The entire period of the existence of mankind, after it left its early stage of development and left caves that were pretty bored by that time, can be conditionally divided into certain stages, each of which will be a long-existing community of countries and peoples united by common social, cultural and economic features. Such a single historical segment is called civilization and carries only its inherent features.
Civilization as a universal historical progress
The teachings of the most progressive representatives of the 19th century were dominated by theories of general historical progress. At the same time, individual features of the development of individual societies related to the characteristics of their race, environment, climate, religious and other factors were not taken into account. It was assumed that all of humanity is involved in a single translational movement. The history of civilizations of its individual groups has almost receded into the background.
However, by the end of the century, such historical optimism began to decline, and gave way to doubts about the reality of universal historical progress. A large number of followers of the theory have appeared and acquired, linking the development of individual groups of people with the geographical features of their areas of residence and the degree of fitness for them, as well as with the prevailing religious beliefs, traditions, customs, and so on. The concept of "civilization" has acquired a more modern meaning.
The meaning of the term
It was first introduced into use by such thinkers of the XVIII century, as Voltaire, A.R. Turgot and A. Ferguson. The term comes from the Latin word "civilis", which means "civil, state." However, in that era he was given a somewhat different, narrower meaning than now. The whole history of mankind, emerging from the stage of savagery and barbarism without division into separate stages, was designated as Civilization.
What is civilization in the understanding of modern people, well expressed the English historian and sociologist Arnold Toynbee. He compared it with a living organism, capable of continuously reproducing itself and moving from birth to death, while overcoming the stages of birth, growth, prosperity, decline and death.
A new approach to understanding the old term
At the beginning of the 20th century, modern civilization began to be considered as a result of the development of its individual local entities. Scientists came to the attention of the features of their social systems, the characteristic features of the people living in certain regions, as well as their interaction in the context of world history.
The stage of formation of civilization is common to all nations without exception, but it proceeds differently everywhere. The acceleration or deceleration of its pace depends on a large number of reasons, among which the most important are wars, natural disasters, epidemics, and so on. A common feature of the emergence of all civilizations, their starting point is considered to be the transition of ancient people from hunting and fishing, that is, the consumption of the finished product, to its production, namely, agriculture and cattle breeding.
The subsequent stages of development of society
The second stage, which includes the history of civilizations, is characterized by the emergence of pottery and writing in its early and sometimes primitive forms. Both that and another testifies to active progress in which the concrete society is involved. The next stage that world civilizations go through is the formation of urban culture and, as a consequence of this, the further intensive development of writing. On the basis of how quickly the development of these and a number of other factors proceeded, we can conditionally distinguish progressive and backward peoples.
So, all of the above gives a general idea of what civilization is, what historical progress is and what its main features are. However, it should be noted that in the scientific world there is no single point of view on this issue, since each scientist brings his own, purely personal features to his understanding. Even on the issue of dividing civilizations into agrarian, industrial, and also guided by their geographical position and features of the economy, there are different points of view.
The emergence of ancient civilizations
One of the controversial issues is an attempt to establish a chronology of the origin of the earliest known civilizations. It is believed that they were the city-states of Mesopotamia, which appeared in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers about five thousand years ago. The origin of the ancient Egyptian civilization belongs to the same historical period. A little later, the features of civilization were adopted by the peoples inhabiting India, and after about a thousand years it appeared in China. The historical progress of the peoples living in that period in the Balkans gave an impetus to the emergence of ancient Greek states.
All the most ancient civilizations of the world arose in the valleys of large rivers, such as the Tiger, Euphrates, Nile, Indus, Ganges, Yangtze and so on. They were called "river", and in many respects their appearance was due to the need to create numerous irrigation systems in cultivated areas. An important factor was the climatic conditions. As a rule, the first states appeared in tropical and subtropical zones.
Similarly, the development of civilization in coastal areas. It also required the organization of joint actions of a large number of people, and the success of navigation contributed to the establishment of cultural and commercial ties with other peoples and tribes. A cultural exchange began, which played such a significant role in the entire world development and does not lose its relevance to this day.
The struggle of man with nature
The main world civilizations of antiquity developed in a constant struggle with natural disasters and difficulties caused by the terrain. As history testifies, people did not always come out victorious. There are known examples of the deaths of entire peoples who fell victim to the raging elements. It is enough to recall the Crito-Mycenaean civilization, buried under the ashes of the volcano, and the legendary Atlantis, the existence of which many prominent scientists are trying to prove the reality of.
Types of Civilizations
The typology of civilizations, that is, their division into species, is carried out depending on what meaning is embedded in this very concept. Nevertheless, in the scientific world there are such terms as river, sea and mountain civilizations. They include, respectively, Ancient Egypt, Phenicia and a number of states of Pre-Columbian America. Continental civilizations are also brought into a separate group, which, in turn, are divided into nomadic and settled. These are just the main sections of the typology. In reality, each of the listed species has many more divisions.
Historical stages of development of societies
The history of civilizations shows that, having arisen and having gone through a period of development, often accompanied by aggressive wars, as a result of which, strangely enough, the management system and structure of society are improving, they reach their heyday and maturity. This stage is fraught with a certain danger in view of the fact that, as a rule, the process of rapid qualitative development gives way to the preservation of the gained positions, which inevitably leads to stagnation.
This is far from always recognized by society. More often it perceives such a state as the highest point of its development. In practice, this turns into a political and economic crisis, the result of which are internal unrest and interstate clashes. Typically, stagnation pervades areas such as ideology, culture, economics, and religion.
And finally, the consequence of stagnation is the destruction of civilization and its death. At this stage, there is an exacerbation of social and political conflicts, which against the background of weakening power structures has disastrous consequences. With rare exceptions, all former civilizations have traveled this thorny path.
An exception may be only those peoples and states that have disappeared from the face of the Earth due to purely external reasons that are not dependent on them. For example, the invasion of the Hyksos destroyed ancient Egypt, and the Spanish conquistadors put an end to the states of Mesoamerica. However, even in these cases, by conducting a thorough analysis, one can detect signs of the same stagnation and decay at the last stages of the life of the disappeared civilizations.
The changeability of civilizations and their life cycle
Carefully looking back at the history of mankind, one cannot fail to notice that far from always the death of civilization entails the destruction of a people and its culture. Sometimes a process occurs in which the collapse of one civilization is the birth of another. The most striking example is the Greek civilization, giving way to the Roman, and replaced by the modern civilization of Europe. This gives reason to talk about the ability of the life cycle of civilizations to repeat and self-reproduce. This feature of it lies at the basis of the progressive development of mankind and inspires hope in the irreversibility of the process.
Summing up the description of the stages of development of states and peoples, it should be noted that not every civilization goes through the above periods. What is the natural course of history, for example, in the face of natural disasters that can change its course in the blink of an eye? Suffice it to recall at least the Minoan civilization, which was in its heyday and destroyed by the Santorin volcano.
Eastern form of civilization
It is important to take into account the fact that the features of civilization often depend on its geographical location. In addition, the national characteristics of the people who make up its population are of great importance. For example, the civilization of the East is full of unique features unique to it. This term covers the states located not only in Asia, but also in Africa, and on open spaces of Oceania.
Eastern civilization in its structure is heterogeneous. It can be divided into the Middle East-Muslim, Indian-South Asian and Sino-Far Eastern. Despite the individual characteristics of each of them, they contain many common features that give reason to talk about a single eastern model for the development of society.
In this case, such characteristic features as the unlimited power of the bureaucratic elite not only over the peasant communities under its jurisdiction, but also over representatives of the private sector are common: among them are artisans usurers and all kinds of merchants. The power of the supreme ruler of the state is considered given from God and sanctified by religion. Almost every eastern civilization has these features.
Western model of society
A completely different picture is presented on the European continent and in America. Western civilization is, first of all, the product of assimilation, processing and transformation of the achievements of the past, which have gone down in the history of cultures. In its arsenal are religious impulses borrowed from the Jews, the philosophical breadth inherited from the Greeks, and a high degree of state organization based on Roman law.
All modern Western civilization is built on the philosophy of Christianity. On this basis, starting from the Middle Ages, human spirituality was formed, pouring into its highest form, called humanism. Also, the West’s most important contribution to the development of world progress is science, which has changed the entire course of global history, and the implementation of the institutions of political freedom.
Rationality is inherent in Western civilization, but, unlike the eastern form of thinking, it is characterized by a sequence on the basis of which mathematics and formal logic developed . She also became the basis for the development of the legal foundations of the state. Its main principle is the dominance of individual rights over the interests of the collective and society. Throughout world history, there has been a confrontation between eastern and western civilizations.
The phenomenon of Russian civilization
When in the 19th century the idea of uniting them on the basis of ethnic and linguistic community was born in countries inhabited by Slavic peoples, the term “Russian civilization” appeared. He was especially popular among the Slavophiles. This concept draws attention to the original features of Russian culture and history, emphasizes their difference from the cultures of the West and the East, and puts their national origin at the forefront.
One of the theorists of Russian civilization was the famous historian and sociologist of the 19th century N.Ya. Danilevsky. In his writings, he predicted the West, which, in his opinion, passed the apogee of its development, near sunset and withering away. Russia, in his eyes, was the bearer of progress, and it was to her that the future belonged. Under her leadership, all Slavic peoples were to come to a cultural and economic heyday.
Among the outstanding figures of literature, Russian civilization also had its ardent supporters. Suffice it to recall F.M. Dostoevsky with his idea of the “God-bearing people” and the opposition of the Orthodox understanding of Christianity to the West, in which he saw the arrival of the Antichrist. Also, one cannot fail to mention L.N. Tolstoy and his idea of a peasant community, wholly based on Russian tradition.
Over the years, disputes about what kind of civilization Russia belongs to with its vivid identity have not subsided. Some argue that its originality is only external, and in its depths it is a manifestation of global processes. Others, insisting on its originality, emphasize its eastern origin and see in it an expression of the East Slavic community. Russophobes generally deny the uniqueness of Russian history.
Special place in world history
Leaving aside these discussions, we note that many prominent historians, philosophers, theologians, and religious figures of both our time and past years allot a completely specific place for Russian civilization, highlighting it in a special category. Among those who were the first to emphasize the uniqueness of the ways of their fatherland in world history, there were such outstanding personalities as I. Aksakov, F. Tyutchev, A. Khomyakov, I. Kireev and many others.
The position of the so-called Eurasians is noteworthy on this issue. This philosophical and political direction appeared in the twenties of the last century. In their opinion, Russian civilization is a mixture of European and Asian features. But Russia synthesized them, turning them into something original. In it, they did not come down to a simple set of borrowings. Only in such a coordinate system, say the Eurasians, and we can consider the historical path of our homeland.
Historical Progress and Civilization
What exactly is a civilization taken outside the historical context that determines its form? Based on the fact that it cannot but be localized in time and space, it is necessary for a comprehensive study, first of all, to compile the most complete picture of the historical period of its existence. However, history is not something static, motionless, and changing only at certain specific moments. She is constantly on the move. Therefore, any of the world civilizations in question is like a river - with the similarity of its external outlines, it is constantly new and every moment is filled with a different content. It can be full-flowing, carry its waters for thousands of years, and it can become shallow and disappear without a trace.