The Modern ConsciousnessScience, Politics & the ArtsMr. JohnsonWorld History

Self-Portrait in Striped T-Shirt – Henri Matisse

Created Created by Mr. by Mr.

JohnsonJohnson

Objectives• 7.02 – Examine the causes and

effects of scientific revolutions and cite their major costs and benefits.

• 8.01 – Trace developments in literary, artistic, and religious traditions over time as legacies of past societies or as cultural innovations.

• 8.03 – Classify within the broad patterns of history those events that may be viewed as turning points.

Key TermsCharles DarwinEvolution & Natural SelectionSocial Darwinism & RacismAlbert EinsteinRelativityHeisenberg Uncertainty PrincipleMarie CurieRadioactivityNuclear physicsBig Bang TheorySigmund FreudUnconscious mindPsychoanalysisCarl Jung

ArchetypesPavlov’s DogReligious backlashstream of consciousnessImpressionismPost-ImpressionismSymbolismCubismDadaSurrealism

Major Themes•Technology & Mass Culture

everyone doing the same thing

•Relativism & uncertaintynothing is absolute

•Secularismemphasis on science and reason, not religion

•Irrationality & the unconsciouswe do thing for reasons we don’t realize

•Religious backlashmodern society is undermines faith in God

Mass Media

Technology & Mass Culture•Radio•Film•Used by

democracies & totalitarian states alike

FDR’s Fireside Chats

Triumph of the Will (1937)

Spectator Sports

Advertising & Marketing

Biology

Evolution• Charles Darwin• Beagle & Galapagos

Islands• Natural selection –

“survival of the fittest”• The Origin of Species

(1859)• The Descent of Man

(1871)

Scopes Trial• Religious Backlash

Social Darwinism• Racial/national “survival of the

fittest”• German General Friedrich von

Bernhardi: “War is a biological necessity… since without it an unhealthy development will follow… War is the father of all things.”

• Aryanism & Eugenics – Nazi Germany

DNA• Watson & Crick• Double-helix• Blueprint for human life

Physics & Astronomy

Theoretical Physics• Einstein

– Theory of Relativity (1905)

– Time and space are not absolute, but relative to the observer

Theoretical Physics• Werner Heisenberg

– “Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle”

– The exact location and speed of subatomic particles cannot be exactly determined, only measured in probability

– The act of observing alters the thing being measured… so not all things can be known

Radioactivity & Nuclear Physics• Marie Curie – radioactivity• Robert Oppenheimer – the atomic

bomb

Astronomy• The universe is

much larger than previously believed, perhaps even infinite

• Earth, therefore, is a “mere grain of sand on a beach”

• Big Bang Theory – origins of the universe

The New Science: Psychology

Psychoanalysis•Sigmund Freud•Human behavior and thought is not rational, but, like all animals, instinctive•the unconscious mind – sex & aggression•Repressed memories and urges•Allowing patients to heal themselves through guided talking

Psychoanalysis•Conscious – rational mind•Preconscious – accessible memories•Unconscious – bulk of the mind; memories that we cannot recall at will, but which still affect our thoughts & behavior•Id (“it”) – inborn biological drives, immediate gratification•Ego (“I”) – makes us act in socially acceptable ways; arguing a point rather than fighting•Superego (“over the I”) – conscience, sense of right and wrong

Archetypes & Symbolism• Carl Jung• Collective

Unconscious – memories passed down from generation to generation

• Archetypes– Self– God– Mother– Persona/Mask– Personalities:

introverts/extraverts

Archetypes• Hero vs.

Villain• Wise Old Man• God/Spiritual

Force• Journey/

Adventure

Behaviorism• Pavlov – conditioning• “Pavlov’s Dog”• Military applications

Politics & International Affairs

Great Depression

Two World Wars

Art & Literature

Literature

James Joyce – Ulysses – stream of consciousness

Hermann Hesse – Siddhartha, Steppenwolf – search for the self

Review

Assignment• Five minutes• With a partner, reorganize

your notes, putting three examples under each of today’s themes:– Technology & Mass Culture– Relativism & Uncertainty– Secularism– Irrationality & the Unconscious– Religious Backlash

Identify the picture and explain its significance to the Modern Consciousness.

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