Blog #4

New Ideas in politics and philosophy tend to emerge in times of social, political, and/or economic stress. How can this be explained? 

There were three basic ways of living that were thought up in the time of Confucius and shortly after. There was, Confucianism, which stated that power called for responsibility, and he made up five principles which were about a basic way of living in harmony and peace without the need for government interference. The second was Daosim, which stated that people had to find their own way in life, to fit in with the cosmic force, nature, and the universe. The third was Legalism, which stated that welfare of the state wasn't as important as the welfare of the people. This belief stated that laws were need to be made to keep order in society. 

When a place or situation faces chaos, this makes people think about new ways and ideas to bring about change. When things reach a certain point, an extreme, the people decide to take action.  An example of this is like when Marie Antoinette was queen of France. She was frivolously spending money, while the common folks didn't even have bread to eat. At this point, the townspeople rebelled and took over the rule of the castle, which forced Marie Antoinette and her family into exile. This is just one example of how people throughout history will force a change to a status quo, and that is when new ideas and concepts in politics and philosophies emerge.

Blog 3

Population growth was the most significant development of the Classical Period. True or False? I think that this statement is true. Population growth was the most significant development of the Classical Period because of multiple factors. One of these factors is the development of iron tools and weapons, which strengthened the military power and allowed them to conquer neighboring kingdoms. As the Empire and trade routes grew, they needed to invest more in their infrastructure, such as canals and postal services, to insure communication and control throughout their lands. Another one of these factors is that people stopped being nomadic and began farming. This change was largely because people felt safe and protected in the walls of the Empire. Also the new iron technology allowed farming to became more efficient and farmers were able to grow more food than ever before, this made it so farmers were able to support a larger population. As the population grew, people lived in denser communities, this helped them boost their immune system. As population density grew, people were exposed to more diseases, and thus, able to develop antibodies against these diseases, this increased life expectancy. 

The Biggest change that occurred during the classical period (Blog 2)

I think the biggest change that occurred during the Classical period was that the cultures between the various countries were combined so they all could learn and exchange the knowledge and customs. A lot of the growth of each civilization was done with the help of each other by sharing new ideas and expanding the cultures of other civilizations. External trade was a major part of each civilization. The crops that were needed but not grown in one part of a region, might have been grown in abundance in another region, so they were able to trade or exchange with one another. For example, say India had a disease and needed certain herbs, due to India's climate, they couldn't grow the certain herbs they needed certain herbs, but China could grow these herbs. China is looking for some new spices for their food, but China's climate can't grow those spices, India can. So they say if you give us some spices we will give you some herbs. That is the basic trade. Trade from India stretched as far out as Southeast Asia. By exchanging with one another it grew bonds between those neighboring regions and it also expanded knowledge to each civilization.

Reflection on Yali's Question

Why do you think that White Europeans came to control a large share of the modern world, while those inhabiting the Americas, Africa, and Asia became subjects of Colonization?

I think that Europe was more technologically advanced and they saw themselves superior to others. Due to their belief that they were better than everyone else, they became greedy and thats what justified their cruel behavior in their eyes. They eventually lost sight to their connection with the earth, so they went around doing the same to everyone else. If they had misery they wanted to bring everyone else down to their level so they weren't alone. Misery likes company. They also had navigation, which allowed them to spread out and colonize other places. They had the tools and the skills to build sea vessels, and these vessels were unique because they allowed crew members to basically live at sea for long periods of time while discovering new lands. Europe was tightly populated, which caused disease and lack of resources and frequent warfare. Some people wanted to get away from this, so they left and brought that competitive spirit of survival with them. So when they encountered these indigenous people, who just share whatever they have, and help whoever needs it, the Europeans took advantage of this, and kept wanting more.