The period of ancient Greece and Rome was the origin stage of western culture, which formed the Greek spirit.

The period of Christian culture in the Middle Ages was a dark period for the development of western culture, but it formed another important pillar of western culture-Christian spirit.

In the period of modern culture, the Greek spirit was revived and further developed through the Renaissance and religious reform, which promoted the secularization of religion and made the two pillars of western culture exist and prosper.

In the modern cultural period, with the establishment of the capitalist system and the promotion of the scientific and technological revolution, western culture has been modernized, and democracy, scientism and rational spirit have occupied a dominant position.

First, the western culture of ancient Greece and Rome

The core of Greek spirit is the spirit of democracy, the spirit of rule of law, the spirit of science and the spirit of freedom.

1, democratic spirit

The basic principle of the democratic spirit in ancient Greece is that sovereignty belongs to the people and the supreme power belongs to the people.

(1) Democracy means that all citizens are in power; (2) Everyone is equal before the law; (3) hiring talents; (4) openness and freedom of government affairs; (5) The principle of freedom and forgiveness in private life. All these principles embody the spirit of democracy, freedom and humanitarianism.

2, the spirit of the rule of law

Democracy and the rule of law are inseparable. True democracy must be the rule of law, and the true and thorough rule of law can only prevail under the democratic system. The ancient Greek polis was ruled by law, and no one was above the law.

3. Scientific spirit

Scientific spirit or rational spirit is an important content and the most remarkable feature of Greek civilization.

The rational spirit of Greece is prominently manifested in its philosophy, such as the theory of entity and existence, atomism, idealism, dialectics, formal logic and so on.

The spirit of Greek rationalism is also manifested in the love and pursuit of rationality, knowledge and wisdom. Rationality, knowledge and wisdom occupied a supreme position in the minds of ancient Greeks, and even possessed sacred dignity. Pursuing and obeying rationality is the lofty mission and sacred duty of human beings, and it is also the value and significance of life.

Greek rationalism has profoundly influenced European philosophy, religion and science for more than two thousand years, thus profoundly affecting the social history and life of westerners for more than two thousand years.

4, the spirit of freedom

The spirit of freedom in Greece is embodied in the pursuit and respect for individuality. The Greeks believe that everyone has his own unique personality and unique value, which is unrepeatable and irreplaceable; This concept has been very obvious in ancient Greece. The personality consciousness of the Greeks is prominently manifested in their unique judgment of their own behavior.

Second, the Christian culture in the Middle Ages

The Western Middle Ages belonged to the feudal era, during which Christianity occupied a dominant position in culture and ideology. Christian guilt and redemption, the spirit of love, asceticism and feudal chivalry constitute the spiritual mainstream of medieval western culture.

1, guilt and redemption

Christianity believes that Adam and Eve, the ancestors of mankind, were born guilty because they violated God's will, stole the forbidden fruit and were punished. This sense of guilt is the basic spirit of Christianity and even an important feature of the whole western culture.

3. The spirit of love

Christianity has three basic moral principles: kindness, faith and hope, and love is the first of the three virtues. Christianity believes that love is the place where faith and hope can be realized.

4. Chivalry

Chivalry is a secular spirit, a product of the feudal process in the Middle Ages, which directly embodies the feudal tradition and permeates the feudal spirit. Knights are feudal nobles. Under the feudal system, they are vassals of big noble and must be loyal to them. At the same time, he is the master of his own territory, and many serfs are attached to him and need the protection of his sword. He has feudal obligations and sacred rights. The morality he followed, such as loyalty, honor and courage, was feudal morality.

Third, modern western culture.

During this period, the Renaissance and the Reformation brought great activity and liberation to human thoughts. During this period, the main spirits of its culture were humanism, individualism and Protestantism.

1, humanistic spirit

The basic spirit of Renaissance and Enlightenment is humanistic spirit. Renaissance began with the criticism of the darkness of medieval religion. In view of the fact that there were only gods and no people in medieval religion, it became its purpose to enhance people's status and value.

2, individualism

The most important achievement of the Renaissance is human discovery, and the most important spirit is individualism. Individualism not only refers to egoism, even egoism, but mainly refers to the individual's subjective consciousness and personality consciousness. In western culture, the spirit of individualism associated with individual freedom, individual ability development and individual subject status rose during the Renaissance.

3. Protestant spirit: secularization of religion.

The Reformation is a great ideological emancipation movement, which rose in Germany in 15 17, and later spread to other parts of Europe, having a far-reaching impact on western culture.

Fourth, the spirit of modern western culture.

The main spirit of modern western culture is embodied in the following aspects:

1, the spirit of freedom and liberalism

The spirit of freedom has a long history in the west. Liberalism is the foundation and leading spirit of many western countries in modern times. Modern western liberalism is mainly reflected in the following aspects:

Human rights:

Economic liberalism:

Market liberalism:

Freedom of thought:

Freedom of personality and will:

2. Democracy and the rule of law

The spirit of democracy and the rule of law has a long history in the west, and modern western countries have different forms of government, but the spirit of democracy and the rule of law runs through, and the trend of democracy and the rule of law is unstoppable in the contemporary era.

Western countries have always regarded themselves as democratic countries, and the spirit of democracy and rule of law has become the main spirit in the political life of westerners.

3. Scientism, rational spirit and creative spirit.

There are always two traditions in the development of science: empiricism and rationalism.

4, individualism

Individualism is the most representative of modern western cultural spirit.

From the development history of western culture, the spirit of rationality, science, freedom, democracy and rule of law originated from ancient Greece and the ethical spirit originated from Christianity run through. Therefore, we can say that Greek spirit and Christian spirit are the two pillars of western culture.

Post-modern western culture has the following main characteristics: the combination of scientism and humanism pays more attention to the value of life, pays more attention to the ultimate concern for people, and requires that people should be included in the purpose of science; Rationality and irrationality coexist, putting people's emotions, unconsciousness, basic needs and desires in front of people; The combination of elite culture and mass (popular) culture, through the new media, popular, popular and fashionable mass culture has risen rapidly, which is likely to compete with elite culture; With the combination of western cultural traditions and eastern cultural traditions, many western scholars turned their eyes to the East when reflecting on the lessons of modernization. The idea of attaching importance to interpersonal relationship and pursuing the harmonious unity between man and society and between man and nature has aroused the interest of the west. But at present, these trends are still in the process of development and exploration, and it is still too early to evaluate them.

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