the aged and weak, hospitals and
schools for the defective, almshouses for the indigent, and
reformatories for the wayward. Railroads bind together all parts of
the nation, making exchange possible, and bringing to our doors the
products of every clime. The telephone and the radio unite distant
people with common knowledge, thought, and sentiment. Factories and
mills line the streams or cluster in village and city, marking the busy
industrial life. These and more mark the visible products of
civilization.
But civilization is something more than form, it is spirit; and its
evidence may be more clearly discerned in the co-operation of men in
political organization and industrial life, by their united action in
religious worship and charitable service, in social order and
educational advancement. Observe, too, the happy homes, with all of
their sweet and hallowed influences, and the social mingling of the
people searching for pleasure or profit in their peaceful, harmonious
association. Witness the evidences of accumulated knowledge in
newspapers, periodicals, and books, and the culture of painting,
poetry, and music. Behold, too, the achievements of the mind in the
invention and discovery of the age; steam and electrical appliances
that cause the whirl of bright machinery, that turn night into day, and
make thought travel swift as the wings of the wind! Consider the
influence of chemistry, biology, and medicine on material welfare, and
the discoveries of the products of the earth that subserve man's
purpose! And the central idea of all this is man, who walks upright in
the dignity and grace of his own manhood, surrounded by the evidence of
his own achievements. His knowledge, his power of thought, {7} his
moral character, and his capacity for living a large life, are
evidences of the real civilization. For individual culture is, after
all, the flower and fruit, the beauty and strength of civilization.
One hundred years ago neither dwelling, church, nor city greeted the
eye that gazed over the broad expanse of the unfilled prairies. Here
were no accumulations of wealth, no signs of human habitation, except a
few Indians wandering in groups or assembled in their wigwam villages.
The evidences of art and industry were meagre, and of accumulated
knowledge small, because the natives were still the children of nature
and had gone but a little way in the mastery of physical forces or in
the accumulation of knowledge. The relative difference in their
condition and that of those that followed them is the contrast between
barbarism and civilization.
Yet how rapid was the change that replaced the latter with the former.
Behold great commonwealths built in half a century! What is the secret
of this great and marvellous change? It is a transplanted
civilization, not an indigenous one. Men came to this fertile valley
with the spiritual and material products of modern life, the outcome of
centuries of progress. They brought the results of man's struggle,
with himself and with nature, for thousands of years. This made it
possible to build a commonwealth in half a century. The first settlers
brought with them a knowledge of the industrial arts; the theory and
practice of social order; individual capacity, and a thirst for
education. It was necessary only to set up the machinery already
created, and civilization went forward. When they began the life of
labor, the accumulated wealth of the whole world was to be had in
exchange for the products of the soil.
_Primitive Man Faced an Unknown World_.--But how different is the
picture of primitive man suddenly brought face to face with an unknown
world. With no knowledge of nature or art, with no theory or practice
of social order, he began to dig and to delve for the preservation of
life. Suffering the pangs of hunger, he obtained food; naked, he
clothed himself; {8} buffeted by storm and wind and scorched by the
penetrating rays of the sun, he built himself a shelter. As he
gradually became skilled in the industrial arts, his knowledge
increased. He formed a clearer estimate of how nature might serve him,
and obtained more implements with which to work
The social order of the family and the state slowly appeared. Man
became a co-operating creature, working with his fellows in the
satisfaction of material wants and in protecting the rights of
individuals. Slow and painful was this process of development, but as
he worked his capacity enlarged, his power increased, until he mastered
the forces of nature and turned them to serve him; he accumulated
knowledge and brought forth culture and learning; he marshalled the
social forces in orderly process. Each new mastery of nature or self
was a power for the future, for civilization is cumulative in its
nature; it works in a geometrical progression. An idea once formed,
others follow; one invention leads to another, and each material form
of progress furnishes a basis for a more rapid progress and for a
larger life. The discovery and use of a new food product increased the
power of civilization a hundredfold. One step in social order leads to
another, and thus is furnished a means of utilizing without waste all
of the individual and social forces.
Yet how irregular and faltering are the first steps of human progress.
A step forward, followed by a long period of readjustment of the
conditions of life; a movement forward here and a retarding force
there. Within this irregular movement we discover the true course of
human progress. One tribe, on account of peculiar advantages, makes a
special discovery, which places it in the ascendancy and gives it power
over others. It has obtained a favorable location for protection
against oppressors or a fertile soil, a good hunting ground or a
superior climate. It survives all opposing factors for a time, and,
obtaining some idea of progress, it goes on adding strength unto
strength, or is crowded from its favorable position by its warlike
neighbors to perish from the earth, or to live a {9} stationary or even
a deteriorating life. A strong tribe, through internal development and
the domination of other groups, finally becomes a great nation in an
advanced state of civilization. It passes through the course of
infancy, youth, maturity, old age, and death. But the products of its
civilization are handed on to other nations. Another rises and, when
about to enter an advanced state of progress, perishes on account of
internal maladies. It is overshadowed with despotism, oppressed by
priestcraft, or lacking industrial vitality to such a degree that it is
forced to surrender the beginnings of civilization to other nations and
other lives.
The dominance of a group is dependent in part on the natural or
inherent qualities of mind and body of its members, which give it power
to achieve by adapting itself to conditions of nature and in mastering
and utilizing natural resources. Thus the tribe that makes new devices
for procuring food or new weapons for defense, or learns how to sow
seeds and till the soil, adds to its means of survival and progress and
thus forges ahead of those tribes lacking in these means. Also the
social heritage or the inheritance of all of the products of industry
and arts of life which are passed on from generation to generation, is
essential to the rapid development of civilization.
_Civilization Is Expressed in a Variety of Ways_.--Different ideals and
the adaptation to different environment cause different types of life.
The ideals of the Persian, the Greek, the Roman, and the Teuton varied.
Still greater is the contrast between these and the Chinese and the
Egyptian ideals. China boasts of an ancient civilization that had its
origin long before the faint beginnings of Western nations, and the
Chinese are firm believers in their own culture and superior
advancement. The silent grandeur of the pyramids and temples of the
Nile valley bespeak a civilization of great maturity, that did much for
the world in general, but little for the Egyptian people. Yet these
types of civilization are far different from that of Western nations.
Their ideas of culture are in great contrast to our own. But even the
Western nations are not uniform in {10} ideals of civil life nor in
their practice of social order. They are not identical in religious
life, and their ideals of art and social progress vary.
Moreover, the racial type varies somewhat and with it the national life
and thought. Compare England, Germany, France, and Spain as to the
variability in characteristics of literature and art, in moral ideals,
in ethical practice, in religious motive, and in social order. Their
differences are evident, but they tend to disappear under the influence
of rapid transit and close intercommunication, which draw all modern
nations nearer together. Yet, granting the variability of ideals and
of practice, there is a general consensus of opinion as to what
constitutes civilization and what are the elements of progress. Modern
writers differ somewhat in opinion as to elements of civilization, but
these differences are more apparent than real, as all true civilization
must rest upon a solid foundation of common human traits. The
fundamental principles and chief characteristics are quite uniform for
all nations and for all times, and writers who disagree as to general
characteristics may not be classified by national boundaries; they
represent the differences of philosophers.
_Modern Civilization Includes Some Fundamentals_.--As applied at
different periods of the world's progress and as a representation of
different phases of life, civilization means more to-day than ever
before; its ideal is higher, its conception broader. In the modern,
accepted sense it includes (1) _a definite knowledge of man and
nature_. The classified knowledge of science and philosophy and all
phases of the history of man socially and individually are important in
estimating his true progress. All forms of thought and life are to be
estimated in considering the full meaning of the term. It also
includes (2) _progress in art_. While science deals with principles,
art deals with rules of action. Science gives classified knowledge,
while art directs to a practical end. Art provides definite plans how
to operate. If these plans are carried out, the field of practice is
entered. In its broadest conception art includes the making {11} and
the doing, as well as the plan. The fine arts and the industrial or
practical arts, in all of their varied interests, are included in art
as a factor in civilization. This category should include the highest
forms of painting, poetry, sculpture, and music, as well as the lowest
forms of industrial implements.
Civilization includes (3) _a well-developed ethical code_ quite
universally observed by a community or nation. The rule of conduct of
man toward himself and toward his fellows is one of the essential
points of discrimination between barbarism and civilization. While
ethical practice began at a very early period in the progress of man,
it was a long time before any distinct ethical code became established.
But the completed civilization does not exist until a high order of
moral practice obtains; no civilization can long prevail without it.
Of less importance, but of no less binding force, is (4) the _social
code_, which represents the forms and conventionalities of society,
built, it is true, largely upon the caprices of fashion, and varying
greatly in different communities, yet more arbitrary, if possible, than
the moral code. It considers fitness and consistency in conduct, and
as such is an important consideration in social usage and social
progress. In Europe it has its extreme in the court etiquette; in
America, in the punctiliousness of the higher social classes of our
large cities. But it affects all communities, and its observance may
be noted in rural districts as well as in the city population.
The mores, or customs, of man began at a very early time and have been
a persistent ruling power in human conduct. Through tradition they are
handed down from generation to generation, to be observed with more or
less fidelity as a guide to the art of living. Every community,
whether primitive or developed, is controlled to a great extent by the
prevailing custom. It is common for individuals and families to do as
their ancestors did. This habit is frequently carried to such an
extent that the deeds of the fathers are held sacred from which no one
dare to depart. Isolated communities continue year after year to do
things because they had always done so, {12} holding strictly to the
ruling custom founded on tradition, even when some better way was at
hand. A rare example of this human trait is given by Captain Donald
MacMillan, who recently returned from Arctic Greenland. He said: "We
took two ultra-modern developments, motion pictures and radio, direct
to a people who live and think as their ancestors did two thousand
years ago." He was asked: "What did they think?" He replied: "I do
not know." Probably it was a case of wonder without thought. While
this is a dominant force which makes for the unity and perpetuity of
the group, it is only by departure from established tradition that
progress is made possible.
Civilization involves (5) _government and law_. The tribes and nations
in a state of barbarism lived under the binding influence of custom.
In this period people were born under _status_, or condition, not under
law. Gradually the old family life expanded into the state, and
government became more formal. Law appeared as the expression of the
will of the people directly or indirectly through their
representatives. True, it may have been the arbitrary ruling of a
king, but he represented the unity of the race and spoke with the
authority of the nation. Law found no expression until there was
formed an organic community capable of having a will respecting the
control of those who composed it. It implies a governing body and a
body governed; it implies an orderly movement of society according to a
rule of action called law. While social order is generally obtained
through law and government, such is the practice in modern life that
the orderly association of men in trade and commerce and in daily
contact appears to stand alone and to rise above the control of the
law. Indeed, in a true civilization, the civil code, though an
essential factor, seems to be outclassed by the higher social instincts
based on the practice of social order.
(6) _Religion_ must take a large place as a factor in the development
of civilization. The character of the religious belief of man is, to a
certain extent, the true test of his progressive {13} nature. His
faith may prove a source of inspiration to reason and progressive life;
it may prove the opposite, and lead to stagnation and retrogression.
Upon the whole, it must be insisted that religious belief has subserved
a large purpose in the economy of human progress. It has been
universal to all tribes, for even the lowest have some form of
religious belief--at least, a belief in spiritual beings. Religious
belief thus became the primary source of abstract ideas, and it has
always been conducive to social order. It has, in modern times
especially, furnished the foundation of morality. By surrounding
marriage with ceremonies it has purified the home life, upheld the
authority of the family, and thus strengthened social order. It has
developed the individual by furnishing an ideal before science and
positive knowledge made it possible. It strengthened patriotic feeling
on account of service rendered in supporting local government, and
subjectively religion improved man by teaching him to obey a superior.
Again, by its tradition it frequently stifled thought and retarded
progress.
Among other elements of civilization must be mentioned (7) _social
well-being_. The preceding conditions would be almost certain to
insure social well-being and prosperity. Yet it might be possible,
through lack of harmony of these forces, on account of their improper
distribution in a community, that the group might lack in general
social prosperity. Unless there is general contentment and happiness
there cannot be said to be an ideal state of civilization. And this
social well-being is closely allied to (8) _material prosperity_, the
most apparent element to be mentioned in the present analysis. The
amount of the accumulation of the wealth of a nation, its distribution
among the people, and the manner in which it is obtained and expended,
determine the state of civilization. This material prosperity makes
the better phases of civilization possible. It is essential to modern
progress, and our civilization should seek to render it possible for
all classes to earn their bread and to have leisure and opportunity for
self-culture.
The mastery of the forces of nature is the basis for man's {14}
material prosperity. Touching nature here and there, by discovery,
invention, and toil, causing her to yield her treasures for his
service, is the key to all progress. In this, it is not so much
conflict with nature as co-operation with her, that yields utility and
eventually mastery. The discovery and use of new food products, the
coal and other minerals of the earth, the forests, the water power and
electric power, coupled with invention and adaptability to continually
greater use, are the qualifying opportunity for advancement. Without
these the fine theories of the philosopher, exalted religious belief,
and high ideals of life are of no avail.
From the foregoing it may be said that civilization in its fulness
means all of the acquired capabilities of man as evidenced by his
conduct and the material products arising from his physical and mental
exertion. It is evident that at first the structure called
civilization began to develop very slowly and very feebly; just when it
began it is difficult to state. The creation of the first utility, the
first substantial movement to increase the food supply, the first home
for protection, the first religious ceremony, or the first organized
household, represents the beginnings of civilization, and these are the
landmarks along the trail of man's ascendency.
_Progress Is an Essential Characteristic of Civilization_.--The goal is
never reached, the victory is never finally achieved. Man must move
on, ever on. Intellect must develop, morals improve, liberty increase,
social order be perfected, and social growth continue. There must be
no halting on the road; the nation that hesitates is lost. Progress in
general is marked by the development of the individual, on the one
hand, and that of society, on the other. In well-ordered society these
two ideas are balanced; they seek an equilibrium. Excessive
individualism leads to anarchy and destruction; excessive socialism
blights and stagnates individual activity and independence and retards
progress. It must be admitted here as elsewhere that the individual
culture and the individual life are, after all, the highest aims. But
how can these be obtained in {15} modern life without social progress?
How can there be freedom of action for the development of the
individual powers without social expansion? Truly, the social and the
individual life are complementary elements of progress.
_Diversity Is Necessary to Progress_.--If progress is an essential
characteristic of modern civilization, it may be said that diversity is
essential to progress. There is much said about equality and
fraternity. It depends on what is meant by the terms as to whether
these are good sayings or not. If equality means uniformity, by it man
is easily reduced to a state of stagnation. Diversity of life exists
everywhere in progressive nature, where plants or animals move forward
in the scale of existence. Man is not an exception to the rule,
notwithstanding his strong will force. Men differ in strength, in
moral and intellectual capacity, and in co-operating ability. Hence
they must occupy different stations in life. And the quality and
quantity of progress are to be estimated in different nations according
to the diversity of life to be observed among individuals and groups.
_What Is the Goal of Civilized Man?_--And it may be well to ask, as
civilization is progressive: What is our aim in life from our own
standpoint? For what do men strive? What is the ultimate of life?
What is the best for which humanity can live? If it were merely to
obtain food and clothes and nothing more, the question could be easily
answered. If it were merely to train a man to be a monk, that he might
spend his time in prayer and supplication for a better future life, the
question would be simple enough. If to pore over books to find out the
knowledge of the past and to spend the life in investigation of truth
were the chief aims, it would be easy to determine the object of life.
But frequently that which we call success in life is merely a means to
an end.
And viewed in the complex activity of society, it is difficult to say
what is the true end of life; it is difficult to determine the true end
of civilization. Some have said it is found in administering the
"greatest good to the greatest number," {16} and if we consider in this
the generations yet unborn, it reveals the actual tendency of modern
civilization. If the perfection of the individual is the highest ideal
of civilization, it stops not with one individual, but includes all.
And this asserts that social well-being must be included in the final
aim, for full and free individual development cannot appear without it.
The enlarged capacity for living correctly, enjoying the best of this
life righteously, and for associating harmoniously and justly with his
fellows, is the highest aim of the individual. Happiness of the
greatest number through utility is the formula for modern civilization.
_Possibilities of Civilization_.--The possibilities of reaching a still
higher state of civilization are indeed great. The future is not full
of foreboding, but bright and happy with promise of individual culture
and social progress. If opportunities are but wisely used, the
twentieth century will witness an advancement beyond our highest
dreams. Yet the whole problem hinges on the right use of knowledge.
If the knowledge of chemistry is to be used to destroy nations and
races with gases and high explosives, such knowledge turns civilization
to destruction. If all of the powers of nature under man's control
should be turned against him, civilization would be turned back upon
itself. Let us have "the will to believe" that we have entered an era
of vital progress, of social improvement, of political reforms, which
will lead to the protection of those who need protection and the
elevation of those who desire it. The rapid progress in art and
architecture, in invention and industry, the building of libraries and
the diffusion of knowledge, the improvement of our educational system,
all being entered upon, will force the world forward at a rapid pace,
and on such a rational basis that the delight of living will be greatly
enhanced for all classes.
_Civilization Can Be Estimated_.--This brief presentation of the
meaning of civilization reveals the fact that civilization can be
recounted; that it is a question of fact and philosophy that can be
measured. It is the story of human progress and {17} the causes which
made it. It presents the generalizations of all that is valuable in
the life of the race. It is the epitome of the history of humanity in
its onward sweep. In its critical sense it cannot be called history,
for it neglects details for general statements. Nor is it the
philosophy of history, for it covers a broader field. It is not
speculation, for it deals with fact. It is the philosophy of man's
life as to the results of his activity. It shows alike the unfolding
of the individual and of society, and it represents these in every
phase embraced in the word "progress." To recount this progress and to
measure civilization is the purpose of the following pages, so far as
it may be done in the limited space assigned.
SUBJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY
1. Are people of civilized races happier now than are the uncivilized
races?
2. Would the American Indians in time have developed a high state of
civilization?
3. Why do we not find a high state of civilization among the African
negroes?
4. What are the material evidences of civilization in the neighborhood
in which you live?
5. Does increased knowledge alone insure an advanced civilization?
6. Choose an important public building in your neighborhood and trace
the sources of architecture of the different parts.
{18}