Western Civilization Ideas

Western civilization came about after the blending and mixing of various cultures that spread from Ancient Greece and Rome throughout Europe and later on America. As Western Civilization spread, the areas that have been influenced by this is often called The West. As of today, Greek and Romans ideas of philosophy, literature, mathematics, astronomy and government are still present.

The ideas of government that were developed by Greeks and Romans served as a basis for the United States’ government today. In the 400s B.C., Greece began to implement direct democracy and in 509 B.C., Romans developed representative government. By 2003, approximately 62% of the world government were democracies. In 2002, there were more than 120 democracies established

Some of the greatest known philosophers from Ancient Greece were Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Aristotle created the basis for the scientific method that is used today. He was known for questioning the nature of world and human belief. Socrates used to encourage Greeks to question themselves and was later admired by many that had understanding of his new ideas. Mathematics and astronomy were also a huge advancement. Some of the theories that the Greeks developed about astronomy were not always correct but they changed the way earth, the sun and the solar system were seen. Eratosthenes estimated that the earth’s circumference was about 28,000 to 29,000 miles when in reality it is 24,860. Aristarchus estimated that the sun was 300 times the size of earth and it actually is 1.3 million times the size of earth. Ptolemy thought that the earth was the center of the solar system and this is how people thought the solar system looked for 14 centuries. Some of the greatest mathematicians were Euclid, Pythagoras and Archimedes. Euclid created a geometry textbook with 465 propositions and proofs about geometry titled Elements. Pythagoras invented the Pythagorean Theorem, which states that “the square of a right triangle’s hypotenuse equals the squared lengths of the two remaining sides.”(Ancient World History -------) Lastly, Archimedes, a scientist, estimated the accurate value of Pi. Most of these theories although they were not always accurate they led to further