Materialism Spurs the Sciences

The beginning of civilisation is the discovery of some useful arts, by which men acquire property, comforts, or luxuries. The necessity or desire of preserving them leads to laws and social institutions. The discovery of peculiar arts gives superiority to particular nations ... to subjugate other nations, who learn their arts, and ultimately adopt their manners;— so that in reality the origin as well as the progress and improvement of civil society is founded in mechanical and chemical inventions.

Notes:

Progress in civilization comes from the need for institutions to protect material gains.

Folksonomies: society civilization materialism

Taxonomies:
/art and entertainment (0.170083)
/religion and spirituality (0.166120)
/society (0.149097)

Keywords:
material gains (0.986850 (neutral:0.000000)), Sciences Progress (0.969698 (neutral:0.000000)), peculiar arts (0.859664 (positive:0.201490)), chemical inventions (0.859283 (positive:0.282804)), civil society (0.822196 (positive:0.282804)), useful arts (0.810589 (positive:0.451456)), social institutions (0.799775 (negative:-0.230818)), luxuries (0.510290 (neutral:0.000000)), Materialism (0.501191 (neutral:0.000000)), superiority (0.488494 (positive:0.201490)), civilisation (0.484812 (positive:0.451456)), comforts (0.484703 (positive:0.428199)), discovery (0.483162 (positive:0.326473)), nations (0.473597 (negative:-0.081644)), necessity (0.459575 (negative:-0.230818)), manners (0.457941 (neutral:0.000000)), civilization (0.451934 (neutral:0.000000)), desire (0.438720 (negative:-0.230818)), beginning (0.423398 (positive:0.451456)), reality (0.414819 (positive:0.282804)), origin (0.414555 (positive:0.282804)), need (0.414041 (neutral:0.000000)), improvement (0.412757 (positive:0.282804)), men (0.403307 (neutral:0.000000))

Concepts:
Society (0.972689): dbpedia | freebase | opencyc
Law (0.909340): dbpedia | freebase | opencyc
Sociology (0.678609): dbpedia | freebase | opencyc
Civilization (0.566453): dbpedia | freebase
Institution (0.546654): dbpedia | freebase | opencyc
Metaphysics (0.503757): dbpedia | freebase | opencyc
Civil society (0.439070): dbpedia | freebase | yago
Engineering (0.399610): dbpedia | freebase

 Consolations in travel, or, The last days of a philosopher
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book:  Davy , Sir Humphry (1830), Consolations in travel, or, The last days of a philosopher, Retrieved on 2012-04-23
  • Source Material [books.google.com]
  • Folksonomies: philosophy