The Light of Civilization

Understanding the nature of civilization is more key than ever today with huge changes like the collapse of the Soviet Empire and the hostility of Arab civilization towards the West. Hagger sees civilizations as growing around a human response to the spiritual vision of God as Light. This passes into their religions and expresses itself in culture, particularly in buildings. They decline through progressively secularizing stages when their central idea of the Light is lost. The revival of the metaphysical vision in our time could lead to its culminating stage being that of a world government.

Nicholas Hagger is a poet, man of letters, cultural historian and philosopher. He has lectured at universities in Iraq, Libya and Japan, where he was a Professor of English Literature, and has written 56 books. His substantial literary output includes 2,000 poems, two poetic epics, five verse plays, three masques, two travelogues and 1,200 short stories, and he has written innovatory works on literature, history, philosophy and international politics. His archive of papers and manuscripts is held as a Special Collection in the Albert Sloman Library at the University of Essex. In 2016 he was awarded the Gusi Peace Prize for Literature, and in 2019 the BRICS silver medal for 'Vision for Future'.