There have been numerous attempts, particularly in the field of sociology, to understand what modernity is. A wide variety of terms are used to describe the society, social life, driving force, symptomatic mentality, or some other defining aspects of modernity. They include:
Bureaucracy–impersonal, social hierarchies that practice a division of labor and are marked by a regularity of method and procedure
Disenchantment of the world–the loss of sacred and metaphysical understandings of al facets of life and culture
Rationalization–the world can be understood and managed through a reasonable and logical system of objectively accessible theories and data
Secularization–the loss of religious influence and/or religious belief at a societal level
Alienation–isolation of the individual from systems of meaning–family, meaningful work, religion, clan, etc.
Commodification–the reduction of all aspects of life to objects of monetary consumption and exchange
Decontexutalization–the removal of social practices, beliefs, and cultural objects from their local cultures of origin
Individualism –growing stress on individuals as opposed to meditating structures such as family, clan, academy, village, church
Nationalism–the rise of the modern nation-states as rational centralized governments that often cross local, ethnic groupings
Urbanization–the move of people, cultural centers, and political influence to large cities
Subjectivism–the turn inward for definitions and evaluations of truth and meaning
Linear-progression–preference for forms of reasoning that stress presuppositions and resulting chains of propositions
Objectivism–the belief that truth-claims can be established by autonomous information accessible by all
Universalism–application of ideas/claims to all cultures/circumstances regardless of local distinctions
Reductionism–the belief that something can be understood by studying the parts that make it up
Mass society–the growth of societies united by mass media and widespread dissemination of cultural practices as opposed to local and regional culture particulars
Industrial society–societies formed around the industrial production and distribution of products
Homogenization–the social forces that tend toward a uniformity of cultural ideas and products
Democratization–political systems characterized by free elections, independent judiciaries, rule of law, and respect of human rights
Mechanization–the transfer of the means of production from human labor to mechanized, advanced technology
Totalitarianism–absolutist central governments that suppress free expression and political dissent, and that practice propaganda and indoctrination of its citizens
Therapeutic motivations–the understanding that the human self is a product of evolutionary desires and that the self should be assisted in achieving those desires as opposed to projects of ethical improvement or pursuits of public virtue
