Life Histories as Civilizational Texts

Life Histories as Civilizational Texts PDF Author: C. W. Dwiggins
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Comparative civilization
Languages : en
Pages : 58

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Life Histories as Civilizational Texts

Life Histories as Civilizational Texts PDF Author: C. W. Dwiggins
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Comparative civilization
Languages : en
Pages : 58

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The Life Cycle of Civilizations

The Life Cycle of Civilizations PDF Author: Stephen Blaha
Publisher: Pingree-Hill Publishing
ISBN: 0972079580
Category : Civilization
Languages : en
Pages : 213

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Book Description
This book is an expanded version of The Rhythms of History, the book that made macro-History into a semi-quantitative Science. New features include: 1. an appendix showing how the history of Mayan civilization conforms to the book''s Theory of Civilizations including the latest information from the newly discovered hieroglyphic texts at Dos Pilas, Guatemala; 2. an appendix on the sub-Saharan African civilization, Great Zimbabwe, showing it fits the theory; 3. a comparison of the theory with Toynbee''s observations showing the many new features resulting from a quantitative theory; 4. numerous historic pictures and illustrations of the civilizations of Mankind including a number of newly found pictures from the nineteenth century; 5. a chapter describing the potentially disturbing implications of patterns in civilizations - Are we free? ? and the implications for the Philosophy of History; and 6. expanded comments in many sections such as the sections on the future of Humanity, the role of China, and the Islamic - West conflict. The book begins with a hard hitting, "tell it like it is" chapter on the current international situation with statements such as: "The United States and Western civilization is now engaged in a small Vietnam-style war on a global scale at the time of this writing. This war is still in the early stages of development. ... The attack on the World Trade Center by Muslim terrorists may have the same significance for Western civilization that the Gothic invasion of Rome itself in the prime of the Empire (the First Century AD) had for the future of Rome. They may be a premonition of things to come - not necessarily soon but perhaps in a few centuries. The Goths returned three centuries later and remained as permanent conquerors. ... Over the long term the West must free itself from a dependence on Muslim oil. Muslim oil revenues are the fuel for the development of weapons of mass destruction by Iran and Iraq. In the future they will supply the revenues of an expansionist Islam. ... As the silk trade looted the Roman Empire of its gold and reduced its economy, the trade in oil is looting the West of its prosperity and freedom of action. The rise and fall of oil prices has a significantly greater effect on the American and world economy than the raising and lowering of interest rates by central banks. " The book then describes a theory of civilizations that led to these observations. Currently unfolding events seem to be fulfilling the predictions which were made last year (including the new North Korean threat that seems to be consistent with a predicted breakdown in Japan ? North Korea will create major problems with Japan. As this is being written Japan is moving Aegis destroyers nearer to North Korea and preparing for defense.) THE EVENTS DESCRIBED IN THIS BOOK, AND ITS PREDECESSOR, APPEAR TO BE HAPPENING AS PREDICTED LAST YEAR. According to Theory of Civilizations the basis of civilizations was laid with a genetic mutation (found by Ding et al) 40,000 years ago that created bold enterprising individuals who became the leadership group of civilizations: a group that Toynbee called the "creative minority." When the world''s climate became warmer and more stable 10,000 years ago the seeds of civilizations began to germinate. Thus the origin of civilizations is tied to human genetics. The book then shows that a long-term social behavior pattern of mankind (based on four generation trends) causes civilizations to develop and "oscillate" in patterns of routs and rallies. Civilizations rise and fall due to their internal human dynamics. The theory of civilization is developed using equations and 68 diagrams that show a close detailed match between the theory and the actual history of all known Asian, European and African civilizations over the last 5,500 years. The theory projects the future of today''s civilizations (including the future of Western and Islamic civilizations). It also successfully describes the interaction of barbarians and civilizations, the interaction of two civilizations, the impact of modern technology on civilizations (it accounts for the Luddite reaction to the Industrial Revolution), the impact of major environmental events on civilizations (e.g. the collapse of Minoan civilization due to a volcanic eruption), and the disintegration of civilizations. It also accounts for the tremendous growth phases seen in many civilizations such as the building of the great pyramids in Egyptian civilizations. Based on the theory fifteen new civilizations are identified including new prehistoric Chinese and Egyptian civilizations. Having shown the success of the theory for earth civilizations it considers the form of extraterrestrial civilizations and calculates their impact on Western civilization should contact be established. The book also shows the need for the colonization of space and nearby planets if mankind is to progress in the future. The book analyzes the impact of the lengthening life spans of mankind on the future of civilizations. Predictions are made for the "state of the world" for 2050 and 2100. A detailed understanding the past enables the theory of civilizations to make predictions for the future. Defining Progress to be the sum of the world''s civilizations the book shows that Progress seems to be approximately linearly increasing over the last 5,500 years. A plot of Progress appears on the book''s cover (shown on this web page) together with the contributions of each civilization to Progress. (The vertical order of the civilizations in the plot is arbitrary. Older civilizations tend to be lower in the plot.) The book is a tour de force that makes History a Science rather than a collection of random events. It is the first detailed mathematical treatment of history. Although the book contains mathematics it is intended for the general reader as well as the mathematically inclined. There are copious verbal descriptions of the theory as well as many figures plotting the theory versus historical events. A qualitative, descriptive theory of civilizations is also presented that is like a "Dow Theory of Civilizations."

A History of Civilizations

A History of Civilizations PDF Author: Fernand Braudel
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0140124896
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 641

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Book Description
Written from a consciously anti-enthnocentric approach, this fascinating work is a survey of the civilizations of the modern world in terms of the broad sweep and continuities of history, rather than the "event-based" technique of most other texts.

1177 B.C.

1177 B.C. PDF Author: Eric H. Cline
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691168385
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
A bold reassessment of what caused the Late Bronze Age collapse In 1177 B.C., marauding groups known only as the "Sea Peoples" invaded Egypt. The pharaoh's army and navy managed to defeat them, but the victory so weakened Egypt that it soon slid into decline, as did most of the surrounding civilizations. After centuries of brilliance, the civilized world of the Bronze Age came to an abrupt and cataclysmic end. Kingdoms fell like dominoes over the course of just a few decades. No more Minoans or Mycenaeans. No more Trojans, Hittites, or Babylonians. The thriving economy and cultures of the late second millennium B.C., which had stretched from Greece to Egypt and Mesopotamia, suddenly ceased to exist, along with writing systems, technology, and monumental architecture. But the Sea Peoples alone could not have caused such widespread breakdown. How did it happen? In this major new account of the causes of this "First Dark Ages," Eric Cline tells the gripping story of how the end was brought about by multiple interconnected failures, ranging from invasion and revolt to earthquakes, drought, and the cutting of international trade routes. Bringing to life the vibrant multicultural world of these great civilizations, he draws a sweeping panorama of the empires and globalized peoples of the Late Bronze Age and shows that it was their very interdependence that hastened their dramatic collapse and ushered in a dark age that lasted centuries. A compelling combination of narrative and the latest scholarship, 1177 B.C. sheds new light on the complex ties that gave rise to, and ultimately destroyed, the flourishing civilizations of the Late Bronze Age—and that set the stage for the emergence of classical Greece.

The Science of History and the Hope of Mankind

The Science of History and the Hope of Mankind PDF Author: Benoy Kumar Sarkar
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 96

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Book Description
The Science of History and the Hope of Mankind by Benoy Kumar Sarkar, first published in 1912, is a rare manuscript, the original residing in one of the great libraries of the world. This book is a reproduction of that original, which has been scanned and cleaned by state-of-the-art publishing tools for better readability and enhanced appreciation. Restoration Editors' mission is to bring long out of print manuscripts back to life. Some smudges, annotations or unclear text may still exist, due to permanent damage to the original work. We believe the literary significance of the text justifies offering this reproduction, allowing a new generation to appreciate it.

Invented History, Fabricated Power

Invented History, Fabricated Power PDF Author: Barry Wood
Publisher: Anthem Press
ISBN: 1785274767
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Book Description
Invented History, Fabricated Power begins with an examination of prehistoric beliefs (in spirits, souls, mana, orenda) that provided personal explanation and power through ritual and shamanism among tribal peoples. On this foundation, spiritual power evolved into various kinds of divine sanction for kings and emperors (Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Indian, Chinese and Japanese). As kingships expanded into empires, fictional histories and millennia-long genealogies developed that portrayed imperial superiority and greatness. Supernatural events and miracles were attached to religious founders (Hebrew, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Islamic). A unique variation developed in the Roman Church which fabricated papal power through forgeries in the first millennium CE and the later “doctrine of discovery” which authorized European domination and conquest around the world during the Age of Exploration. Elaborate fabrications continued with epic histories and literary cycles from the Persians, Ethiopians, Franks, British, Portuguese, and Iroquois Indians. Both Marxists and Nazis created doctrinal texts which passed for economic or political explanations but were in fact self-aggrandizing narratives that eventually collapsed. The book ends with the idealistic goals of the current liberal democratic way of life, pointing to its limitations as a sustaining narrative, along with numerous problems threatening its viability over the long term.

The Kiso Road

The Kiso Road PDF Author: William E. Naff
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 082486073X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 693

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Book Description
William E. Naff, the distinguished scholar of Japanese literature widely known and highly regarded for his eloquent translations of the writings of Shimazaki Toson (1872–1943), spent the last years of his life writing a full-length biography of Toson. Virtually completed at the time of his death, The Kiso Road provides a rich and colorful account of this canonic novelist who, along with Natsume Soseki and Mori Ogai, formed the triumvirate of writers regarded as giants in Meiji Japan, all three of whom helped establish the parameters of modern Japanese literature. Professor Naff’s biography skillfully places Toson in the context of his times and discusses every aspect of his career and personal life, as well as introducing in detail a number of his important but as yet untranslated works. Toson’s long life, his many connections with other important Japanese artists and intellectuals, his sojourn in France during World War I, and his later visit to South America, permit a biography of depth and detail that serves as a kind of cultural history of Japan during an often turbulent period. The Kiso Road, as approachable and exciting as any novel, with Toson himself as its complex protagonist, is arguably the most thorough account of any modern Japanese writer presently available in English.

Researches Into the Early History of Mankind and the Development of Civilization

Researches Into the Early History of Mankind and the Development of Civilization PDF Author: Edward Burnett Tylor
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Anthropology, Prehistoric
Languages : en
Pages : 408

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Life Histories of the Dobe !Kung

Life Histories of the Dobe !Kung PDF Author: Nancy Howell
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520262336
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
"A clearly presented and terrifically detailed work from the perspective of human evolutionary life histories. Dr. Howell has written a text that manages to raise as many intriguing questions as it provides to answer."_Eric A. Roth, author of Culture, Biology, and Anthropological Demography "Nancy Howell's book on the Demography of the Dobe !Kung became an anthropological classic, the first in-depth analysis of the population structures and life histories of a foraging society. Three decades later, Howell returns to her initial data set to ask new questions inspired by Life History Theory. In the process she examines how variations in group composition impact the well-being of !Kung children, revealing that sharing is not just with one's closest relatives."_Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, author of Mothers and Others: The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding "This is a unique, scholarly book that reads like a detective novel. Howell uses demographic, anthropometric, and foraging data on the !Kung hunter-gatherers of Southern Africa to investigate what explains variation in the nutritional well-being of their children. Each chapter builds on the previous one, and through a process of elimination brings us closer to the answers, which are often surprising. Along the way, we see how food sharing is necessary to explain the peculiar elements of human life history."_Frank Marlowe, author of The Hadza: Hunter-Gatherers of Tanzania

Streams of Civilization

Streams of Civilization PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Civilization
Languages : en
Pages :

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