10 Ideas That Changed The World
Self Enquiry In the West, it was Socrates who pioneered the art of critical self - thinking. Socrates would tell his students that the only thing he could know was that he knew nothing. Socrates' independent thinking proved too much for the Greek authorities and he was sentenced to death. But, his spirit of self-inquiry and independent thought has been instrumental in the development of western philosophy.
Meditation. Meditation has been practised since the dawn of time. The Vedic Seers meditated alone in their Himalayan caves. It was Siddhartha the Buddha who played one of the most important roles in encouraging people to practise meditation as a path to enlightenment. The Buddha taught the world inevitably brought suffering and death. The only cure was for a seeker to attain enlightenment through right thinking, right attitudes and meditation.
Forgiveness. Before 0 AD, the western world was a brutish place. Justice was based on the idea of 'An eye for an Eye' or something even more vindictive. The philosophy and teachings of Jesus Christ were radical in many ways. But, particularly radical was the notion of forgiving one's enemy and loving one's enemy. It is perhaps a philosophy more people have followed rather than put into practise, but it did influence religious and spiritual attitudes.
The Reformation. Until Martin Luther in the sixteenth Century, the Roman Catholic Church held a monopoly on religion in Europe. The prevailing idea was that for a man to be saved, it needed the intervention of a priest and official church. The reformation questioned the necessity of an intervening body between man and God. The reformation opened up a whole new branch of Protestant Christianity which gave the church much less power and encouraged a direct link between man and God.
Equality
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
The idea of equality of men, was enshrined in the US constitution. This noble idea of equality would take much longer to put into universal practise. Legal equality for the negro would not be achieved until nearly two centuries later. Nevertheless the idea of equality helped break down the old class structure of 'divine Kings' nobility and peasants.
Religious Freedom
It was common for a State to promote one religion only. Contrary religious viewpoints were neither tolerated nor accepted. For the pursuit of religious freedom many people paid with their lives. The US constitution made the first steps to separate state and church and provide greater religious freedom. Thomas Jefferson passed one of the first laws guaranteeing religious freedom in his state of Virginia. It is a concept that has become stronger since. At the World Parliament of religions in 1897, the great yogi, Swami Vivekananda, spoke eloquently on the ideal of religious tolerance and religious oneness.
Evolution. Until Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, in the west, conventional wisdom believed the literal word of the Bible that the world was made in six days. Darwin's theory of evolution turned humanity's understanding of itself upside down.
Relativity. Albert Einstein's theory of relativity (E=MC2) revolutionised physics and our understanding of atomic energy. It showed that great power could be unleashed from a small amount of mass. It contributed to the development of atomic energy and GDS satellites amongst other things.
Women's Suffrage. Up until the Twentieth Century, we have lived largely in a patriarchal society, with men dominating positions of power. At the turn of the century, women advocating universal suffrage for all were viewed as dangerous radicals. But, now many women have become Prime Ministers and society is very different. (see: Women who changed the world)
Human Rights. Human rights could be traced back far into history. Even the Magna Carta of 1215 was an important step in giving rights to individuals. In the enlightenment period, this ideas were influential in the American and French revolutions. Human rights have become particularly important in the twentieth Century with frequent abuses. The UN's "Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in 1948 was a crucial moment in trying to define and protect human rights.
Citation : Pettinger, Tejvan. "Ideas That Changed the World", Oxford, www.biographyonline.net, 13th Jan. 2009