European tradition
Old World practice
European tradition refers broadly to the cultural, intellectual, artistic, and philosophical heritage originating in Europe—encompassing classical antiquity, Christianity, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and their legacies.
The phrase often appears in discussions of art, literature, philosophy, or political thought: The novel draws on the European tradition of psychological realism.
It can carry neutral descriptive weight or, depending on context, imply either admiration for Western civilization or critique of Eurocentrism.
- SocratesAncient Athenian questioning philosopher
- classical antiquityGreco-Roman historical period
- BaroqueOrnate artistic period
- DescartesCogito ergo sum's author
- RenaissanceEuropean cultural reawakening
courtly love · Catholicism · Gregorian chants · cathedral spire · Enlightenment · Age of Reason · Kant · liberal democracy · Protestantism · Impressionism · oil painting · Eastern Orthodoxy · Gothic architecture · Nietzsche · Reformation · Aquinas · natural law · Marx
European traditionEastern tradition
Cultural practices from Asia
Islamic tradition · Buddhist tradition · Eastern philosophy · Indian tradition · Hindu tradition
European traditionavant-garde
Innovative cultural pioneers
postmodernism · modernism · futurism · modernity · novelty
European traditionfolk tradition
Community customs across generations
popular culture · oral tradition · counterculture · indigenous knowledge · tribal knowledge
Europe, European, Europeans, Europeanize, Europeanization, tradition, traditions, traditional, traditionally