INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTIONS THAT DEFINED

SOCIETY
 Is the term used to Greek speculation about
“nature” in the period before Socrates – 600-400
BCE. It is also known as the “Pre-Socratic” or
„non-theological” or “first philosophy”. There are
three characteristic features of this form of
philosophy :
 1) the world is a natural whole (i.e. supernatural
forces do not make things “happen”);
 2) there is a natural „order‟ (i.e there are „laws of
nature‟);
 3) humans can „discover‟ those laws.
 Nicholas Copernicus
(1473-1543) was a
mathematician and
an astronomer who
proposed that the
sun was stationary in
the center of the
universe and the
earth revolved
around it.
 Before the work of Copernicus, principles
of classical astronomy involving the four
elements, namely Earth, Water, Air and
Fire were followed. These put the Earth
as the center of the universe and the
elements below the moon, its closest
celestial body (Lawson, 2004). Aristotle
believed that the Earth is the true center
of all the orbs carrying the heavenly
bodies around it and all motions are
„uniform‟ and unchanging.
 Darwin‟s Theory of Evolution is
the widely held notion that all
living organisms are related
and have descended from a
common ancestor. Darwin‟s
general theory presumes the
development of life from non-
life and stresses a purely
naturalistic descent with
modification. It explains the
complex creatures evolve from
more simplistic ancestors
naturally over time.
 As random genetic mutations occur
within an organism‟s genetic code, the
beneficial mutations are preserved
because they aid survival - a process
known as “natural selection”. These
beneficial mutations are passed on to the
next generation. Over time, beneficial
mutation accumulate and the result is an
entirely different organism and not just a
variation of the original but an entirely
different creature.
 Darwin figured out that variations in a
population help different species to
survive. Some variations are better suited
for the environment which in turn
increases the organism‟s ability to
survive and reproduce. The animals that
do survive and reproduce are better
adapted that other organisms. The better
adapted a species is, the more fitted it is
to reproduce; reproduction rates refer to
“survival of the fittest”
 Sigmund Freud is the father of
psychoanalysis and one of the
20th century‟s most influential
thinkers. He believed that when
people explain their behavior to
themselves or others, they
rarely give a true account of
their motivation, not because
they are deliberately lying, but
because they are more adept at
self-deception. Rationalizations
of people‟s conduct are
therefore disguising the real
reasons.
 Freud‟s structural
theory of personality
emphasizes the role of
unconscious
psychological conflicts
in shaping behavior
and personality.
Human behavior is the
result of the
interactions among
three component parts
of the mind: the id,
ego and superego.
 Id
◦ Is made up of unconscious psychic energy
that works to satisfy basic urges, needs
and desires. It is the only part of
personality that is present at birth. (for
example, you saw someone eating a cake,
you would most likely take the cake from
that person not considering that it is rude
to take something belonging to someone
else. What would just matter is that you
wanted the cake.)
 Superego
◦ Is composed of people‟s internalized ideals
acquired from parents and society. Superego
works to suppress the urges of the Id and tries to
make the ego behave morally, rather than
realistically. (If the superego will work, one would
not take the cake because it would know that it
would be rude. However, if both Id and superego
were involved, and Id is strong enough to
override the superego‟s concern, one would still
take the cake, but later realize the shame over
one‟s actions)
 Ego
◦ Mediates the demands of the Id, the superego
and the reality. It prevents people from acting on
their basic urges created by the Id, and works to
achieve a balance with their moral and idealistic
standards created by the superego. (So, if you see
someone with a cake, your ego would mediate
the conflict between your Id and superego, and
decide to go and buy your own cake.)
 Information revolution accompanied the
history of mankind and began as early as
3000BC with Sumerian pictographs. Some
of the milestones of the information
revolution are Gutenberg‟s invention of the
printing press in 1455, the work of Agusta
and Babbage on Analytic Engine in the early
1830s, the invention of the first telephone
during 1870s, and Turing‟s work during
World War II.
 Alan Turing (1912-1954) is a
British mathematician who
considered information
revolution as the fourth
revolution following the
Copernican, Darwinian and
Freudian. He provided a
fundamental contribution to
computer sciences by refining
the concepts of algorithm and
computation with what came
to be called Turing machine.
 He also contributed the
Turing test concerning
the possibility of
developing conscious
and thinking machines
in Artificial Intelligence.
The Turing test is a test
of a machine‟s ability to
exhibit intelligent
behavior equivalent to,
or indistinguishable
from that of a human.
 Mesoamerica was a region
and cultural area in the
Americas, extending from
approximately central
Mexico to Belize,
Guatamela, El Salvador,
Honduras, Nicaragua and
Northern Costa Rica and
was where pre-Columbian
societies flourish before
the Spanish Colonization
in the 15th and 16th
centuries.
 Their main food
sources were
beans, corn and
squash forming a
triad of products
know as the “Three
Sisters”.
 Mesoamerican civilization contributed
greatly in terms of agriculture. As early as
7000BC, the cultivation of cacao, corn,
beans, tomato, squash, and chili as well as
the domestication of turkey and dog made
a transition from Paleo-Indian hunter-
gatherer tribal grouping to the organization
of sedentary agricultural villages.
 Cotton Plants and rubber tress were used in
making culturally significant products such
as textiles and rubber balls, respectively.
Creation of textiles with vibrant colors was
created from the domestication of cotton.
 Aside from agriculture, Mesoamericans
were known to be the firsts one to create
the calendars. They used three calendars,
all of which worked extensively in groups of
20. The civil calendar or the Haab, had 18
months of 20 days, for a total of 30 days
for each cycle.
 Asia bore two of the world‟s great early
civilizations: one from India and the other
from China.
 About 4000 years ago, civilization arose in
the Indus River valley. People used weapons
and utensils made of bronze and copper.
Shops were also established around its
major city, Mohenjo-Daro. In addition, the
region served as birth placed of two world‟s
known religions, namely Hinduism and
Buddhism.
 The Middle East is considered as the home
to the “Cradle of Civilization” where many of
the world‟s oldest cultures and civilizations
were seen. The history started from the
earliest human settlements continuing
through several major pre- and post-
Islamic Empires to the modern collection of
nation-states covering the Middle East
today.
 The Middle East was the first to practice
intensive year-round agriculture and currency-
mediated trade as opposed to barter. It also
gave the rest of the world the first writing
system, invented the potter‟s wheel and then
the vehicular and mill wheel, created the first
generalized governments and law codes,
served as birthplace to the first city-states with
their high degree of division labor, as well as
laying the foundation fro astronomy and
mathematics. However, its empires also
introduced rigid social stratification, slavery,
and organized warfare.
 According to some historians, Africans were
nothing more than savages whose only
contributions to the world were farming and
slaves. On the contrary, the history of
ancient Africa is just as interesting,
complex, and sophisticated as any other
ancient civilization
 This lineage and culture of achievements have
emerged at least 40,000 years ago in Africa.
Some of these were in the field of Mathematics,
Astronomy, Metallurgy and Tools, Agriculture
and Engineering, Navigation, and Even
Medicine.
 Modern concept in mathematics like the first
method of counting were first developed in
Africa. People in present-day Zaire and Yoruba
people in what is now Nigeria developed their
own numeration system 8,000 years ago.
 The African empire of Egypt developed a
vast array of diverse structures and great
architectural monuments along the Nile, the
largest and most famous of which are the
Great Pyramid of Giza and the Great Sphinx
of Giza. In the 12th century, hundreds of
great cities in Zimbabwe and Mozambique
made of massive stone complexes and huge
castle-like compounds existed. The Great
Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of
the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis.