Definition: Modernity is a historical period defined as one that left behind traditional culture and advanced exponentially in science, arts, technology and business. It can be employed to identify the current era or past significant periods of mankind’s history, depending on the context.
What Does Modernity Mean?
Contents
The word modernity comes from the Latin modernus (modo), which means “just now”. It is a term that in regular conversations will probably refer to current events, or present political or socioeconomic status but in other contexts, like academics or arts, it can be employed to identify a given era of mankind. From a historical perspective, the modern era started after the medieval Europe age ended, commonly dated at the 14th or 15th century.
During these times, there were many changes in the public’s perspective and society’s dynamics in fields like politics, arts and economics. From a political standpoint, ideas like free societies and the separation of Church and State started to emerge. Also, a shift towards secularization, from a religious perspective, also started to take place in society. The population started to reject biblical beliefs and started to question the origins of mankind and their image about God. Fields like astronomy and physics were taking new ground in science, and businesses also redesigned their methods towards mass production and technological processes.
Example
Let’s say for example you owned a printing business in the 1600s and you were based in Europe, let’s say Spain. There were many changes occurring all around you, traditions are being questioned and political views are flowing towards a free society.
The printing business start to be influenced by all these changes and new technologies are invented and pursued. The workflow is more organized and you also start getting new printing jobs like posters or small flyers. What is currently happening all around your business starts to shape the way you do things during this new modern era.
