Modern, Modernity, Modern World

Definition: As used herein, Modern, Modernity, and Modern World refer to a line of causes and effects in human history the beginning of which is marked by, among other things, (1) the rise and consolidation of Christendom during the European Middle Ages that culminating, intellectually, in the writings of Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 1274), (2) the invention of Gutenberg’s printing press, circa 1439, (3) the European and American mutual discovery of one another in 1492, (4) the printing and distribution of Martin Luther's 95 Theses in 1517, (5) the marriage of Pocahontas and John Rolfe in Jamestown, Virginia in 1614, and (6) Descartes' cogito ergo sum in 1637. At the end of the line, one finds the human Sensorium in a subsequent time and Place in [name of Individual, or collectively in a Group, Neighborhood, Town … Nation] on into the foreseeable future. In other words, Modernity began during a certain historical period in Europe and North America and has, in due course, affected the Sensoria of billions of people in many countries on the planet, in some places more than in others. To find Modernity one must look in the Sensoria of Individuals for Evidence of the effects of the above-described line of causes and effects. Two locations of such Evidence are (a) the behavior and relationships of the Individuals and (b) the human Objects and Events to which the Individuals Attend. Thus, identifying what is Modern is not limited to Speculation. One can achieve a higher Degree of Certitude about when and where it is present by looking for the Evidence that could be obtained by, for example, administering a carefully crafted questionnaire to Individuals in a certain Place.