The civilizational approach to the study of history is one of the methods that scientific minds resort to in order to clarify the important issues of the course of events in the historical process of different eras. The works of such historians as A. Toynbee, K. Jaspers, N.Ya. had a great influence on this method. Danilevsky and many others.
Studying the course of historical events on a global scale makes it possible to trace and understand how diverse this process is, and how many options for the formation of society, which differ not only in advantages, but also in shortcomings.
A civilizational approach exists along with a formational one, the main difference of which is that the basis of its study is socio-economic relations, independent of human will. They exist due to objective circumstances. Civilization, on the other hand, puts man at the head of all the processes taking into account his norms of behavior, aesthetic and ethical views.
The concept of "civilization" appears in ancient times, but in the XVIII century it thoroughly became part of historical vocabulary. It was from this time that representatives of science began to actively use it. In addition, the emergence of various theories of civilizations is also characteristic of this period . I would like to note that the concept of "civilization" in ancient times was opposed to another Latin concept, meaning "savagery." Already in those distant times, people saw the difference between a barbaric and civilized society and life in general.
Returning to the theories, the two main are stadial and local. In accordance with the first, civilization is a process of development at certain stages. This can be considered its initial moment of the collapse of primitive society, as a result of which mankind has passed into the stage of a civilized world. Such civilizations can be attributed to the primary, as they did not have the opportunity to use the civilizational traditions that developed at a later time. They created them on their own, bearing fruit in subsequent formations. The local civilization approach studies the historical aspects of the emergence of community in a certain territory, which is characterized by its own socio-economic, cultural, political features. Civilizations of a local nature can exist both within the framework of a certain state, and with the union of several states.
The civilization of the local species is a system that consists of various interconnected components: political structure, economic situation, geographical location, religion, and many others. All these components perfectly reflect the uniqueness of a particular civilization.
The civilizational approach, like the stadial one, helps to look at the historical course of events from different angles. The stadial approach is characterized by a consideration of the development of mankind in accordance with uniform and general laws. The theory of local civilization is based on the individuality and diversity of historical processes. Therefore, it is very difficult to say which theory is better or worse. They both have a right to exist, as they are complementary to each other, having their own advantages. Figures of historical sciences have repeatedly made attempts to combine both methods of study, but so far this has not happened, and a common system has not been developed that combines both theories.
Summing up, it should be noted that the civilizational approach helps to understand the basic laws and directions of the formation and formation of world civilization, the uniqueness of individual civilizations, and also makes it possible to compare the development processes of various civilizations.