A Universal History essays

A Universal History essays There were many philosophers throughout time who sought constantly to identify a Universal History. These philosophers believed in continuity. History to them was a progressive revelation of the way the universe was structured and through this belief, they felt better able to explain mans origin and purpose in life as a whole. Not all philosophers followed or studied Universal Histories as can be seen in the times of Greek antiquity. The philosophers and writers of antiquity never ventured in the writings of Universal Histories, even though the philosophical and historical traditions of the Western world began in Greece. They only acknowledged a cyclical view of History, not one of continuity. Through the politics of the well known philosopher Aristotle, we see that he firmly believed that no regime could ever satisfy man completely, but that man, through being dissatisfied would constantly replace one regime with another, hence his belief that history was a never ending cycle. Plato also spoke in the Republic of regimes having certain natural cycles. The Greek view of that time therefore showed history was not secular but cyclical (Fukuyama 1992, p55 thought. The first Universal Histories we see came from Christianity in the Middle Ages. Christians were the first in presenting the idea that through the eyes of God, man was equal to one another and that people all over the world shared in the same destiny. Christianity introduced the concept of a history that was finite in time, beginning with Gods creation of man and ending with his final salvation (Fukuyama 1992, p56). For Christians there was a definite belief of there being a day of judgement sometime in the future, where all earthly history would cease to exist and the universe would be no more. These beliefs describe a ...