Europe Development

A big debate nowadays and the question everyone wants to answer is how could Europe rise from being an unimportant region in 1400 to being a dominant region by the 1900s. Among the various ideas that were introduced, Europe developed towards a dominant period mainly because of culture. Europeans took advantage of a cultural heritage to build important achievements by which they transformed thewhole world. They came together from different streams to create a river of change that sweeps across Europe itself and beyond. Around the 1400s, Europe was a backward part of the world economically, but then it reached America and ‘used it money’ to get Asia. Also, European culture, including its religion and politics, but especially its openness to new intellectual shifts, led to an economicgrowth and material well-being.
The cultural movements lived by Europe, pushed it ahead from all of the other civilizations. The Renaissance developed new attitudes and approaches. Individualism, optimism and secularism, made humans capable of making things better and had the goal of reaching a better life. Some approaches to learning as humanism, empiricism, criticism, or pragmatism, changed the wayall Europeans thought. For science, empiricism and desire to understand and control natures pushed Europe toward a modern science. For religion, humanism and criticism leaded to questioning the church and calls for religious reforms. Finally, for society, humanism and pragmatism leaded to social reforms and spread of education. All of these facts made people better.
Several factors bothmaterial and immaterial came together in the mid 1500s to encourage more rapid progress than before. As a consequence, science and the scientific revolution occurred in Europe. Culture changed, and so did science. European intellectual life now believed that men are rational being who can understand the world around us, and that the universe is rational and orderly. The Science of Man, not man as ananatomical construct or an example of biological systems but as a thinker, political actor, and artist, began to form. Following this criteria, better rulers were formed. Rulers who are well-formed, with an amply knowledge and more skills to be able to dominate the territory. Mathematics advanced into new areas: logarithms, calculus, and decimals. Also, new instruments like scales, thermometers andtelescopes were produced. Places where people can pursue knowledge free from political or religious control are created. Insofar as people were educated, they were good.
Eighteenth-century leaders saw no reason why what had been done in the natural sciences could not be attempted in the social sciences. The Enlightenment was born. The atmosphere of everyone’s mental life changed. Optimism andrationality were introduced. An optimism that referred to the belief that changes was possible; and rationality that referred to the idea that people can be lawful. It was during this time period when in political theory, a balance of governmental powers between executive and legislature were requested. This will bring a perfect monarchic power. Furthermore, the freedom of conscience ensured to allChristians, Jews and atheists and all persons could enjoy a fundamental equality before the law. Another step toward a free society was the abolition of most forms of censorship, but all of the ideas from the Enlightenment flowed together in the concept of progress. For the first time Europeans believed that humans were engaged in an ultimately successful search for a new state. A confidence andenergy directed them to improvement. Progress was inevitable, and because of this, Europe moved a step forward in comparison with other countries.
Europe also developed towards a dominant period because of religion. The split in Christian belief and church organization brought enormous consequences and what is more important, it brought inevitably political and cultural conflicts. New...