The Origins of Western Civilization

"The Origins of Western Civilization: What it is, and Where did it come from" is the first in an 8-part series on "The Odyssey of Western Civilization" by the Freedom Academy, hosted by Victor Davis Hanson.

The West arose in a particular time and place, Greece in the eighth
century B.C., during the dark age that followed the collapse of
Mycenaean civilization. An agricultural revolution gave rise to the
autonomous yeoman farmer, backbone of the democratic city-state. Their
innovations included constitutional government, free-market economics,
private property and individual liberty - concepts unknown in Mycenae,
not to mention Egypt and Mesopotamia. Here the West begins.

[alitlweird]

This has 17 THOUSAND views in FIVE MONTHS

meanwhile, carbi b’s WAP has 172 MILLION views in ONE month.

helps one to understand the social condition that we’re in right now.

[chriskapsambelis]

At the age of 10, I lived in the southern Peloponnese city of Kalamata, and survived the German occupation by the ancient practices described here. My father was a textile engineer whose high paying job came to a sudden end with the Hitler invasion of Greece. Fortunately, my father still owned his inheritance on a mountainside village some 20 miles from the city. The family left the luxurious house in the city, and moved to a small village farmhouse unreachable by modern vehicles, and relatively free from the German occupation.

My father's inheritance consisted of lands that had been farmed for centuries for olives, grain, and grapes. He quickly revived the old practices, as described by VDH, to produce enough food for us and many who had no land.

I can tell you that the ancient life as described by VDH is very accurate because I lived it for 4 years to survive and be here today.

[peterpadazopoulos]

Excellent video, this should be in all schools. Instead they teach students how to hate western culture, and themselves.

[darrellhamner]

What!? People are still allowed to speak of Western Civilization in a positive way?

[foxyone]

VDH is a national treasure if only the masses would recognize him and learn from him what a great country we would have.

[randholt]

Every time I listen to VDH, I feel like I have so much to learn. Specifically, the culture that I live in: Western Civilization. Love me some learnin'.

[billym]

I love listening to you I have 11 grade education if there were more professors like I might have made it to college ur awsome 👌

[proliveira]

Victor Davis Hanson is always brilliant. One heck of a teacher and lecturer.

[jackjones]

How wonderful that I can go back and learn what my state run university failed to teach, and for free! Dr. Hanson is a Godsend.

[Seguereason]

If only people skipped one night of CNN and watched this video instead what a turnaround there would be!

[garymcaleer]

History will look back fondly on this man.

[deanfunk]

Finally...a gift. The origin of our Western Civilization. All who haven't studied this should turn to it (especially our youth). The unique cure to the destruction of all that we hold dear. Many thanks to Dr Hanson and to the American Freedom Alliance.

[virvisquevir]

The origin of Western Civilisation? In one word: LOGOS. LOGOS is an Ancient Greek, pre-Christian concept meaning order, structure, proportion, sense-making, as in sentences and paragraphs and texts that make sense.

It's where the world "logic" comes from and all the "ologies" of academic study: pathology, psychology, sociology, anthropology, biology, etc. - all "making sense" of that subject.

LOGOS has a metaphysical, ontological, aspect - that order to the universe behind the senses, behind sense perception, behind models, behind paradigms, behind religions, etc., giving them credence and value. It is there, always, and makes the universe trustable and understandable and predictable, thereby kicking off science. Universally repeatable science rather than random superstitions of a particular tribe.

LOGOS determines if our ideas are good or bad, successful or unsuccessful, functional or dysfunctional. sustainable or short-lived, viable or not-viable, etc. It kind of plays the role that "environment" plays in Darwin's Theory of Evolution. Spontaneous Mutation and Natural Selection. It is the eternal selector to the "spontaneous mutation" of our ideas, crazy ideas or good-enough ideas or genius ideas.

The earliest Christians picked up on this idea and identified the LOGOS with Jesus Christ and thus God, kind of. The Book of John opens with: "In the beginning was the LOGOS and the LOGOS was with God and the LOGOS was God." Powerful.

The antithesis of LOGOS is chaos, that which doesn't make sense, that which doesn't work, that which breaks down. In the mayhem and rioting and arson on Antifa and BLM, in the evidence-less, statistics-less emotionality of SJW's, in leftist "cancel culture", we see chaos rearing its ugly head again.

For a society to survive and prosper, for children to be safe, LOGOS must rule over chaos. Structure. A structured, clear-minded individual. Structure. The family structure of a father and a mother and children each fulfilling a complementary role. In social structure of law and order.

LOGOS in the heavens. LOGOS in society. LOGOS in our heart.

Cheers!

[martincoons]

Dr. Hansen is able to capture and keep my attention like none of my professors in College. He is America's professor. He brings a unique perspective having grown up live and produce on a farm of his own his family's 5 Generations back in California San Joaquin Valley incidentally where Devin Nunez is a representative in Congress I find that fascinating it begs the question is there a concentration of patriotic intelligence in California in the San Joaquin Valley

[BingBangBrine]

my teacher make me watch this and take notes

[comfunc]

Thank you for this. Its really interesting! And the way you describe it makes me feel transported back to those sunny fields of wheat, barley, olives and grapes, where an ancient Greek is surveying his land, and figuring out what to do next.

[americaisacontinent.]

I like this man. Very analytical and precise. Men like this is what we should hold dear in a society.

[neliborba]

I call it the European Civilization" because everything started in Europe. That is what I learned in school, born in Europe I am proud of all the Europeans accomplished through the centuries and brought it to other countries all over the World.

[boblowe]

Thank the Lord for VDH. He is what a learned professor is supposed to be like. It’s too bad we don’t have more of them and there’s so many of them have shipwrecked their intelligence by going to the left. VDH is another reason why I can proudly say 1953 was a great year since he and I share that same year of birth. I like that VDH is very reasoned and measured and calm supporting what he teaches with good sound evidence and history.

[TuEndeWie]

He nailed it. The comments at the end were very applicable to current events