In different ages, some particular centres always rule human civilisation. These centres also control the nature of knowledge. So, it is important to explore how the world of knowledge has been ruled by the idea of the centre since the dawn of civilisation. In every branch of philosophy, there is a particular centre that dominates the entire philosophical paradigm. For many centuries, the world of knowledge has been ruled by the idea of the centre. In this essay, I would like to discuss how the idea of the centre has been dominating the world for many centuries.

Reason as centre

Going back to the golden period of philosophy in Greece, it is found that the precursors such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle take reason as the centre of all knowledge. According to them, reason can only offer absolute knowledge. By investing the rational faculty, human beings can know the unknown, discover the undiscovered, and fathom the unfathomed. It is possible to come out of the curse of ignorance by applying reason only.

Blind belief as the centre during the age of darkness 

The emergence of Christianity brought a tremendous change in the field of belief system. The ecclesiastical people controlled the commoners for their own benefits. The political leaders also compromised with them. Eventually, they kept the commoners outside the fundamental idea of God. As a result, people were illiterate. The world suffered from this imposed ignorance for more than a thousand years. The age was known as the age of darkness. Creativity was totally handicapped at this age.  Outside the Bible and the Church, there was no existence of any other forms of knowledge.

Renaissance and the freedom  

After the Age of Darkness, Renaissance came with a new form of knowledge. The emergence of the Renaissance was marked by the invention of the printing press, gunpowder and the compass. The Bible was printed innumerably and the commoners began to read it widely. As a result, they came to be familiar with the original teaching of the Bible. Thus, they got the gut to question the authority of the Church and the ecclesiastical people. Previously, they were controlled by the landlords, the Churches, and the Palace that mostly defined the commoners’ social, cultural, economic, political, and ideological lives. Because of their interference, the common people were made secondary. They were given the belief that they were born to serve the superior authorities. Renaissance emerged with the declaration that the common people were not born to serve others. They were born to serve themselves. It is the Renaissance that gave them the idea of ‘I’ which stands for individuality and freedom.

Industrialisation and money 

After the Renaissance, the most celebrating change that the world experienced was the emergence of the Industrial Revolution. After the invention of the steam engine, there was a great acceleration in the field of industrial production. The industrialists began to earn a lot from this field. The celebrated ideologies were mostly about money. Money began to control human wisdom. It replaced human being from the centre. With the advancement of time, there is a grand success in the field of industrialization. The trend is even available today in more aggressive manner.

The new media

The present age is marked as the age of the new media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. ad they offer unending possibilities to human beings. These tools are becoming the centres as human civilisation is taking them as unalterable necessities for them. Now the biggest companies are tech-based which attract young people to get technologically skilled. Moreover, it has occupied a large position in the human consciousness as it is believed to be the source of fulfilling their desires. In a nutshell, it can be said that technology is becoming the centre occupying all the institutions of human society.

Abdur Rahim
Abdur Rahim

Assistant Professor, and Member of the Proctorial Body
Department of English Language and Literature (DELL), Premier University, Chattogram,
& Doctoral Fellow, English Department, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka.

Phone: +8801715638298

Email: ar.dell.pu@gmail.com

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