西方文化导论 课后习题答案

(1) Give a brief account of the major achievements of Greek culture, such as those in religion, philosophy, literature and science.

Greek religion really took shape during the Homeric Age and featured polytheism with gods taking human form and feeling. Greek religion made a great contribution to Greek literature, philosophy and art. It is an important origin of Greek mythology which was fully developed by the religious tales of the Homeric epic and thus affected the later development of all kinds of Greek culture.

Greek philosophy started with Thales (640 BC–547 BC) who believed that the material world originated in water. His philosophy was materialism. He was followed by Pythagoras who assumed that the key to the understanding of the world is numbers, on the opposition of the spokesman for idealism.

The core Greek philosophers are Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Socrates had scant regard for material wealth, but was keen on probing into the definition of some ethical and behavioral issues, such as “friendship”and “courage”.

Plato established the Academy －the first Greek institution of higher learning. His contributions included his theory of ideas and his arguments on “republic”which was supposed to embrace his ideals about a future state where humans could enjoy a happy life. Aristotle is also a learned man and his work covers wide-ranging areas. His reputation as a philosopher largely depends on his argument on metaphysics which he tried to achieve a compromise between matter and divinity. Literary representation centred round the two epic poems of the Iliad and the Odyssey, lyrical poetry by Sappho and Pindar and drama by Aeschylus, Euripides and Aristophanes. Their works combined Greek myths and social life and won much appreciation and enthusiasm from the public.

In science the mathematician Euclid established plane geometry and Archimedes discovered the ratio of radius of a circle and the relationship between the volume and surface of a sphere.

(2) What do you think of the influence Greek culture has exerted on Western civilization as a whole? Give examples.

Greek culture is often termed the cradle of the Western civilization and has had an enormous impact on Western culture. The specific contributions are found in the areas of philosophy, politics, literature, art, science and architecture.

Greek politics was one of the greatest influences on the Western civilization. The Greeks were the first to successfully create a government based on the consensus of the people and thus provided a foundation for Western democracy.

The second significant influence was that of philosophy. The Socratic idea about ethics and knowledge helped the Westerners care more for the effect of knowledge and value of morality, both of which give sound guidance to people in the later years to improve and change the world outside themselves, i.e., human society and the natural world.

Later generations of Westerners have benefited a lot from Greek culture, such as those in painting, sculpture, architecture, drama, poetry and historical works. Classicism had Greek culture as one of the crucial sources, and this has helped Westerners so much that they ascribed the origin of the Renaissance to it. This changed the intellectual conditions of the later medieval period and opened the way to the modern era in the West.

Chapter 2

1. Tell briefly the major characteristics and contributions of Roman culture, as are demonstrated in religion, poetry, history and architecture.

In the early period, Roman culture often depended heavily on the introduction and imitation of other cultures, particularly, Greek culture. Thus Romans created their own powerful culture, laying the foundation for subsequent Western culture in many fields. According to Greek culture and others’ culture; they created their own gods and myth, In poetry, ancient Rome made brilliant achievements,

Livy was responsible for the great History of Rome in 142 volumes. His work has always been cited by later statesmen, writers or scholars,The architecture of Ancient Rome adopted the Greek style for its own purposes, but the Romans also developed a new kind.

2. In what sense do you think Roman culture owed its accomplishments to the benefits obtained from Greek culture? Give examples.

Roman culture learned and inherited a lot from Greek culture.,religion, philosophy and literature. In religion, Rome had its own system of beliefs which had been simple and could hardly compare with the plurality of Greek religion. The same is true of Roman philosophy where we could find examples ,In literature, Roman men of letters also borrowed a All in all, the two cultures are closely linkedgreat deal from Greek culture.

Chapter 3

1. How was the Jewish civilization developed after a tortuous history of split and unification? The major explanation for the development of the Jewish civilization is its strong cohesiveness and vitality,they put into effect their Judaist beliefs and what they read of Judaist scriptures.

From then on Jews have begun to become aware of the necessicity to liberate themselves from the restrictive laws and acquire new knowledge and modern ideas from the Europeans, Most of Jews thus received a good education, fully armed with cultural and scientific knowledge and did well in their own position they could quickly turn it into a well developed nation in spite of its small size and small population .

2．Say something about Judaism and The Old Testament.

The Old Testament is the Judaist Bible. It was written in Hebrew, including the three parts：Pentateuch, Prophets and Hagiographa and Apocrypha. After The Old Testament was translated into Greek by Jewish scholars，many westerners began to understand Judaism by reading this book. It is not only of religious value but also of literatry value.

Chapter 4

1. What are the main components of Christianity and why could it be accepted as the official religion first by the Roman Empire and then by the following kingdoms or empires in Europe?

(1)The main components of Christianity are ：1) The Bible as the only Christian scripture;

Major Christian doctrines about Trinity and Redemption;3) Other doctrines or events of Christianity:

(2 )Christianity is accepted and popular in Europe because of these factors:

1).For the common people in the empire ,they needed something to fill up their spiritual vacuum. Christianity could play such a role.

2). It could work together with any secular regimes to offer necessary assistance.

3). The name and influence of Christiaity would be a symbol of sacredness and justification,

4) Christianity is also a kind of culture, it could be tolerated because their life and property

could thus be secured in the changed circumstances.

2. What are the basic differences between Christianity and Judaism?

In spite of the fact that the two religions derived from Jewish culture, there are some basic differences between them.

First is the different image of God.Second is different view of God. Jehovah is viewed He is like fire or wind .God is kinder and more helpful, Third is the different position each religion is located in and hence would make different contribution. Fourth is Jehovah was important to Jews only in theory and affect them in spirit occasionally while Christianity moved into secular life for the Westerner as Pope and churches became very powerful .

Chapter 6

1.Tell simply the background and development of the Renaissance.

It was no accident that it first occurred in Florence and Italy where the early signs of capitalism had appeared at the same time as social chaos, political disputes and military clashes , more and more people began to suspect the justification for those who held the power,Painting and sculpture were the first area to reflect the change of subjects and tastes.

(2) What are the major features and achievements of the Renaissance? Give examples.

The Renaissance is characterised by seeking ideological emancipation, intellectual freedom and political awareness, based on cultural production and religious reformation. All these were undertaken or unfolded gradually but widely, extending its influences to every corner of Europe, with more and more people getting involved.

The achievements were seen principally in six areas, namely, painting, sculpture, poetry, fiction, drama and religious reformation as well as the change in the cultural and intellectual climate. Instances could be located in these areas, such as the huge change of subjects and styles in painting. The medieval painting used to centre on depicting Jesus Christ and other Christian subjects, not only effecting similar and the limited subject matter, but also depicting stylistically facial expressions and manners. The great artists in the Renaissance started to focus on the images with individualistic temperament, highlighting humanity instead of divinity, thus breaking away from the medieval frozen models and linking classicalism with human nature as the centre of their representational work.