Modernity

From Geography

Modernity in general usually refers to the post-medieval period. Where the move from feudalism to capitalism start to take place. For many philosophers modernity begins with the rise of capitalism. In science this usually refers to the start of the rationality in the 16th and 17th century. Where for example: Galileo and Bacon use mathematics to calculate acceleration in free fall and set a new base to approach science using experiments. It can also refer to the formal establishment of social science in the 20th century, starting with humanism and existentialism.

Giddens's description of modernity

A shorthand term for modern society, or industrial civilization. Portrayed in more detail, it is associated with (1) a certain set of attitudes towards the world, the idea of the world as open to transformation, by human intervention; (2) a complex of economic institutions, especially industrial production and a market economy; (3) a certain range of political institutions, including the nation-state and mass democracy. Largely as a result of these characteristics, modernity is vastly more dynamic than any previous type of social order. It is a society—more technically, a complex of institutions—which, unlike any preceding culture, lives in the future, rather than the past. (Giddens, 1998, 94).

References

Giddens, A. (1998) Conversations with Anthony Giddens: Making Sense of Modernity. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press

Unknown. Retrieved 2012 September 18 from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/postmodernism/

Unknown. Retrieved 2012 September 18 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernity

Contributors

• page created by--DennisPrince 12:57, 19 September 2012 (CEST)