6. Duality (spiritual and secular), center and division
Dualism (spirituality and secularity) was a characteristic of European civilization. This phenomenon can be seen in other civilizations as well. In Islamic civilization, caliphs and sultans existed side by side, and in Japan, In the past, the emperor and the shogun stood side by side. They represented spirituality and secularity, respectively, but in European civilization, the Pope had physical power backed by monasteries. Yes, there were. In the Middle Ages, various religious orders of knights appeared and even exercised military power.
Of course, the background to this was the decentralized medieval society, and the Pope, a spiritual authority, reigned over it, but this phenomenon (a religious organization at the top of power) did not occur in religious Indian civilization, and the situation did not reach this level in Islamic civilization. The caliphs were protected by the sultans. European civilization was given its worldview by the church organization that controlled the secular world, and it can be said that it was a civilization that opened up a new era by breaking through this. This took the form of various worldviews (from humanism to religious views) proposed by individuals, and scientific thought was one of them. Rational judgments by individuals also appeared in religion, and there were constant conflicts against irrational societies such as Catholicism and Protestantism, feudalism and absolutism, absolutism and democracy, capitalism and socialism, and in times of peace there were competitions and frequent wars. These things were first discussed in the spiritual world of thought, which was adopted and developed, but it can be said that in European civilization, in addition to the expansion of the geographical world, the expansion of the intellectual world was a major characteristic.
I think that the problem of center and separation is also behind this phenomenon. As was the case in Islamic civilization, if the spiritual or secular authority of the center is too strong, the economy and culture will be blocked, whereas European civilization was somewhat pluralistic, with Britain, France, Germany, Austria, and Russia. The aforementioned constant dualistic conflict unfolded within such a pluralistic culture, and the diversity of its products was remarkable. The weak center (perhaps it was Britain, which tried to be a balancer) developed networks, and in terms of capital, the cosmopolitan world was beginning to emerge. After the complete shift of hegemony to America after World War II, colonialism, which was a cultural element of Europe, came to an end, and the center shifted to America and the Soviet Union. However, unlike the first half of European civilization (the period when European countries were at the center, which was like Greek civilization), this period seems to have been extremely strong in the power of the center and weak in the element of separation. Also, since the axis of conflict was simple in the second half of European civilization (the era of America and Russia), it seems that we did not see a diverse development unlike the first half of European civilization. (It may be said to be Roman civilization.)
7. The Power of Women
It may be said that the influence of women's power as a driving force in history is an unknown problem. There are regional differences in European civilization. However, one thing that is relatively common is that many women have appeared in European civilization throughout history. I think that Christianity has an influence, but the development of human rights ideas is also thought to be behind it. Europe has already had female prime ministers, and British Prime Minister Thatcher has become a great prime minister, and German Chancellor Merkel may also go down in history as the prime minister who wiped out Hitler's bad image and made Germany the most important country in Europe. Perhaps in the near future, the time will come when a woman will become president in the United States and Russia, and if that happens in Russia, something amazing may happen (like Catherine the Great, who confirmed Russia's westernization course, just like Peter the Great).
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