Intellectual History

    The course aims at providing the history of ideas from the ancient to the modern times. This course comprises three books: Critical Theories since 1965 , A History of Knowledge, and Sophie's World.

A History of Knowledge

    Wisdom of the Ancients     Some fifty centuries ago, when written history began, mankind had learned many things about life. Human beings in many different parts of the world had discovered not only hour to use the skins of animals and birds for clothing, but also how to weave wool, cotton and flax to make cloth. They had discovered not only how to hunt animals and fish. For food but also how to grow grain and make bread so as to survive themselves. Read More...

    The Greek Explosion     If we cast a glance to the entire gamut of western history, we find that there occurred two knowledge explosions; the first is in Greece during the 6th century BC and the second in Europe known as the Renaissance in the sixteenth century. The Greek explosion had affected the whole word and gave striking advance in mathematics and revolutionary theories about matter and force. Read More...

    What the Romans Knew     For three centuries from 150BC to AD 150 Roman Empire reached to the high tide of classical civilization. The empire grew tremendously until the Christianity posed threat by its values and tenets which are quit contrast in nature to the Roman culture. Read More...

    Light in the Dark Ages     Dark ages is a term once used to describe the middle Ages, specially the early middle Ages, which lasted from the AD 400's to the 900s. The term referred to a supposed lack of learning in the period. Actually, the middle Ages were not completely 'dark'. Read More...

    The Middle Age: The Great Experiment     Life during the centuries of the early Middle Ages was hard for almost all Europeans. Because of the devastation wrought by the barbarian invasions of the fifth and sixth centuries AD, they faced .. Read More...

    What was Reborn in the Renaissance?     Renaissance is the rediscovery of the ancient classics of Greece and Rome that began in the late 14th century. It started in Northern Italy and spread quickly throughout the Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. Actually, it was a rebirth of the art and culture of the Greek antiquity. Read More...

    Europe Reaches Out     Throughout the Renaissance period people started going in adventurous journey so as to find new lands and new things. Invention of compass made easy for Europeans to go in navigation to find new places. Read More...

    The Invention of Scientific Method     Scientific Method, the term denoting the principles that guide scientific research and experimentation and also the philosophic bases of those principles. Philosophy in general is concerned with the why as well as how of things but science occupies itself with the latter question in a very rigorous manner. The era of modern science is generally considered Read More...

    Age of Revolutions     If we see the history of the world, we find different revolutions in different time period have brought great changes in the society and also given intellectual shape at the same time. Behind every revolution some ideologies have played vital role leading to the intellectual development. In the western history these revolutions have brought tremendous changes. Read More...

    The Nineteenth Century: Prelude to Modernity     The nineteenth century is the beginning of modernity which has close affinity with industrialization, migration, urbanization etc. Expansion of international trade, urbanization of the peasant population of Europe and a stead rise in literacy contributed the flourishment of modernity. Read More...

    The World in 1914     By 1914 Europe had produced a civilization that became a high point of world history. European civilization was imitated almost everywhere on earth and dominated world commerce, finance, knowledge and culture. But the most intelligent, cultivated and sensitive Europeans were not fully satisfied with the achievements of their civilization. Read More...

    Progress of Democracy     Democracy is a form of government, a way of life, a goal or ideal and a political philosophy. The term also refers to a country that has a democratic form of government. The word democracy means rule by the people. Read More...

    Twentieth Century Science and Technology     This chapter not only covers all the great theories and discoveries of the human race, but also explores the social conditions, political climates, and individual men and women of genius that brought ideas to fruition throughout history. This chapter describes the smallest as well as the largest things in the universe so far we have known. Read More...

    Twentieth Century Arts and Media     The twentieth century is a great age of modernism, which brought tremendous change in the society. Industrialism, urbanization, demographic explosion, development of mass communication, advance state of science and technology have radically changed the attitude of human beings. Read More...