The historical epochs from Christ (year 0) onward can be woven together with the quadrant model and provide a deeper understanding of how thoughts and ideas have developed over time in relation to the different dimensions of reality. Here’s an overview of how various historical periods can be related to the four quadrants:
1. Autogenous (Ideal-Subjective)
Early Christianity and Patristics (ca. 0–500): This period focused on personal faith, spirituality, and the individual’s relationship with God. Thinkers like Augustine of Hippo emphasized inner experiences and subjectivity in faith, and how an individual can seek God through personal reflection and prayer.
Renaissance (ca. 1300–1600): A revival of humanism and individual creativity, where the focus on human subjective experiences and values became central. This can be related to the Autogenous reality, as it was about the individual's search for meaning and self-expression.
2. Endogenous (Material-Subjective)
The Enlightenment (ca. 1600–1800): This period led to an increased interest in rationality, science, and human experience. Philosophical movements like empiricism and phenomenology began to emphasize the subjective experience of reality and how humans understand their place in the world.
Romanticism (late 1700s–mid-1800s): A movement that focused on emotions, nature, and the subjective. Romanticism can be seen as a reaction to the rationality of the Enlightenment, where human experience and emotions were considered important.
3. Exogenous (Material-Objective)
Industrialization (ca. 1800s): This period was characterized by significant material and economic changes. Social structures changed dramatically, and the focus shifted to the objective conditions of society, such as labor, class, and economy. Theories from Karl Marx and other social philosophers that analyzed the material conditions of social life fit well here.
Modernism (early 20th century): A movement that encompassed various art forms and ideas, where there was a search for objective truth and new structures in society. This can be seen in light of how modern societal structures were analyzed and critiqued.
4. Extragenous (Ideal-Objective)
Postmodernism (mid-20th century to present): Postmodernism challenges the objective truths of earlier epochs but also focuses on how societal ideals, norms, and values evolve. It raises questions about what constitutes justice, equality, and other moral ideals, and how these are related to material conditions.
Social Movements (1960s to present): Movements such as the civil rights movement, feminism, and environmentalism have focused on ideals of justice, equality, and sustainability, seeking to influence the objective structures of society. These movements reflect a striving to realize objective ideals in material life.
Summary
By weaving together the historical epochs with the quadrant model, we can see how the development of thoughts and ideas has been influenced by various dimensions of reality. This provides a holistic understanding of how human experience, social structures, and moral ideals have evolved over time, and how these dimensions interact with one another. From the early days of Christianity to today’s social movements, there is a continuous dialogue between the ideal, the material, the subjective, and the objective that shapes our understanding of the world.