Thehistory of human thought covers thehistory of philosophy,history of science andhistory of political thought and spans across thehistory of humanity. Theacademic discipline studying it is calledintellectual history.^[1]

Merlin Donald has claimed that human thought has progressed through three historic stages: the episodic, the mimetic, and the mythic stages, before reaching the current stage of theoretic thinking or culture.^[2] According to him the final transition occurred with the invention ofscience inAncient Greece.^[3]

Prehistory covers human intellectual history before the invention of writing.The first identifiedcultures are from theUpper Paleolithic era, evidenced by regional patterns in artefacts such ascave art, Venus figurines, and stone tools.^[4] TheAterian culture was engaged insymbolically constituted material culture, creating what are amongst the earliest African examples of personal ornamentation.^[5]

TheNatufian culture of ancient Middle East produced zoomorphic art.^[6] TheKhiamian culture which followed moved into depicting human beings, which was called byJacques Cauvin a "revolution in symbols", becoming increasingly realistic.^[7] According to him, this led to the development ofreligion, with the Woman and the Bull as the first sacred figures.^[6] He claims that this led to a revolution in human thinking, with humans for the first time moving fromanimal or spirit worship to the worship of asupreme being, with humans clearly inhierarchical relation to it.^[8] Another early form of religion has been identified byMarija Gimbutas as the worship of the Great Goddess, the Bird or Snake Goddess, the Vegetation Goddess, and the Male God inOld Europe.^[9]

An important innovation in religious thought was the belief in thesky god.^[10] TheAryans had a common god of the sky calledDyeus, and the IndianDyaus, the GreekZeus, and the RomanJupiter were all further developments, with the Latin word for God beingDeus.^[10] Any masculine sky god is often alsoking of the gods, taking the position ofpatriarch within apantheon. Such king gods are collectively categorized as "sky father" deities, with a polarity between sky and earth often being expressed by pairing a "sky father" god with an "earth mother" goddess (pairings of a skymother with an earthfather are less frequent). A main sky goddess is often the queen of the gods. In antiquity, several sky goddesses in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Near East were calledQueen of Heaven.

TheAxial Age was a period between 750 and 350 BCE during which major intellectual development happened around the world. This included the development ofChinese philosophy byConfucius,Mozi, and others; theUpanishads andGautama Buddha inIndian philosophy;Zoroaster inAncient Persia; theJewish prophetsElijah,Isaiah,Jeremiah, andDeutero-Isaiah inPalestine;Ancient Greek philosophy andliterature, all independently of each other.^[11]

TheHundred Schools of Thought were philosophers and schools of thought that flourished inAncient China from the 6th century to 221 BCE,^[12] an era of great cultural and intellectual expansion in China. Even though this period – known in its earlier part as theSpring and Autumn period and theWarring States period – in its latter part was fraught with chaos and bloody battles, it is also known as the Golden Age ofChinese philosophy because a broad range of thoughts and ideas were developed and discussed freely. The thoughts and ideas discussed and refined during this period have profoundly influencedlifestyles andsocial consciousness up to the present day in East Asian countries. Theintellectual society of this era was characterized by itinerant scholars, who were often employed by various state rulers as advisers on the methods ofgovernment,war, anddiplomacy. This period ended with the rise of theQin dynasty and the subsequentpurge of dissent. TheBook of Han lists ten major schools, they are:

• Confucianism, which teaches that human beings are teachable, improvable and perfectible through personal and communal endeavour especially including self-cultivation and self-creation. A main idea of Confucianism is the cultivation of virtue and the development of moral perfection. Confucianism holds that one should give up one's life, if necessary, either passively or actively, for the sake of upholding the cardinal moral values ofren andyi.^[13]
• Legalism. Often compared withMachiavelli, and foundational for the traditional Chinese bureaucratic empire, the Legalists examined administrative methods, emphasizing a realistic consolidation of the wealth and power of autocrat and state.
• Taoism, a philosophy which emphasizes theThree Jewels of the Tao:compassion,moderation, andhumility, while Taoist thought generally focuses onnature, the relationship between humanity and the cosmos;health andlongevity; andwu wei (action through inaction). Harmony with theUniverse, or the source thereof (Tao), is the intended result of many Taoist rules and practices.
• Mohism, which advocated the idea of universal love: Mozi believed that "everyone is equal before heaven", and that people should seek to imitate heaven by engaging in the practice of collective love. His epistemology can be regarded as primitive materialistempiricism; he believed that human cognition ought to be based on one's perceptions – one's sensory experiences, such as sight and hearing – instead of imagination or internal logic, elements founded on the human capacity for abstraction. Mozi advocated frugality, condemning the Confucian emphasis on ritual and music, which he denounced as extravagant.
• Naturalism, theSchool of Naturalists or the Yin-yang school, which synthesized the concepts ofyin and yang and theFive Elements;Zou Yan is considered the founder of this school.^[14]
• Agrarianism, or theSchool of Agrarianism, which advocated peasantutopiancommunalism andegalitarianism.^[15] The Agrarians believed that Chinese society should be modeled around that of the early sage kingShen Nong, a folk hero which was portrayed in Chinese literature as "working in the fields, along with everyone else, and consulting with everyone else when any decision had to be reached."^[15]
• TheLogicians or the School of Names, which focused ondefinition andlogic. It is said to have parallels with that of the Ancient Greeksophists ordialecticians. The most notable Logician wasGongsun Longzi.
• TheSchool of Diplomacy or School of Vertical and Horizontal [Alliances], which focused on practical matters instead of any moral principle, so it stressed political and diplomatic tactics, and debate and lobbying skill. Scholars from this school were good orators, debaters and tacticians.
• The Miscellaneous School, which integrated teachings from different schools; for instance,Lü Buwei found scholars from different schools to write a book calledLüshi Chunqiu cooperatively. This school tried to integrate the merits of various schools and avoid their perceived flaws.
• The School of "Minor-talks", which was not a unique school of thought, but a philosophy constructed of all the thoughts which were discussed by and originated from normal people on the street.

Other groups included:

• The School of the Military that studied strategy and thephilosophy of war;Sunzi andSun Bin were influential leaders. However, this school was not one of the "Ten Schools" defined by Hanshu.
• Yangism was a form ofethical egoism founded byYang Zhu. It was once widespread but fell to obscurity before the Han dynasty. Due to its stress onindividualism, it influenced later generations ofTaoists.
• School of the Medical Skills, a school which studiedMedicine and health.Bian Que andQibo were well-known scholars. Two of the earliest and existing Chinese medical works areHuangdi Neijing andShanghan Lun.

The earliest Greek philosophers, known as thepre-Socratics, were primarily concerned withcosmology,ontology, and mathematics. They were distinguished from "non-philosophers" insofar as they rejected mythological explanations in favor of reasoned discourse.^[16] They included various schools of thought:

• TheMilesian school of philosophy was founded byThales of Miletus, regarded byAristotle as the first philosopher,^[17] who held that all things arise from a single material substance, water.^[18] He was called the "first man ofscience," because he gave anaturalistic explanation of thecosmos and supported it with reasons.^[19] He was followed byAnaximander, who argued that the substratum orarche could not be water or any of theclassical elements but was instead something "unlimited" or "indefinite" (in Greek, theapeiron).Anaximenes in turn held that thearche was air, although John Burnet argues that by this he meant that it was a transparent mist, theaether.^[20] Despite their varied answers, the Milesian school was united in looking for thePhysis of the world.^[21]
• Pythagoreanism was founded byPythagoras and sought to reconcile religious belief and reason. He is said to have been a disciple ofAnaximander and to have imbibed thecosmological concerns of the Ionians, including the idea that the cosmos is constructed of spheres, the importance of the infinite, and that air or aether is thearche of everything.^[22] Pythagoreanism also incorporatedascetic ideals, emphasizing purgation,metempsychosis, and consequently a respect for all animal life; much was made of the correspondence between mathematics and the cosmos in a musical harmony.^[23] Pythagoras believed that behind the appearance of things, there was the permanent principle ofmathematics, and that the forms were based on a transcendental mathematical relation.^[24]
• TheEphesian school was based on the thought ofHeraclitus. Contrary to theMilesian school, which posits one stableelement as thearche, Heraclitus taught thatpanta rhei ("everything flows"), the closest element to this eternal flux being fire. All things come to pass in accordance withLogos,^[25] which must be considered as "plan" or "formula",^[26] and "theLogos is common".^[27] He also posited aunity of opposites, expressed throughdialectic, which structured this flux, such as that seeming opposites in fact are manifestations of a common substrate to good and evil itself.^[28] Heraclitus called the oppositional processes ἔρις (eris), "strife", and hypothesized that the apparently stable state of δίκη (dikê), or "justice", is theharmonic unity of these opposites.^[29]
• TheEleatics' founderParmenides of Elea cast his philosophy against those who held "it is and is not the same, and all things travel in opposite directions,"—presumably referring to Heraclitus and those who followed him.^[30] Whereas the doctrines of the Milesian school, in suggesting that the substratum could appear in a variety of different guises, implied that everything that exists is corpuscular, Parmenides argued that the first principle of being was One, indivisible, and unchanging.^[31] Being, he argued, by definition implies eternality, while only that whichis can be thought; a thing whichis, moreover, cannot be more or less, and so the rarefaction and condensation of the Milesians is impossible regarding Being; lastly, as movement requires that something exist apart from the thing moving (viz. the space into which it moves), the One or Being cannot move, since this would require that "space" both exist and not exist.^[32] While this doctrine is at odds with ordinary sensory experience, where things do indeed change and move, the Eleatic school followed Parmenides in denying that sense phenomena revealed the world as it actually was; instead, the only thing with Being was thought, or the question of whether something exists or not is one of whether it can be thought.^[33] In support of this, Parmenides' pupilZeno of Elea attempted to prove that the concept ofmotion was absurd and as such motion did not exist. He also attacked the subsequent development of pluralism, arguing that it was incompatible with Being.^[34] His arguments are known asZeno's paradoxes.
• ThePluralist school came as the power of Parmenides' logic was such that some subsequent philosophers abandoned themonism of the Milesians, Xenophanes, Heraclitus, and Parmenides, where one thing was thearche, and adoptedpluralism, such asEmpedocles andAnaxagoras.^[35] There were, they said, multiple elements which were not reducible to one another and these were set in motion by love and strife (as in Empedocles) or by Mind (as in Anaxagoras). Agreeing with Parmenides that there is no coming into being or passing away, genesis or decay, they said that things appear to come into being and pass away because the elements out of which they are composed assemble or disassemble while themselves being unchanging.^[36]
• This pluralist thought was taken further byLeucippus also proposed an ontological pluralism with a cosmogony based on two main elements: the vacuum and atoms. These, by means of their inherent movement, are crossing the void and creating the real material bodies. His theories were not well known by the time ofPlato, however, and they were ultimately incorporated into the work of his student,Democritus, who foundedAtomic theory.^[37]
• TheSophists tended to teachrhetoric as their primary vocation.Prodicus,Gorgias,Hippias, andThrasymachus appear in variousdialogues, sometimes explicitly teaching that while nature provides no ethical guidance, the guidance that the laws provide is worthless, or that nature favors those who act against the laws.

The classic period included:

• TheCynics were an ascetic sect of philosophers beginning withAntisthenes in the 4th century BC and continuing until the 5th century AD. They believed that one should live a life ofVirtue in agreement withNature. This meant rejecting all conventional desires forwealth,power,health, orcelebrity, and living a life free from possessions.
• TheCyrenaics were ahedonist school of philosophy founded in the fourth century BC byAristippus, who was a student ofSocrates. They held that pleasure was the supreme good, especially immediate gratifications; and that people could only know their own experiences, beyond that truth was unknowable.
• Platonism is the name given to the philosophy ofPlato, which was maintained and developed by his followers. The central concept was thetheory of forms: the transcendent, perfect archetypes, of which objects in the everyday world are imperfect copies. The highest form was theForm of the Good, the source of being, which could be known byreason.
• ThePeripatetic school was the name given to the philosophers who maintained and developed the philosophy ofAristotle. They advocated examination of the world to understand the ultimate foundation of things. The goal of life was thehappiness which originated fromvirtuous actions, which consisted in keeping themean between the two extremes of the too much and the too little.
• TheMegarian school, founded byEuclides of Megara, one of the pupils ofSocrates. Its ethical teachings were derived from Socrates, recognizing a singlegood, which was apparently combined with theEleatic doctrine ofUnity. Some of Euclides' successors developedlogic to such an extent that they became a separate school, known as the Dialectical school. Their work onmodal logic,logical conditionals, andpropositional logic played an important role in the development of logic in antiquity.
• TheEretrian school, founded byPhaedo of Elis. Like the Megarians they seem to have believed in the individuality of "the Good," the denial of the plurality ofvirtue, and of any real difference existing between the Good and the True.Cicero tells us that they placed all good in themind, and in that acuteness of mind by which thetruth is discerned.^[38] They denied that truth could be inferred by negative categoricalpropositions, and would only allow positive ones, and of these only simple ones.^[39]

TheHellenistic schools of thought included:

• Academic skepticism, which maintained that knowledge of things is impossible. Ideas or notions are never true; nevertheless, there are degrees of truth-likeness, and hence degrees of belief, which allow one to act. The school was characterized by its attacks on theStoics and on the Stoicdogma thatconvincing impressions led to trueknowledge.
• Eclecticism, a system of philosophy which adopted no single set of doctrines but selected from existing philosophical beliefs those doctrines that seemed most reasonable. Its most notable advocate wasCicero.
• Epicureanism, founded by Epicurus in the 3rd century BC. It viewed theuniverse as being ruled bychance, with no interference fromgods. It regarded absence of pain as the greatest pleasure, and advocated a simple life. It was the main rival toStoicism until both philosophies died out in the 3rd century AD.
• Hellenistic Christianity was the attempt to reconcileChristianity with Greek philosophy, beginning in the late 2nd century. Drawing particularly onPlatonism and the newly emerging Neoplatonism, figures such asClement of Alexandria sought to provide Christianity with a philosophical framework.
• Hellenistic Judaism was an attempt to establish theJewish religious tradition within the culture and language ofHellenism. Its principal representative wasPhilo of Alexandria.
• Neoplatonism, orPlotinism, a school of religious and mystical philosophy founded byPlotinus in the 3rd century AD and based on the teachings of Plato and the other Platonists. The summit of existence wasthe One or the Good, the source of all things. Invirtue andmeditation the soul had the power to elevate itself to attain union with the One, the true function of human beings.
• Neopythagoreanism, a school of philosophy revivingPythagorean doctrines, which was prominent in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. It was an attempt to introduce areligious element into Greek philosophy, worshipping God by living anascetic life, ignoring bodily pleasures and all sensuous impulses, to purify thesoul.
• Pyrrhonism, a school ofphilosophical skepticism that originated withPyrrho in the 3rd century BC, and was further advanced byAenesidemus in the 1st century BC. Its objective isataraxia (being mentally unperturbed), which is achieved throughepoché (i.e.suspension of judgment) about non-evident matters (i.e., matters ofbelief).
• Stoicism, founded byZeno of Citium in the 3rd century BC. Based on the ethical ideas of theCynics, it taught that the goal of life was to live in accordance withNature. It advocated the development of self-control and fortitude as a means of overcoming destructiveemotions.

ManyHindu intellectual traditions were classified during the medieval period of Brahmanic-Sanskritic scholasticism into a standard list of six orthodox (Astika) schools (darshanas), the "Six Philosophies" (ṣaḍ-darśana), all of which accept the testimony of theVedas.^[40][41][42]

• Samkhya, the rationalism school with dualism and atheistic themes^[43][44]
• Yoga, a school similar to Samkhya but accepts personally defined theistic themes^[45]
• Nyaya, the realism school emphasizing analytics and logic^[46][47]
• Vaisheshika, the naturalism school with atomistic themes and related to the Nyaya school^[48][49]
• Purva Mimamsa (or simply Mimamsa), the ritualism school with Vedic exegesis and philology emphasis,^[50][51] and
• Vedanta (also called Uttara Mimamsa), theUpanishadic tradition, with many sub-schools ranging from dualism to nondualism.^[52][53]

These are often coupled into three groups for both historical and conceptual reasons: Nyaya-Vaishesika, Samkhya-Yoga, and Mimamsa-Vedanta. The Vedanta school is further divided into six sub-schools:Advaita (monism/nondualism), also includes the concept ofAjativada,Visishtadvaita (monism of the qualified whole),Dvaita (dualism),Dvaitadvaita (dualism-nondualism),Suddhadvaita, andAchintya Bheda Abheda schools.

SeveralŚramaṇic movements have existed before the 6th century BCE, and these influenced both theāstika and nāstika traditions of Indian philosophy.^[54] TheŚramaṇa movement gave rise to diverse range of heterodox beliefs, ranging from accepting or denying the concept of soul,atomism, antinomian ethics, materialism, atheism, agnosticism, fatalism to free will, idealization of extreme asceticism to that of family life, strictahimsa (non-violence) and vegetarianism to permissibility of violence and meat-eating.^[55] Notable philosophies that arose fromŚramaṇic movement wereJainism,early Buddhism, Charvaka,Ajñana andĀjīvika.^[56]

• Ajñana was one of the nāstika or "heterodox" schools of ancient Indian philosophy, and the ancient school of radical Indian skepticism. It was a Śramaṇa movement and a major rival of early Buddhism and Jainism. They have been recorded in Buddhist and Jain texts. They held that it was impossible to obtain knowledge of metaphysical nature or ascertain the truth value of philosophical propositions; and even if knowledge was possible, it was useless and disadvantageous for final salvation. They were sophists who specialised in refutation without propagating any positive doctrine of their own.
• Jain philosophy is the oldest Indian philosophy that separates body (matter) from thesoul (consciousness) completely.^[57]Jainism was established byMahavira, the last and the 24thTirthankara. Historians date the Mahavira as about contemporaneous with theBuddha in the 5th-century BC, and accordingly the historicalParshvanatha, based on the c. 250-year gap, is placed in 8th or 7th century BC.^[58]Jainism is a Śramaṇic religion and rejected the authority of the Vedas. However, like allIndian religions, it shares the core concepts such as karma, ethical living, rebirth, samsara and moksha. Jainism places strong emphasis onasceticism,ahimsa (non-violence) andanekantavada (relativity of viewpoints) as a means of spiritual liberation, ideas that influenced other Indian traditions.^[59] Jainism strongly upholds the individualistic nature of soul and personal responsibility for one's decisions; and that self-reliance and individual efforts alone are responsible for one's liberation. According to the Jain philosophy, the world (Saṃsāra) is full ofhiṃsā (violence). Therefore, one should direct all his efforts in attainment ofRatnatraya, that are Samyak Darshan, Samyak Gnana, and Samyak Chàritra which are the key requisites to attain liberation.
• Buddhist philosophy is a system of thought which started with the teachings ofSiddhartha Gautama,the Buddha, or "awakened one". Buddhism is founded on elements of theŚramaṇa movement, which flowered in the first half of the 1st millennium BCE, but its foundations contain novel ideas not found or accepted by other Sramana movements. Buddhism shares many philosophical views with other Indian systems, such as belief inkarma – a cause-and-effect relationship,samsara – ideas about cyclic afterlife and rebirth,dharma – ideas about ethics, duties and values,impermanence of all material things and of body, and possibility of spiritual liberation (nirvana ormoksha).^[60][61] A major departure from Hindu and Jain philosophy is the Buddhist rejection of an eternal soul (atman) in favour ofanatta (non-Self).^[62]
• The philosophy ofĀjīvika was founded byMakkhali Gosala, it was aŚramaṇa movement and a major rival ofearly Buddhism andJainism.^[63] Ājīvikas were organised renunciates who formed discrete monastic communities prone to an ascetic and simple lifestyle.^[64] Original scriptures of the Ājīvika school of philosophy may once have existed, but these are currently unavailable and probably lost. The Ājīvika school is known for itsNiyati doctrine of absolute determinism (fate), the premise that there is no free will, that everything that has happened, is happening and will happen is entirely preordained and a function of cosmic principles.^[65][66] Ājīvika considered thekarma doctrine as a fallacy.^[67] Ājīvikas were atheists^[68] and rejected the authority of theVedas, but they believed that in every living being is anātman – a central premise of Hinduism and Jainism.^[69][70]
• Charvaka or Lokāyata was a philosophy ofscepticism andmaterialism, founded in theMauryan period. They were extremely critical of other schools of philosophy of the time. Charvaka deemed Vedas to be tainted by the three faults of untruth, self-contradiction, and tautology.^[71] Likewise they faulted Buddhists and Jains, mocking the concept ofliberation,reincarnation and accumulation ofmerit or demerit through karma.^[72] They believed that, the viewpoint of relinquishing pleasure to avoid pain was the "reasoning of fools".^[71]

Several scholars have recognised parallels between the philosophy ofPythagoras andPlato and that of the Upanishads, including their ideas onsources of knowledge, concept of justice and path to salvation, and Plato'sallegory of the cave. Platonic psychology with its divisions of reason, spirit and appetite, also bears resemblance to the threegunas in the Indian philosophy ofSamkhya.^[73][74]

Various mechanisms for such a transmission of knowledge have been conjectured including Pythagoras traveling as far as India; Indian philosophers visiting Athens and meetingSocrates; Plato encountering the ideas when in exile in Syracuse; or, intermediated through Persia.^[73][75]

However, other scholars, such asArthur Berriedale Keith,J. Burnet andA. R. Wadia, believe that the two systems developed independently. They note that there is no historical evidence of the philosophers of the two schools meeting, and point out significant differences in the stage of development, orientation and goals of the two philosophical systems. Wadia writes that Plato's metaphysics were rooted inthis life and his primary aim was to develop an ideal state.^[74] In contrast, Upanishadic focus was the individual, the self (atman, soul), self-knowledge, and the means of an individual'smoksha (freedom, liberation in this life or after-life).^[76][77][78]

• Zoroastrianism, based on the teachings ofZarathustra (Zoroaster) appeared inPersia at some point during the period 1700-1800 BCE.^[79][80] His wisdom became the basis of the religionZoroastrianism, and generally influenced the development of theIranian branch ofIndo-Iranian philosophy. Zarathustra was the first who treated the problem of evil in philosophical terms.^[80] He is also believed to be one of the oldestmonotheists in the history of religion^{[citation needed]}. He espoused an ethical philosophy based on the primacy ofgood thoughts (andiše-e-nik), good words (goftâr-e-nik), and good deeds (kerdâr-e-nik). The works of Zoroaster and Zoroastrianism had a significant influence onGreek philosophy andRoman philosophy. Severalancient Greek writers such asEudoxus of Cnidus andLatin writers such asPliny the Elder praised Zoroastrian philosophy as "the most famous and most useful"^{[citation needed]}.Plato learnt of Zoroastrian philosophy through Eudoxus and incorporated much of it into his ownPlatonic realism.^[81] In the 3rd century BC, however,Colotes accused Plato'sThe Republic of plagiarizing parts of Zoroaster'sOn Nature, such as theMyth of Er.^[82][83]
• Manichaeism, founded byMani, was influential fromNorth Africa in the West, toChina in the East. Its influence subtly continues in Western Christian thought via SaintAugustine of Hippo, who converted to Christianity from Manichaeism, which he passionately denounced in his writings, and whose writings continue to be influential among Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodoxtheologians. An important principle of Manichaeism was itsdualisticcosmology/theology, which it shared withMazdakism, a philosophy founded by Mazdak. Under this dualism, there were two original principles of the universe: Light, the good one; and Darkness, the evil one. These two had been mixed by a cosmic accident, and man's role in this life was through good conduct to release the parts of himself that belonged to Light. Mani saw the mixture of good and bad as a cosmic tragedy, while Mazdak viewed this in a more neutral, even optimistic way.Mazdak (d. 524/528 CE) was a proto-socialist Persian reformer who gained influence under the reign of theSassanian kingKavadh I. He claimed to be aprophet of God, and instituted communal possessions and social welfare programs. In many ways Mazdak's teaching can be understood as a call for socialrevolution, and has been referred to as early "communism"^[84] or proto-socialism.^[85]
• Zurvanism is characterized by the element of its First Principle which is Time, "Zurvan", as a primordial creator. According to Zaehner, Zurvanism appears to have three schools of thought all of which have classical Zurvanism as their foundation:Aesthetic Zurvanism which was apparently not as popular as thematerialistic kind, viewed Zurvan as undifferentiated Time, which, under the influence of desire, divided into reason (a male principle) and concupiscence (a female principle). While Zoroaster'sOrmuzd created the universe with his thought,materialist Zurvanism challenged the concept that anything could be made out of nothing.Fatalistic Zurvanism resulted from the doctrine of limited time with the implication that nothing could change this preordained course of the material universe and that the path of the astral bodies of the 'heavenly sphere' was representative of this preordained course. According to theMiddle Persian workMenog-i Khrad: "Ohrmazd allotted happiness to man, but if man did not receive it, it was owing to the extortion of these planets."

Early Christianity is often divided into three different branches that differ in theology and traditions, which all appeared in the 1st centuryAD/CE. They includeJewish Christianity,Pauline Christianity andGnostic Christianity.^[86] All modern Christian denominations are said to have descended from the Jewish and Pauline Christianities, with Gnostic Christianity dying, or being hunted, out of existence after the early Christian era and being largely forgotten until discoveries made in the late 19th and early twentieth centuries. There are also other theories on the origin of Christianity.^[87]

The following Christian groups appeared between the beginning of the Christian religion and theFirst Council of Nicaea in 325.

Unlike the previously mentioned groups, the following are all considered to be related to Christian Gnosticism.

Christianity has gone through manyschisms (splits):

Later medieval splinter movements included:

• TheCathars were a very strong movement in medieval southwestern France, but did not survive into modern times.
• In northernItaly and southeasternFrance,Peter Waldo founded theWaldensians in the 12th century. This movement has largely been absorbed by modern-day Protestant groups.
• InBohemia, a movement in the early 15th century byJan Hus called theHussites defied Catholicdogma and still exists to this day (alternately known as theMoravian Church).
• Agonoclita
• Apostolic Brethren
• Arnoldists
• Beguines and Beghards
• Bogomilism
  • Bosnian Church
  • Patarines
• Brethren of the Free Spirit
• Donatism
• Dulcinians
• Friends of God
• Henricans
• Heresy of the Judaizers
• Lollardy
• Neo-Adamites
• Paulicianism
• Petrobrusians
• Strigolniki
• Tondrakians

Thespread of Christianity caused major change in European thought.^[89] As "Christianity actively rejected scientific inquiry", it meant that thinkers of the time were much more interested in studyingrevelation than the physical world.^[90]Ambrose argued thatastronomy could be forsaken, "for wherein does it assist our salvation?".^[90] Philosophy andcritical thinking were also discounted, since according toGregory of Nyssa, "The human voice was fashioned for one reason alone – to be the threshold through which the sentiments of the heart, inspired by theHoly Spirit, might be translated into theWord itself".^[91]

The Carolingian Renaissance was a period of intellectual and cultural revival in theCarolingian Empire occurring from the late eighth century to the ninth century, as the first of three medieval renaissances. It occurred mostly during the reigns of theCarolingian rulersCharlemagne andLouis the Pious. It was supported by the scholars of theCarolingian court, notablyAlcuin of York^[92] For moral betterment the Carolingian renaissance reached for models drawn from the example of the Christian Roman Empire of the 4th century. During this period there was an increase ofliterature,writing, thearts,architecture,jurisprudence,liturgical reforms andscriptural studies. Charlemagne'sAdmonitio generalis (789) and hisEpistola de litteris colendis served as manifestos. The effects of this cultural revival, however, were largely limited to a small group of courtliterati: "it had a spectacular effect on education and culture inFrancia, a debatable effect on artistic endeavors, and an immeasurable effect on what mattered most to the Carolingians, the moral regeneration of society," John Contreni observes.^[93] Beyond their efforts to write better Latin, to copy and preserve patristic and classical texts and to develop a more legible, classicizing script, theCarolingian minuscule thatRenaissance humanists took to be Roman and employed ashumanist minuscule, from which has developed early modernItalic script, the secular and ecclesiastical leaders of the Carolingian Renaissance for the first time in centuries applied rational ideas to social issues, providing a common language and writing style that allowed for communication across most of Europe. One of the primary efforts was the creation of a standardized curriculum for use at the recently created schools. Alcuin led this effort and was responsible for the writing of textbooks, creation of word lists, and establishing thetrivium andquadrivium as the basis for education.^[94] Art historianKenneth Clark was of the view that by means of the Carolingian Renaissance, Western civilization survived by the skin of its teeth.^[95]

The Ottonian Renaissance was a limited renaissance of logic, science, economy and art in central and southern Europe that accompanied the reigns of the first threeemperors of theSaxon Dynasty, all named Otto:Otto I (936–973),Otto II (973–983), andOtto III (983–1002), and which in large part depended upon their patronage. PopeSylvester II andAbbo of Fleury were leading figures in this movement. The Ottonian Renaissance began after Otto's marriage toAdelaide (951) united the kingdoms of Italy and Germany and thus brought the West closer toByzantium. The period is sometimes extended to cover the reign ofHenry II as well, and, rarely, theSalian dynasts. The term is generally confined to Imperial court culture conducted in Latin inGermany.^[96] It was shorter than the precedingCarolingian Renaissance and to a large extent a continuation of it - this has led historians such as Pierre Riché to prefer evoking it as a 'third Carolingian renaissance', covering the 10th century and running over into the 11th century, with the 'first Carolingian renaissance' occurring duringCharlemagne's own reign and the 'second Carolingian renaissance' happening under his successors.^[97] The Ottonian Renaissance is recognized especially in thearts andarchitecture, invigorated by renewed contact withConstantinople, in some revived cathedral schools, such as that ofBruno of Cologne, in the production ofilluminated manuscripts from a handful of elitescriptoria, such asQuedlinburg, founded by Otto in 936, and inpolitical ideology. The Imperial court became the center of religious and spiritual life, led by the example of women of the royal family:Matilda the literate mother of Otto I, or his sisterGerberga of Saxony, or his consortAdelaide, or EmpressTheophanu.

The Renaissance of the 12th century was a period of many changes at the outset of theHigh Middle Ages. It includedsocial,political andeconomic transformations, and an intellectual revitalization ofWestern Europe with strongphilosophical andscientific roots. For some historians these changes paved the way to later achievements such as the literary and artistic movement of theItalian Renaissance in the 15th century and thescientific developments of the 17th century.

The increased contact with theIslamic world inSpain andSicily, theCrusades, theReconquista, as well as increased contact withByzantium, allowed Europeans to seek and translate the works ofHellenic andIslamic philosophers andscientists, especially the works ofAristotle. The development ofmedieval universities allowed them to aid materially in the translation and propagation of these texts and started a new infrastructure which was needed for scientific communities. In fact, the European university put many of these texts at the centre of its curriculum.^[98] The translation of texts from other cultures, especially ancient Greek works, was an important aspect of both this Twelfth-Century Renaissance and the latter Renaissance (of the 15th century), the relevant difference being that Latin scholars of this earlier period focused almost entirely on translating and studying Greek and Arabic works ofnatural science,philosophy andmathematics, while the latter Renaissance focus was onliterary andhistorical texts.

A new method of learning calledscholasticism developed in the late 12th century from the rediscovery of the works ofAristotle; the works ofmedieval Jewish and Islamic thinkers influenced by him, notablyMaimonides,Avicenna (seeAvicennism) andAverroes (seeAverroism); and the Christian philosophers influenced by them, most notablyAlbertus Magnus,Bonaventure andAbélard. Those who practiced the scholastic method believed inempiricism and supporting Roman Catholic doctrines through secular study, reason, and logic. Other notable scholastics ("schoolmen") includedRoscelin andPeter Lombard. One of the main questions during this time was theproblem of the universals. Prominent non-scholastics of the time includedAnselm of Canterbury,Peter Damian,Bernard of Clairvaux, and theVictorines. The most famous of the scholastic practitioners wasThomas Aquinas (later declared aDoctor of the Church), who led the move away fromPlatonism andAugustinianism and towardsAristotelianism.^[99]

During the High Middle Ages in Europe, there was increased innovation in means of production, leading to economic growth. These innovations included thewindmill, manufacturing ofpaper, thespinning wheel, themagneticcompass,eyeglasses, theastrolabe, andHindu–Arabic numerals.

During thehigh medieval period, theIslamic world was at itscultural peak,supplying information and ideas toEurope, viaAl-Andalus,Sicily and theCrusader kingdoms in the Levant. These includedLatin translations ofthe Greek Classics and of Arabic texts inastronomy,mathematics,science, andmedicine. Translation of Arabic philosophical texts into Latin "led to the transformation of almost all philosophical disciplines in the medieval Latin world", with a particularly strong influence of Muslim philosophers being felt in natural philosophy, psychology and metaphysics.^[100] Other contributions included technological and scientific innovations via theSilk Road, includingChinese inventions such aspaper andgunpowder. The Islamic world also influenced other aspects of medieval European culture, partly byoriginal innovations made during theIslamic Golden Age, including various fields such as thearts,agriculture,alchemy,music,pottery, etc.

The religion of Islam founded byMuhammad in 7th centuryArabia incorporated ideas fromZoroastrianism,Judaism, andChristianity, specificallymonotheism,Last Judgment,Heaven andHell.^[101] However, it is closer to Judaism than Christianity, since it believes in theUnity of God, and God is seen as powerful rather than loving.^[102] The doctrine of Islam is based onfive pillars:Shahada, faith;Salat, prayer;Zakat, alms-giving;Sawm, fasting; andHajj, pilgrimage.^[102] Its beliefs are collected in theQuran, composed in its final form by 933.^[103]

Starting from soon after its foundation, Islam has broken into several strands, including:

• Sunni Islam, also known asAhl as-Sunnah wa'l-Jamā'h or simplyAhl as-Sunnah, is the largestdenomination of Islam. The Sunnis believe that Muhammad did not specifically appoint a successor to lead the Muslimummah (community) before his death, however they approve of the private election of the first companion, Abu Bakr.^[104][105] Sunni Muslims regard the first four caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan and Ali ibn Abi Talib) as "al-Khulafā'ur-Rāshidūn" or "The Rightly Guided Caliphs."
• Shia Islam is the second-largest denomination of Islam, comprising 10–20% of the total Muslim population. In addition to believing in the authority of theQuran and teachings of Muhammad, Shia believe that Muhammad's family, theAhl al-Bayt (the "People of the House"), including his descendants known asImams, have special spiritual and political authority over the community^[106] and believe thatAli ibn Abi Talib, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, was the first of these Imams and was therightful successor to Muhammad, and thus reject the legitimacy of the first three Rashidun caliphs.^[107] The Shia Islamic faith is broad and includes many different groups. There are various Shia theological beliefs, schools of jurisprudence, philosophical beliefs, and spiritual movements:
  • TheTwelvers believe intwelve Imams and are the only school to comply withHadith of the Twelve Successors, where Muhammad stated that he would have twelve successors.
  • Ismailism, including theNizārī,Sevener,Mustaali,Dawoodi Bohra,Hebtiahs Bohra,Sulaimani Bohra andAlavi Bohra sub-denominations.
  • TheZaidiyyah historically come from the followers ofZayd ibn Ali.
  • TheAlawites are a distinct religion that developed in the 9th/10th century. Historically, Twelver Shia scholars (such asShaykh Tusi) did not consider Alawites as Shia Muslims while condemning their heretical beliefs.^[108]Ibn Taymiyyah also pointed out that Alawites were not Shi'ites.^[109]
  • TheDruze are a distinct traditional religion that developed in the 11th century as an offshoot of Ismailism.Druze are not generally consideredMuslims.^[110][111]
• Kharijite (literally, "those who seceded") is a general term embracing a variety of Muslim sects which, while originally supporting the Caliphate of Ali, later on fought against him and eventually succeeded in his martyrdom while he was praying in the mosque of Kufa. While there are few remaining Kharijite or Kharijite-related groups, the term is sometimes used to denote Muslims who refuse to compromise with those with whom they disagree. The major Kharijite sub-sect today is theIbadi. The sect developed out of the 7th century Islamic sect of the Kharijites. While Ibadi Muslims maintain most of the beliefs of the original Kharijites, they have rejected the more aggressive methods.^{[citation needed]} A number of Kharijite groups went extinct in the past:
  • Sufris were a sect of Islam in the 7th and 8th centuries, and a part of the Kharijites. Their most important branches were the:
    • Qurrīyya
    • Nukkari
  • Harūrīs were an early Muslim sect from the period of theFour Rightly-Guided Caliphs (632–661 CE), named for their first leader, Habīb ibn-Yazīd al-Harūrī.
  • Azariqa
  • Najdat
  • Adjarites
• Sufism is Islam'smystical-ascetic dimension and is represented by schools or orders known asTasawwufī-Ṭarīqah. It is seen as that aspect of Islamic teaching that deals with the purification of inner self. By focusing on the more spiritual aspects of religion, Sufis strive to obtain direct experience of God by making use of "intuitive and emotional faculties" that one must be trained to use.^[112] It is composed of different orders:
  • TheAzeemiyya order was founded in 1960 byQalandar Baba Auliya, also known as Syed Muhammad Azeem Barkhia.
  • TheBektashi order was founded in the 13th century by the Islamic saintHaji Bektash Veli, and greatly influenced during its formulative period by theHurufi Ali al-'Ala in the 15th century and reorganized byBalım Sultan in the 16th century. Because of its adherence tothe Twelve Imams it is classified underTwelver Shia Islam.^{[citation needed]}
  • TheChishti order (Persian:چشتیہ) was founded by (Khawaja)Abu Ishaq Shami ("the Syrian"; died 941) who brought Sufism to the town ofChisht, some 95 miles east ofHerat in present-day Afghanistan. Before returning to the Levant, Shami initiated, trained and deputized the son of the localEmir(Khwaja) Abu Ahmad Abdal (died 966). Under the leadership of Abu Ahmad's descendants, theChishtiyya as they are also known, flourished as a regional mystical order. The founder of theChishti Order inSouth Asia wasMoinuddin Chishti.
  • TheKubrawiya order was founded in the 13th century byNajmuddin Kubra inBukhara in modern-dayUzbekistan.^[113]
  • TheMevlevi order is better known in the West as the "whirling dervishes".
  • Mouride is most prominent inSenegal andThe Gambia, with headquarters in the holy city ofTouba, Senegal.^[114]
  • TheNaqshbandi order was founded in 1380 byBaha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari. It is considered by some to be a "sober" order known for its silentdhikr (remembrance of God) rather than the vocalized forms of dhikr common in other orders. TheSüleymani andKhalidiyya orders are offshoots of the Naqshbandi order.
  • TheNi'matullahi order is the most widespread Sufi order ofPersia today. It was founded byShah Ni'matullah Wali (d. 1367), established and transformed from his inheritance of theMa'rufiyyah circle.^[115] There are several suborders in existence today, the most known and influential in the West following the lineage ofJavad Nurbakhsh, who brought the order to the West following the 1979Iranian Revolution.
  • TheNoorbakshia order,^[116] also called Nurbakshia,^[117][118] claims to trace its direct spiritual lineage and chain (silsilah) to the Islamic prophetMuhammad, throughAli, by way ofAli Al-Ridha. This order became known as Nurbakshi afterShah Syed Muhammad Nurbakhsh Qahistani, who was aligned to theKubrawiya order.
  • TheOveysi (or Uwaiysi) order claims to have been founded 1,400 years ago byUwais al-Qarni from Yemen.
  • TheQadiri order is one of the oldest Sufi Orders. It derives its name fromAbdul-Qadir Gilani (1077–1166), a native of the Iranian province ofGīlān. The order is one of the most widespread of the Sufi orders in the Islamic world, and can be found inCentral Asia, Turkey,Balkans and much of East andWest Africa. The Qadiriyyah have not developed any distinctive doctrines or teachings outside of mainstream Islam. They believe in the fundamental principles of Islam, but interpreted through mystical experience. TheBa'Alawi order is an offshoot ofQadiriyyah.
  • Senussi is a religious-political Sufi order established byMuhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi. As-Senussi founded this movement due to his criticism of the Egyptianulema.^[119]
  • TheShadhili order was founded byAbu-l-Hassan ash-Shadhili. Followers (murids Arabic: seekers) of the Shadhiliyya are often known as Shadhilis.^[120][121]
  • TheSuhrawardiyya order (Arabic:سهروردية) is a Sufi order founded byAbu al-Najib al-Suhrawardi (1097–1168).
  • TheTijaniyyah order attach a large importance to culture and education, and emphasize the individual adhesion of the disciple (murid).

The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing in thehistory of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 14th century.^{[122][123][124]} This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign of theAbbasid caliphHarun al-Rashid (786 to 809) with the inauguration of theHouse of Wisdom inBaghdad, the world's largest city by then, whereIslamic scholars andpolymaths from various parts of the world with different cultural backgrounds were mandated to gather and translate all of the world's classical knowledge intoArabic andPersian.^[125][126] Several historic inventions and significant contributions in numerous fields were made throughout the Islamic Middle Ages that revolutionizedhuman history. The period is traditionally said to have ended with the collapse of the Abbasid caliphate due toMongol invasions and theSiege of Baghdad in 1258.^[127]

The Timurid Renaissance was a historical period in Asian andIslamic history spanning the late 14th, the 15th, and the early 16th centuries. Following the gradual downturn of theIslamic Golden Age, theTimurid Empire, based inCentral Asia ruled by theTimurid dynasty, witnessed the revival of thearts and sciences. The movement spread across theMuslim world and left profound impacts on latemedieval Asia.^[128] The Timurid Renaissance was marked simultaneously with theRenaissance movement inEurope.^[129][130] It was described as equal in glory to the ItalianQuattrocento.^[131] The Timurid Renaissance reached its peak in the 15th century, after the end of the period ofMongol invasions and conquests.

The Renaissance was aperiod inEuropean history marking the transition from theMiddle Ages toModernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It occurred after theCrisis of the Late Middle Ages and was associated with greatsocial change. In addition to the standard periodization, proponents of along Renaissance put its beginning in the 14th century and its end in the 17th century. The traditional view focuses more on theearly modern aspects of the Renaissance and argues that it was a break from the past, but many historians today focus more on its medieval aspects and argue that it was an extension of the Middle Ages.^[132][133]

The intellectual basis of the Renaissance was its version ofhumanism, derived from the concept of RomanHumanitas and the rediscovery of classical Greek philosophy, such as that ofProtagoras, who said that "Man is the measure of all things." This new thinking became manifest in art, architecture, politics, science and literature. Early examples were the development ofperspective inoil painting and the recycled knowledge of how to makeconcrete. Although the invention ofmetal movable type sped the dissemination of ideas from the later 15th century, the changes of the Renaissance were not uniformly experienced across Europe: the first traces appear in Italy as early as the late 13th century, in particular with the writings ofDante and the paintings ofGiotto.

As a cultural movement, the Renaissance encompassed innovative flowering ofLatin and vernacular literatures, beginning with the 14th-century resurgence of learning based on classical sources, which contemporaries credited toPetrarch; the development of linear perspective and other techniques of rendering a more natural reality inpainting; and gradual but widespreadeducational reform. In politics, the Renaissance contributed to the development of the customs and conventions ofdiplomacy, and in science to an increased reliance on observation andinductive reasoning. Although the Renaissance saw revolutions in many intellectual pursuits, as well as social and political upheaval, it is perhaps best known for its artistic developments and the contributions of suchpolymaths asLeonardo da Vinci andMichelangelo, who inspired the term "Renaissance man".^[134][135]

The Scientific Revolution was a series of events that marked the emergence ofmodern science during theearly modern period, when developments inmathematics,physics,astronomy,biology (includinghuman anatomy) andchemistry transformed the views of society about nature.^{[136][137][138][139][140][141]} The Scientific Revolution took place in Europe towards the end of theRenaissance period and continued through the late 18th century, influencing the intellectual social movement known asthe Enlightenment. While its dates are debated, the publication in 1543 ofNicolaus Copernicus'De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) is often cited as marking the beginning of the Scientific Revolution.

A systematicschool of philosophy in its own right for the first time in history – exerted an immense and profound influence on modern Western thought in general,^[142][143] with the birth of two influential rationalisticphilosophical systems ofDescartes^[144][145] (who spent most of his adult life and wrote all his major work in theUnited Provinces of the Netherlands)^[146][147] andSpinoza^[148][149]–namelyCartesianism^{[150][151][152]} andSpinozism.^[153] It was the 17th-century arch-rationalists^{[154][155][156]} like Descartes, Spinoza andLeibniz who have given the "Age of Reason" its name and place in history.^[157]

Dualism is closely associated with the thought ofRené Descartes (1641), which holds that the mind is a nonphysical—and therefore, non-spatial—substance. Descartes clearly identified the mind withconsciousness and self-awareness and distinguished this from thebrain as the seat ofintelligence.^[158] Hence, he was the first to formulate themind–body problem in the form in which it exists today.^[159] Dualism is contrasted with various kinds ofmonism. Spinozism (also spelled Spinozaism) is themonistphilosophical system ofBaruch Spinoza which defines "God" as a singular self-subsistent Substance, with both matter and thought being attributes of such.

TheCult of Reason was France's first establishedstate-sponsoredatheistic religion, intended as a replacement forCatholicism during theFrench Revolution. After holding sway for barely a year, in 1794 it was officially replaced by the rivalCult of the Supreme Being, promoted byRobespierre.^{[160][161][162][163]} Both cults were officially banned in 1802 byNapoleon Bonaparte with hisLaw on Cults of 18 Germinal, Year X.^[164]

The Age of Enlightenment (also known as the Age of Reason or simply the Enlightenment)^[165] was an intellectual andphilosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 17th to 19th centuries.^[166]

The Enlightenment emerged from a European intellectual and scholarly movement known asRenaissance humanism and was also preceded by theScientific Revolution and the work ofFrancis Bacon, among others. Some date the beginning of the Enlightenment toRené Descartes' 1637 philosophy ofCogito, ergo sum ("I think, therefore I Am"), while others cite the publication ofIsaac Newton'sPrincipia Mathematica (1687) as the culmination of the Scientific Revolution and the beginning of the Enlightenment.French historians traditionally date its beginning to the death ofLouis XIV of France in 1715 until the 1789 outbreak of theFrench Revolution. Most end it with the beginning of the 19th century. A variety of 19th-century movements, includingliberalism andneoclassicism, trace their intellectual heritage to the Enlightenment.^[167]

The Enlightenment included a range of ideas centered on thesovereignty ofreason andthe evidence of the senses as the primary sources ofknowledge and advanced ideals such asliberty,progress,toleration,fraternity,constitutional government andseparation of church and state.^[168][169] In France, the central doctrines of the Enlightenment philosophers wereindividual liberty andreligious tolerance, in opposition to anabsolute monarchy and the fixed dogmas of the Church. The Enlightenment was marked by an emphasis on thescientific method andreductionism, along with increased questioning of religious orthodoxy—an attitude captured byImmanuel Kant's essayAnswering the Question:What is Enlightenment, where the phraseSapere aude (Dare to know) can be found.^[170]

Romanticism was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated inEurope towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance ofsubjectivity,imagination, and appreciation ofnature insociety andculture during theAge of Enlightenment and theIndustrial Revolution. Romanticism was a complex movement, with a variety of viewpoints that permeatedWestern civilization across the globe. Romanticists rejected thesocial conventions of the time in favor of a moral outlook known asindividualism. They argued thatpassion andintuition were crucial to understanding the world, and thatbeauty is more than merely anaffair of form, but rather something that evokes a strong emotional response. With this philosophical foundation, the Romanticists elevated a number of key themes to which they were deeply committed: areverence for nature and thesupernatural,an idealization of the past as a nobler era,a fascination with the exotic and the mysterious, and a celebration of theheroic and thesublime.

Modernism is an early 20th-century movement inliterature, thevisual arts andmusic, emphasizing experimentation,abstraction and subjective experience.Philosophy,politics and social issues, are also aspects of the movement, which sought to change how'human beings in a society interact and live together'.^[171] The modernist movement emerged during the late 19th century in response to significant changes inWestern culture, includingsecularization and the growing influence ofscience. It is characterized as a rejection of tradition and the hunt for newer and original means of cultural expression. Modernism was influenced by widespread technological innovation,industrialization andurbanization, as well as cultural and geopolitical shifts that occurred afterWorld War I.^[172] The movement rejected both 19th-centuryrealism and Romanticism's concept of absolute originality - the idea of "creation from nothingness" - with techniques ofcollage,^[173]reprise, incorporation, rewriting, recapitulation, revision, and parody.^[174] Modernism also took a critical stance towards Enlightenment rationalism.

Islam and modernity encompass the relation and compatibility between the phenomenon of modernity, its related concepts and ideas, and the religion of Islam. In order to understand the relation between Islam and modernity, one point should be made in the beginning. Similarly, modernity is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon rather than a unified and coherent phenomenon. It has historically had different schools of thoughts moving in many directions.

Intellectual movements in Iran involve the Iranian experience ofmodernism, through which Iranian modernity and its associated art, science, literature, poetry, and political structures have been evolving since the 19th century.Religious intellectualism in Iran develops gradually and subtly. It reached its apogee during the Persian lightsaber (1906–11). The process involved numerous philosophers, sociologists, political scientists and cultural theorists. However the associated art, cinema and poetry remained to be developed.

With the rise ofAfrocentrism, the push away fromEurocentrism has led to the focus on the contributions ofAfrican people and their model of world civilization andhistory. Afrocentrism aims to shift the focus from a perceived European-centered history to anAfrican-centered history. More broadly, Afrocentrism is concerned with distinguishing the influence ofEuropean andOriental peoples from African achievements.

Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous and diaspora ethnic groups of African descent. Based on a common goal dating back to theAtlantic slave trade, the movement extends beyond continental Africans with a substantial support base among theAfrican diaspora in the Americas andEurope.^[175][176]

Emerging in the mid-twentieth century as a reaction against modernism,^[177][178] postmodernism is anintellectual stance ormode of discourse^[179][180] characterized byskepticism towardsscientific rationalism and the concept ofobjective reality (as opposed tosubjective reality). It questions the "grand narratives" ofmodernity, rejects the certainty of knowledge and stablemeaning, and acknowledges the influence ofideology in maintaining political power.^[181][182] Postmodernism embracesself-referentiality,epistemological relativism,moral relativism,pluralism,irony, irreverence, andeclecticism.^[182] It opposes the "universal validity" ofbinary oppositions, stableidentity,hierarchy, andcategorization.^[183][184]

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