Humanism vs. Flat World
Ashlee Lawrence - Honors History 10 - 9/28/2007
Today if we were to address the people that we (in a large scale) "compete with" or are associated with we would say, "Americans". In the 14th-16th centuries we would have said, "The Church". In the flat world we would say, "The World". Humanism and the Flat world are both revolutionizing forces which change or changed the way we as people/humans identify ourselves. They both involve intelligence and questioning and through these characteristics we expand our knowledge of the status quo and set no limits as to how far we can go. Humanism and the Flat World are similar but their consequences have some differences. Even though there are differences we can anticipate the outcome of the flat world by analyzing the history of Humanism.
Humanism was a revolution. It was the push that made people see themselves as individuals and not just a part of the church. Before humanism you were seen as a body that lived for the church. Everything that you did was for the church; everyone lived in fear of going to hell. Once humanism came into play people started to question things. Was there a life outside of the church? The humanists said yes! People started to be identified not only as a part of the church but by their characteristics, their personality, and their actions; an individual. Now the meaning of life was not only to do good deeds to get to heaven but also to live it up; have fun and enjoy your time you have here on earth and not just try and rush through it to get to heaven. This brought the people much more knowledge as they learned about the world around them from a different prospective. Destiny became a part of people's lives (and the fact that they were in control of their lives) as they lived a life outside of the church.
The Flat World, you either embrace it or averse it. This flat world was caused by humanism, even though it is built entirely off of technology and intelligence. In the flat world it does not matter where you are or what you are, but more of intellectuality and your capabilities. It changes the way we identify ourselves.When you tell your life story through the Internet you are in complete control of what people see and know about yourself. It not only allows people to share their thoughts and opinions with everyone and anyone that they want, but you can make yourself into someone you're not. Making reference to Brad Paisley's song "Online", it talks about how he still lives with his parents, he's 5'3" and overweight and hes never been to second base. But online he has created this person who is 6'5", drives a mazarati, and lives in Hollywood. With the flat world we all have that capability and more. It levels out the playing field for anyone, anywhere; from the president of the united states to a small child in China as long as they have access to the Internet. With this level playing field also brings more competition. You can no longer go to your local McDonald's and apply for a job; someone in another country will already have it. In the flat world you no longer compete for jobs etc. only with people in your community, your state, your country, but now the whole world; untouchable is what you want to be. The flat world also helps to make the world a better place by increasing the productivity and efficiency of the world as a whole. For instance another country might have a missing link that we need to find a cure to cancer and with this flat world we can collaborate with them and share our ideas. In the flat world the meaning of life is to be mediocre, but the best as an individual; to be untouchable!
Humanism and the flat world both caused revolutions. In this way and many others they are similar. They both change the way people identify themselves. In the 14th century people identified themselves as a part of the church; the church was all they knew. With the flat world, we would no longer identify ourselves as an American, but as a world citizen. Next, Humanism was the step that got people to realize there was a life outside of the church, they then identified themselves not by their church hierarchy but by their personality and their individual being. The flat world unites everyone in the world and we no longer identify our self by what we are or where we are, but our intelligence and our achievements. Third, both revolutions changed the meaning of life for the people of that time. Humanism changed the Church body's meaning of life from: doing good deeds to get into heaven and stay away from hell, to making the most of the time you have here on earth and being yourself, not just "a part of the church". The flat world took the people's meaning of life from getting a good job and supporting your family, to being the best, being untouchable and not having to worry about someone taking your job away from you. Next, both were questioning and pushing the limit of the status quo of that time. The pope's of the 14th-16th centuries had the people of the church brainwashed. Humanists started questioning the church and wanted some evidence to prove what they were telling the church body. In the flat world people are constantly trying to improve our general knowledge and to improve our technology. The sky is the limit and the sky keeps getting farther away!
Both of these revolutions had large impacts and consequences on the world. One consequence would be the generation that only knew the church way of living or the not-so technology savvy people. How will they deal with this big change? Will they be able to live their lives outside of the church and will they be able to survive without learning the tricks of the trade for technology? Next, a consequence that is more for the flat world than for humanism, what will happen once the world is flat? What would there be to strive for, to live for? With humanism individuality is always different (that's why it's individual); no two people are alike. People can always become more individual but once you have that untouchable job what is the meaning of life?
As any history teacher would tell you, the events of the world repeat themselves; same general outcome, different causes. Humanism and the Flat World are like this. First, like the humanists questioned the church, there will be people that question the flat world. They will want proof that this is better for the world as a whole not just for the people who like technology. Second, they will want to know what the long term timeline looks like. With humanism people wanted to know if we (the Church) start living our lives not just for the church are we still going to get into heaven or will we go to hell? This is a big question, as Hell compared to Heaven is a scary place. All the same there will be people that will question the long term timeline of the flat world. Once the flat world is established where will it go? Will it keep improving or will we get to our limit and that will be it? There is no meaning of life once you have accomplished it. In conclusion, the flat world and humanism have allot in common as do their consequences. They are both revolutions that affect the people of their time dramatically. By analyzing the history of humanism we can anticipate what is going to happen with the flat world.
