The 1755 Lisbon Earthquake as a Secular Turning Point

...of particular interest here are the circumstances which led to the earthquake being attributed to 'natural' rather than 'supernatural' causes. Before that, men traditionally interpreted earthquakes as a dramatic means of communication between gods and humans. In particular, such events previously had been explained as indicating some disturbance between earthly and heavenly spheres. The Lisbon earthquake can be identified as a turning point in human history which moved the consideration of such physical events as supernatural signals toward a more neutral or even a secular, proto-scientific causation.

Notes:

It was the first natural disaster not attributed to supernatural causes.

Folksonomies: history secularism natural disaster

Taxonomies:
/science/social science/history (0.273119)
/science/geology/seismology/earthquakes (0.245369)
/society/unrest and war (0.203900)

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Entities:
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Organized behavior in disaster

Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Dynes , Russell Rowe (1970), Organized behavior in disaster, Retrieved on 2013-04-12

Source Material [books.google.com]

Folksonomies: social science