The positive iconoclasm of Calvin

Of all the ways in which the West has distinguished itself from the cultures it has superseded, discipline seems to stand out above the rest. The order and systematic nature of the European sciences are the West's hallmark compared to the rest of human diversity. In this thesis, I will revisit a specific branch of research on this topic and highlight certain aspects that have been overlooked, with the aim of laying the groundwork for a new proposal. Specifically, Max Weber's work focuses on the ethics that emerged within Protestantism, and particularly within Calvinism. He argues that Calvin's church developed a "state of grace" in the mind of the faithful that forms the basis of capitalism, and this state in which the Calvinist believer finds themselves is the reason for their capitalist actions. As part of this behavior, the believer becomes strictly disciplined, adhering strictly to the codes of religion, which had a significant impact on European cultures. Here, a characteristic of Calvinist ethics is proposed as fundamental to the development of the discipline intrinsic to modernity: iconoclasm.