Concept of Civilization
Concept of Civilization
What is civilization? Civilization is a term we have frequently used as a milestone for our existence on earth. However, all of us have our own views and definitions on the term “civilization”. In most modern researches of civilization, it is common for the researchers to gravitate to tangible and measurable data such as technological advances, economic status, as well as quality of life in order to determine the “progress” of a civilization. Yet, a famed Egyptologist and author of the “Serpent in the Sky: The High Wisdom of Ancient Egypt”, John Anthony West, has a unique view on human civilization. In his opinion, civilization is a society where men care more about the quality of the inner life rather than their conditions in daily life (as cited in Bartlett, n.d.). This means than men would focus more on the inner being and happiness, as well as the spiritual aspects in their life.
As corresponds to West’s opinion, the definition of civilization can be related to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. This theory states that people are motivated to achieve particular needs such as physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and finally self-actualization needs at the highest level of the hierarchy in their life (Mcleod, 2014). They will move up to seek for the next higher level of needs after satisfying their lower level basic needs. How does this relate to human civilization? As we can see from the existed civilization, there is job specialization which provides food supply to satisfy our physiological needs, city and place of living to satisfy our safety needs and organized society to satisfy our social needs. These traits of the existed civilization have offered the basic needs of human and served as a foundation for human to achieve esteem and self-actualization needs by having a belief of inner life and spirit. Thus, we can clearly see that civilization is a natural step in our journey towards
What is civilization? Civilization is a term we have frequently used as a milestone for our existence on earth. However, all of us have our own views and definitions on the term “civilization”. In most modern researches of civilization, it is common for the researchers to gravitate to tangible and measurable data such as technological advances, economic status, as well as quality of life in order to determine the “progress” of a civilization. Yet, a famed Egyptologist and author of the “Serpent in the Sky: The High Wisdom of Ancient Egypt”, John Anthony West, has a unique view on human civilization. In his opinion, civilization is a society where men care more about the quality of the inner life rather than their conditions in daily life (as cited in Bartlett, n.d.). This means than men would focus more on the inner being and happiness, as well as the spiritual aspects in their life.
As corresponds to West’s opinion, the definition of civilization can be related to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. This theory states that people are motivated to achieve particular needs such as physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and finally self-actualization needs at the highest level of the hierarchy in their life (Mcleod, 2014). They will move up to seek for the next higher level of needs after satisfying their lower level basic needs. How does this relate to human civilization? As we can see from the existed civilization, there is job specialization which provides food supply to satisfy our physiological needs, city and place of living to satisfy our safety needs and organized society to satisfy our social needs. These traits of the existed civilization have offered the basic needs of human and served as a foundation for human to achieve esteem and self-actualization needs by having a belief of inner life and spirit. Thus, we can clearly see that civilization is a natural step in our journey towards