The increasing presence of an attitude of mechanization toward the processes of nature
Mechanization means an alternation from the traditional way of doing things into a multi-faceted approach when addressing challenges and occurrences in nature. The above statement means that a paradigm shift in the traditional orientation of mankind as inventions and new discoveries changed the former perceptions on nature processes. Mankind become more sophisticated in thought towards new frontiers of possibilities. For instance, the universe of Newton not only altered the perception of mankind on natural processes, but also influenced many scientists to extend their thought beyond this partial discovery. For instance, the views of John Locke in the epistle, Essay Concerning Human Understanding, altered ancient beliefs and created a new window of reasoning as the primary foundation of conviction across Europe (Hinchman 363).
An increasing attitude of mechanization toward the creation of knowledge, enshrining the process of rationalism and empiricism that would become the hallmarks of modern western thought
Rationalism refers dependence on reason rather than emotions on traditional beliefs to express actions or opinions. On the other hand, empiricism refers to dependence on sense-experience in knowledge creation. The above statement refers to the modernization as enshrined in the need for empirical inference as an exponential factor of knowledge creation and dispersion. As modernization swept across the globe, scientists such as David Hume, John Locke, and George Berkley internalized the element of reason as informed by evidence through a systematic inference process. Thus, modernization as a functional unit of westernization had to move from the comfort of traditional beliefs into a proactive sense-experience in order to sustain rapid mechanization. For instance, the perception of progress moved from the Golden Age into renaissance as the western thought begun to experience the potential of humanity (Hinchman 359).
A depersonalization and desacralization of natural knowledge
Basically, depersonalization involves dissociation or even loss of personal identity. On the other hand, desacralization means removal of certain sacred status from thoughts on activities. The above statement means that as modernization progressed through the continents, modern science and the need to correlate occurrences to other elements made mankind to experience paradigm shift in thought away from the narrow religious view into a flexible fact finding mission. For instance, the era of Galileo and Kepler led to reinvention of the scientific enlightenment and the need to creation of deductive science as was popularized by Descartes. As a result, the traditional deduction was replaced by the more flexible induction which was characterized by reasoning rather than just believing in what is reported. The works of Bacon and Descartes led to a global revolution in terms of denunciation of the exiting knowledge as dysfunctional and creation of a more dynamic approach in understanding nature (Hinchman 367).
Works Cited
Hinchman, Lewis. Hegel’s Critique of the Enlightenment, New Jersey, NJ: University Press of Florida, 1984. Print.