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The Journal of Big History (JBH) ISSN 2475-3610 Volume III Number 2, https://doi.org/10.22339/jbh.v3i2.3200 Editor: Lowell Gustafson (Villanova University, USA) Associate Editor: Esther Quaedackers (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands) Book Review Editor John Mears (Southern Methodist University, USA) Editorial Board Mojgan Behmand (Dominican University of California, USA) Craig Benjamin (Grand Valley State University, USA) David Christian (Macquarie University, Australia) Javier Collado Ruano (National University of Education, Ecuador Seohyung Kim (Ewha Womans University, South Korea) Andrey Korotayev (Moscow State University, Russia) Johnathan Markley (University of California, Fullerton, USA) BarryLucy Bennison Rodrigue Laffitte (Symbiosis (North School Carolina for Liberal State University, Arts, India) USA) Fred Spier (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands) Nobuo Tsujimura (Institute for Global and Cosmic Peace, Japan) Joseph Voros (Swinburne University of Technology, Australia) Sun Yue (Capital Normal University, China) JBH, the journal of the International Big History Association (IBHA), is published on line and is accessible to members of the IBHA. The IBHA also publishes its bulletin, Origins. The bulletin contains members’ accounts of their activities and views, announcements of conferences and meetings of interest, and other communication of interest to IBHA members. We encourage readers of the JBH to send letters and responses to [email protected] to the address below: International Big History Association SAC 253 Villanova University Villanova, PA 19085 USA [email protected] Journal of Big History (JBH). The views and opinions expressed in JBH are not necessarily those of the IBHA Board. JBHPlease reserves visit journalofbighistory.org the right to accept, reject for orinformation edit any material on how submittedto submit articlesfor publication. and other material to MacKenzie Dahl has proofread and copyedited the entire issue. She is in the graduate program in the Department of Political Science at Villanova University. The IBHA appreciates its members for their participation in the IBHA. Membership dues all go towards the administration of the association, but do not by themselves cover our costs. The only paid position is a part time administrative assistant. Other costs are for our website and for the JBH, for example. Please consider a tax deductible (in the US) gift to our 501(C)3 and please consider remembering the IBHA in your will. Contents Articles David J. LePoire An Exploration of Historical Transitions with Simple Analogies and Empirical Event Rates ............................................................................................................. 1 John S. Torday Evolution, the ‘Mechanism’ of Big History - The Grande Synthesis ....................................... 17 Evolução, o ‘mecanismo’ da Big History: a grande síntese .................................................... 25 Barry Wood Latinus Scientificus: The History and Culture of Scientific Latin .......................................... 33 Latinus Scientificus: A História e a Cultura do Latim Científico .......................................... 47 Tatiana Massuno Reading Alberto Caeiro’s Poems with Anthropocene Eyes .................................................... 63 Lendo os poemas de Alberto Caeiro com olhos antropocênicos ............................................ 73 Javier Collado Ruano Big History in the Ecuadorian Educational System: Theory, Practice, and Public Policies of Environmental Education ................................................................. 83 Reviews Barry Wood Crater, Catastrophe, Contingency: An Improbable Journey and the Human Situation: A Review of Books by Walter Alvarez ................................................... 101 Jon Cleland Host Review of From Big Bang to Galactic Civilizations: A Big History Anthology............................................................................................................................. 115 Student Research Ben Baumann Origins of the Ptolemaic Tradition and its Adoption and Replacement in Colonial America................................................................ 121 Lacy Loar-Gruenler Religion in Big History: A Neurobiological and Psychological Theory ....................................................................................................... 155 A Religião na Macro-História: Uma Teoria Neurobiológica e Psicológica ....................................................................... 175 An Exploration of Historical Transitions with Simple Analogies and Empirical Event Rates David J. LePoire Environmental Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory Abstract Various qualitative models have been suggested for major historical social and technological transitions. Many of these transitions still have puzzling aspects such as the early transition from hunter-gatherer to agriculturally- based society which required dramatically increased effort. Another puzzle is the emergence of the scientific and industrial revolution in Europe despite many previous similar discoveries in other regions. Explorations of simple models with aggregate, dynamic, and nonlinear processes might lead to insights of the unique aspects of each transition. Topics include the transitions between hunter-gatherers, agricultural societies, early civilizations, market development, capitalism, industrialization, and sustainable societies with factors of land-pressures, economies of scale, suppressed growth, and chain reactions. Many types of models could be applied to these transitions. First, basic characteristics, such as width and midpoint of the transitions, are determined by analyzing historical events contributing to the transition. However, this does give much insight into the dynamics or parameters of the transition. For more understanding, each of six transitions is explored with a simple phenomenological model. These simplified models do not attempt to quantitatively address the details of the actual historical mechanisms Instead analogies to more natural systems are invoked to gain insights. Correspondence | David J. LePoire, [email protected] Citation | LePoire, D. (2019) An Exploration of Historical Transitions with Simple Analogies and Empirical Event Rates. Journal of Big History, III(2);1 - 16. DOI | http://dx.doi.org/10.22339/jbh.v3i2.3210 uestions in Major Historical Transitions a current question: Can a civilization so dependent on QIn Big History there are many transitions as unsustainable fossil energy consumption find a path to complexity seems to grow in natural ecosystems and productive sustainability? social historical development [Christian 2014, Volk 2017, LePoire 2015]. The focus of this paper are the In natural ecosystem transitions, often external historical transitions, which are amenable to analysis environmental changes prompt evolution. These and historical study. While many consequences of changes have included geological changes from the transitions have been well described, there are drifting continents which created and destroyed seas, still many questions concerning why the transitions and the warming of the sun from its early beginning happened at all. For example, why did early farmers about 5 billion years ago to the present as it’s elemental leave a seemingly easier lifestyle of the hunter- composition changes. But other changes have been gatherer? Why did large seemingly parasitic cities caused by evolution itself, e.g., the arms race of jaws evolve which were dependent on the agriculture in the Devonian era, and the development of oxygen around them? Why did the scientific revolution generation which essentially were poisons to early life and industrial revolution predominantly first until a mechanism was found to control the oxidation occur in Western Europe even though many of the process [Fewster 2016]. inventions had been imported from elsewhere? And Journal of Big History Volume III Number 2 2019 An Exploration of Historical Transitions with Simple Analogies and Empirical Event Rates In human evolution, it seems like the changes are Major Historical Transitions mostly like the latter causes, internally generated Major historical transitions include the agricultural [Ponting 2007]. One period solves a problem of revolution from hunter gatherer to an agricultural the previous, then grows and prospers until some lifestyle, the industrial revolution using external energy limit is reached, causing new problems. Searches sources to power large-scale manufacturing, and the then begin for alternative ways of resolving these current transition to a more energy sustainable lifestyle new problems including new technologies and ways independent of fossil fuels [Fewster 2016]. However of organizing. Some of these problems manifest there are some intermediate periods where large themselves as limitations of human population changes took place. After settling down into farming under a given lifestyle and the control of energy and villages, a major change involved the development its corresponding pollution. When old solutions no of larger cities with non-agricultural specialties such longer work, then reform, reorganization, and new as management, government, religion, and law. The understanding are explored [Tainter 1996, Gunderson ancient and classical civilizations start (around 3000 2002]. For example, many energy sources can be very BCE) with the first historical ancient civilizations dangerous without
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