The First World War not only killed millions of human beings, it also destroyed one of the basic intellectual?

Question

The First World War not only killed millions of human beings, it also destroyed one of the basic intellectual precepts upon which recent Western Civilization had been founded:

a. the concept of a benevolent God

b. the belief in progress

c. the conviction of the enlightened spirit of man

d. the belief in justice for all

e. the spiritual beliefs and religious faith could overcome all challenges

Answer 1

I believe it to be c.,considering the rise of existentialism in the U.S. and the rest of the western world following the war. ex-F.Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby".

Answer 2

First, it is arguable whether Western Civilization was in fact founded on one, some, or all of these, or on something else.

Indeed, although precepts (a), (d) and (e) existed, it would be difficult to find any pre-1914 evidence that they had much effect on civilization. And of the three, only (d) has had much subsequent effect on civilization.

Precept (b) cannot be found before 1750 at all. It was in the next hundred years that it became more and more attractive, with the Industrial Revolution, and huge improvements in transport - canals, railways, and bridges. But civilizations weren't founded on that - they just took advantage of it.

Precept (c) is a humanist or atheist belief which can hardly be found before 1900. Up till then, the Church was teaching that man on his own was inherently sinful, and could only be enlightened through his knowledge of God.

Second, it is not at all clear that the First World War destroyed any of these. There is contemporary evidence that it considerably weakened (a) for a time, but precepts (c), (d) and (e) were still being enthusiastically promoted after the war as the only (!) way to stop it happening again. And the huge technical advances during the war definitely strengthened precept (b).

Summing up, the question makes a doubtful presumption, and none of the suggested answers are correct.

Answer 3

It's amazing what happens when you criticise people's religious concepts, when no religious person today was alive at the time of WW1.

Yes, religion is one of the most notable areas where you can see the cultural decline of civilisation. Religion had blossomed during the European Renaissance and had become highly contemplative during the 19th century British-American literary movement. Western religions were known for being non-materialistic, charitable, and compromising with one another once they got into the academics of their ideas. After the first world war, culture changed into being hateful, consumerist, uncharitable, unkind, ungiving, anti-intellectual.

And for anyone who beleives we're not anti-progress, why are we still using Oil? All oil based technology is founded in the 19th century, and as long as we retrofit our newer technology to keep big oil happy, we'll still be stuck in the early 20th century. We'll never get to the higher level.

Answer 4

I agree in the disturbance of all of these beliefs and progress, but the problem I have with this is, prior to this have you looked in history that the European government was on a downhill slope 60 going 100 miles an hour to the pits anyway. All that did was give it a little bit of a push. And it was the Huns fault, the Kaiser, and then it was the fault on any aggressors part. That led to the inevitable Hitler regime which completely knocked it out and destroyed way more people. However if you recall in history the European rule was forever warring in the name of G-D and they were not based on "In G-D we trust at all" They just used G-D, and monarchs rule as if they were gods, deitys, just like the pharoahs did. That part of the world had to go. and so it does now as well unless they wake up the barbarians are so far inbedded in their governments and societies, as well as ares is growing that way in droves everyday. such is life bud.
spiritualism is all that will help us all right now. Go to www.history.com and get your facts before WWI about their abuse of power with the Church at the helm. We in America have a separation between Church and state, But they had politics controlling the church, like Pope Pius in WWII who signed with Hitler, not because he was afraid he was a cruel inhumane Pope, he was not G-D and he thought so. He should have been hung at the Nuremburg Tribunal Trials and sentenced to death, he was a crook and and a war criminal to boot. They used to hang priests there as well. Usually the innocent ones. Here we are no longer separation between Church and State since the Pope John(polish pope) and Reagan signed and agreement that was televised where they both were nodding out, it was histerical, but they both were shot as well maybe that is what fried their brains. But anyway the reason Reagan wanted that was to let politics rule over religion totally, because he believed that he was G-D too, like the Pope, or Caesar, or Cleopatra for that matter. They are all crazed control freaks. Reagan that very year had hired 15 thousand IRS police agents with guns to march into the Catholic Churches into the confessions pose as a priest wait for the suspect, listen to his confession and then they cuffed them. That is why our Churches are under attack because of Reagan and Bush. That is a fact. To them G-d does not rule here, man does, they are all power crazed atheists and they believe in their idols and symbols and they are the idols and the symbol is what ever their crusade is about the cross, the swatztika, etc.,

Answer 5

Well it shocked the world and almost wiped out a generation of young men. People were jaded of course, which gave rise to existentialism. But also I think it created a temporary peace, and it caused people to stop and reconsider war, because the stakes were different now, and the 20th century saw a new mechanized/ biological war, more efficient ways of killing than previously imagined.

One good thing out of WWI was the League of Nations, which was the precursor to the United Nations.

Answer 6

Being flip; All of the above. It didn't destroy any intellectual precepts, because the items in the questions are not intellectual but belief based. They are still held beliefs, but I don't think they are intellectually held. I think that most of the surviving Pollyanas died a generation later. As one hell begot another.

Answer 7

Yeah,it was a bad thing,now where's the question?Oh,you were just venting?This is Yahooanswers.Answers,get it.

Answer 8

c