The concept of civilization is first applied to the historical period that replaced primitive society. Ancient civilizations are civilizations, a kind of unity opposed to what is not yet a civilization - pre-class and pre-state, pre-urban and pre-civil, and finally, and very importantly, the pre-literate state of society and culture.

The word "civilization" is derived from the Latin civilis - civil, public, state. In the 17th-13th centuries, “civilization” was understood as the opposite of “savagery.” However, in the 19th century, civilization began to be understood not only as a historical process, but also as an already achieved state of society. L. Morgan, F. Engels and other historians and philosophers viewed civilization as a stage of social progress following savagery and barbarism. And since at this stage various forms of society arise, the idea of ​​the existence of different civilizations has gained recognition in historical and philosophical literature. The most developed civilization.

By the end of the 19th century, faith in the progress of European civilization was shaken. Marx, Nietzsche and other philosophers began to talk about its ineradicable vices. Gradually, civilization began to be distinguished from culture. The idea of ​​civilization as a set of material and social benefits delivered to a person by the development of social production has come into use. There was a tendency to contrast culture and civilization, to consider them as opposites (G. Simmel, O. Spengler, G. Marcuse, etc.).

From this point of view, culture is the internal spiritual content of civilization, while civilization is only the outer material shell of culture. If culture can be compared to the brain of society, then civilization is its “material body”. Culture creates means and methods for the development of the spiritual principle in a person; it is aimed at the formation and satisfaction of his spiritual needs; civilization provides people with the means of subsistence; it is aimed at satisfying their practical needs. Culture is spiritual values, education, achievements of science, philosophy, art, and civilization is the degree of technological, economic, socio-political development of society. In the writings of philosophers who interpret civilization in this way, the idea is conveyed that a civilized person is not at all the same as a cultured person. What makes a person cultured is the “internal culture” of the individual - the transformation of the achievements of human culture into the fundamental attitudes of being, thinking and behavior of the individual. A civilized person is a person who has only “external culture,” which consists of observing the norms and rules of decency accepted in a civilized society. If this observance has not become an internal necessity for him, then it cannot be considered truly cultural.

Developing these views on civilization, the German philosopher O. Spengler speaks of European civilization as the final phase of the evolution of the modern Western world. For Spengler, civilization appears as the last stage of development of any sociocultural world, an era of decline in creative power and immersion in a spiritual existence.

So, the concept of civilization can mean: 1) The historical process of improving the life of society (Holbach); 2) The way of life of society after its emergence from a primitive, barbaric state (Morgan); 3) The material, utilitarian-technological side of society, opposing culture as the sphere of spirituality, creativity and freedom (Simmel); 4) The last, final phase of the evolution of some type of culture, the era of the death of this culture (Spengler).

It should be emphasized that civilization in the interpretation we accept is a non-ethnic concept: the features of civilization are determined not by the ethno-national composition of the population, but by the nature of the socio-cultural structure of society. The same civilization can be developed by different peoples at different times and in different places on the globe.

CONCEPT AND TYPES OF CIVILIZATIONS

The emergence of civilizations. The concept of civilization is usually used in several meanings. The most common of them is the designation as a civilization of a modern developed, predominantly Western type, society. At the same time, a civilized society is contrasted with societies that have not reached the level of economic development, social order and political stability that have become normative in the modern era. Civilization is synonymous with the currently highest level of development of public culture.

Another common place is the use of the term civilization in relation to various categories of societies that have gone beyond the development of the primitive communal system. In the 19th century American ethnographer G. L. Morgan defined civilization as the stage of human development following savagery and barbarism. He, and after him F. Engels, identified as signs of civilization: the division of mental and physical labor, the emergence of writing, the presence of cities as centers of economic and cultural life. Civilization in this sense is synonymous with a certain level of development of social culture, and since it is not a model, as in the first case, this approach allows us to talk about different types of civilizations. In this case, they talk about many - for example, Chinese, ancient, Islamic, ancient Egyptian, Catholic, etc. - civilizations.

Thus, since, unlike the concept of socio-economic formation, civilization is not a sociological, but a specific historical category, several types of civilizations can be distinguished:

1. Primary civilizations that arose in an ethnic environment and are divided into:

a) Original or Mother civilizations that arose spontaneously, and

b) Daughter civilizations that arose in the zone of sociocultural influence of the original (mother) civilizations on the ethnic periphery.

2. Secondary civilizations that arose as a result of a qualitative restructuring of the socionormative principles of already existing civilizations or parts thereof.

When defining civilizations, one must clearly distinguish between the social and the political. Confusing them leads to the use of incorrect characteristics of civilizations.

Question 4 Formational and civilizational approaches in historical consciousness

In order to develop an objective picture of the historical process, historical science must rely on a certain methodology, certain general principles that would make it possible to organize all the material accumulated by researchers and create effective explanatory models.

For a long time, historical science was dominated by subjectivist or objective-idealistic methodology. From the standpoint of subjectivism, the historical process was explained by the actions of great people: leaders, Caesars, kings, emperors and other major political figures. According to this approach, their clever calculations or, on the contrary, mistakes, led to one or another historical event, the totality and interconnection of which determined the course and outcome of the historical process.

In the middle of the 19th century, he tried to overcome the shortcomings of the methodology of historical research and put history, like other humanities disciplines, on a scientific basis. German thinker K. Marx. K. Marx formulated the concept of a materialist explanation of history, based on four basic principles:

1. The principle of the unity of humanity and, consequently, the unity of the historical process.

2. The principle of historical regularity. Marx proceeds from the recognition of the action in the historical process of general, stable, recurring essential connections and relationships between people and the results of their activities.

3. The principle of determinism - recognition of the existence of cause-and-effect relationships and dependencies. From all the variety of historical phenomena, Marx considered it necessary to highlight the main, defining ones. The main thing that determines the historical process, according to K. Marx, is the method of production of material goods.

4. The principle of progress. From the point of view of K. Marx, historical progress is the progressive development of society, rising to higher and higher levels.

The materialist explanation of history is based on a formational approach. The concept of socio-economic formation in the teachings of Marx occupies a key place in explaining the driving forces of the historical process and the periodization of history. Marx proceeds from the following principle: if humanity naturally and progressively develops as a single whole, then all of it must go through certain stages in its development. He called these stages “socio-economic formations.” According to K. Marx’s definition, a socio-economic formation is “a society at a certain stage of historical development, a society with unique distinctive characteristics” (Marx K., Engels F. Soch. T. 6. - P. 442). Marx borrowed the concept of “formation” from contemporary natural science. This concept in geology, geography, and biology denotes certain structures connected by the unity of conditions of formation, similarity of composition, and interdependence of elements.

The basis of a socio-economic formation, according to Marx, is one or another mode of production, which is characterized by a certain level and nature of the development of productive forces and production relations corresponding to this level and nature. The main relations of production are property relations. The totality of production relations forms its basis, over which political, legal and other relations and institutions are built, which in turn correspond to certain forms of social consciousness: morality, religion, art, philosophy, science, etc. Thus, the socio-economic formation includes in its composition all the diversity of the life of society at one or another stage of its development.

From the point of view of the formational approach, humanity in its historical development goes through five main stages - formations: primitive communal, slaveholding, feudal, capitalist and communist (socialism is the first phase of the communist formation).

The materialist concept of history, based on a formational approach, has been dominant in the historical science of our country over the past 80 years.

However, the formational approach to understanding and explaining history is not without its shortcomings. These shortcomings are pointed out by his critics in both foreign and domestic historiography. Firstly, the formational approach assumes the unilinear nature of historical development. The theory of formations was formulated by K. Marx as a generalization of the historical path of Europe. And Marx himself saw that some countries do not fit into this pattern of alternating five formations. He attributed these countries to the so-called “Asian mode of production.” Based on this method, according to Marx, a special formation is formed. But he did not carry out a detailed development of this issue. Later, historical studies showed that in Europe, too, the development of certain countries (for example, Russia) cannot always be inserted into the pattern of changing five formations. Thus, the formational approach creates certain difficulties in reflecting the diversity and multivariance of historical development.

Secondly, the formational approach is characterized by a strict connection of any historical phenomena to the method of production, the system of economic relations. The historical process is considered primarily from the point of view of the formation and change of the mode of production.

Thirdly, the formational approach absolutizes the role of conflict relations, including violence, in the historical process. The historical process in this methodology is described primarily through the prism of class struggle.

Fourthly, the formational approach contains elements of providentialism and social utopianism. As noted above, the formational concept presupposes the inevitability of the development of the historical process from a classless primitive communal through class - slave, feudal and capitalist - to a classless communist formation.

The main structural unit of the historical process, from the point of view of this approach, is civilization. The term “civilization” comes from the Latin. the words “civil” - urban, civil, state. Initially, the term “civilization” denoted a certain level of development of society that occurs in the life of peoples after an era of savagery and barbarism. “Civil” was contrasted with “silvaticus” - wild, forest, rough. The distinctive features of civilization, from the point of view of this interpretation, are the emergence of cities, writing, social stratification of society, and statehood.

In a broader sense, civilization is most often understood as a high level of cultural development of a society. Thus, during the Age of Enlightenment in Europe, civilization was associated with the improvement of morals, laws, art, science, and philosophy. In this context, there are also opposing points of view, in which civilization is interpreted as the final moment in the development of the culture of a particular society, meaning its “decline” or decline (O. Spengler).

However for civilizational approach to the historical process, the understanding of civilization as an integral social system that includes various elements (religion, culture, economic, political and social organization, etc.) that are consistent with each other and are closely interrelated is more significant. Each element of this system bears the stamp of the originality of a particular civilization. This uniqueness is very stable. And although certain changes occur in civilization under the influence of certain external and internal influences, their certain basis, their inner core remains unchanged. This approach to civilization is fixed in the theory of cultural-historical types of civilization by N. Ya. Danilevsky, A. Toynbee, O. Spengler and others. Cultural-historical types are historically established communities that occupy a certain territory and have their own characteristics characteristic only of them cultural and social development. N.Ya. Danilevsky counts 13 types or “original civilizations”, A. Toynbee - 6 types, O. Spengler - 8 types.

The civilizational approach has a number of strengths:

1) its principles are applicable to the history of any country or group of countries. This approach is focused on understanding the history of society, taking into account the specifics of countries and regions. This is where the universality of this methodology comes from;

2) orientation towards taking into account specifics presupposes the idea of ​​history as a multilinear, multivariate process;

3) the civilizational approach does not reject, but, on the contrary, presupposes the integrity and unity of human history. Civilizations as integral systems are comparable to each other. This makes it possible to widely use the comparative historical method of research. As a result of this approach, the history of a country, people, region is considered not in itself, but in comparison with the history of other countries, peoples, regions, civilizations. This makes it possible to better understand historical processes and record their features;

4) highlighting certain criteria for the development of civilization allows historians to assess the level of achievements of certain countries, peoples and regions, their contribution to the development of world civilization;

5) the civilizational approach assigns a proper role in the historical process to human spiritual, moral and intellectual factors. In this approach, religion, culture, and mentality are important for characterizing and assessing civilization.

The weakness of the methodology of the civilizational approach lies in the amorphous nature of the criteria for identifying types of civilization. This identification by supporters of this approach is carried out according to a set of characteristics, which, on the one hand, should be of a fairly general nature, and on the other, would allow us to identify specific features characteristic of many societies. In the theory of cultural-historical types by N. Ya. Danilevsky, civilizations are distinguished by a unique combination of four fundamental elements: religious, cultural, political and socio-economic. In some civilizations the pressure is economic, in others it is political, in others it is religious, in others it is cultural. Only in Russia, according to Danilevsky, is a harmonious combination of all these elements realized.

Are you familiar with the word "civilization"? What is “culture” and what is their relationship? In what context is it most often used? The common term is quite ambiguous and has more than a hundred definitions. But first things first.

Excursion into history

Let's start with the fact that in Latin “civilis” means “state, civil”. There is debate among scholars as to whether the word is synonymous with culture or signifies a historical milestone of human and technological progress.

And this is logical if we remember all the stages of human development. At first, people were not much different from monkeys. The primitive inhabitants did not have their own home, did not know how to talk, they simply had to survive. Further, in the process of their formation and development, ancient people received fire and began to produce the simplest tools.

They united in tribes and hunted wild animals as a group. They learned to cook food and make dishes, but for a long time they continued to remain in a primitive state.

Everything changed when they learned to mine and use copper, bronze and, finally, iron, making more advanced tools.

Humanity has invented writing, which has gone through a long path of development. At first these were drawings, then individual letters that formed the alphabet. This was the highest achievement. And some scientists believe that civilization began with the creation of writing.

The original meaning of the term

This word can also describe a separate society with its own culture and identity that existed or exists today. These are, for example, Chinese, Indian, Sumerian, Assyrian and other ancient civilizations that made a huge contribution to the development of humanity. Civilization presupposes a certain system of legalized rules to which a country or people are subject. If people accept someone else's cultural heritage and succumb to its influence, and do not support individual identity, this term does not apply to them.

Civilization has its own life cycle, consisting of certain time periods, during which it goes through successive stages: emergence - development - flourishing - decline - death. But, of course, not every society went through these stages to the end due to natural disasters, wars and clashes of cultures. But no matter the outcome, the originality of civilization was preserved. The movement is characterized by intrasystem patterns that are inherent in any society. Cooperation between them is based on the principle of self-determination and equality of peoples.

The life process of civilization is a whole system. Its components are mentality, the complex connection of relationships between people in society and the social community itself, as an independently developing mechanism.

History has known a huge number of civilizations, many of which still exist today. And everyone is unique, unique, has their own face and multifaceted individual characteristics and identity.

New meaning of the term "civilization"

The appearance of the concept itself in tandem with the term “culture” dates back to the 18th century. French philosophers called society "civilized." And the meaning of the word “civilization” was gaining momentum in its interpretation. D. Alighieri used the term when speaking about a single human ethnos. The Enlightenment people of France called this concept a society based on reason and righteousness.

Already in the 19th century, the meaning of the term was interpreted as a stage of capitalism. Russians in the 60s gave a definition to this word, and for the first time it was included in the dictionary of V.I. Dalia. Civilization was characterized as a common way of life, a developed sense of citizenship, awareness of generally accepted rules and submission to them by man and citizen. But this explanation has not become uniform.

Thus, no single holistic and generally accepted definition of the term has emerged. All authors do this based on their own beliefs.

The meaning of the concept "civilization" remains ambiguous. There are over a hundred different interpretations and explanations. But all of them can be classified into four approaches.

So, what is civilization? The most common options:

1. The historical era that replaced “barbarism.”
2. The highest stage of human development.
3. Cultural and geographical community (for example, Eastern, Chinese).
4. A concept that, within the framework of a global understanding, embraces the entire planet.

The most common modern interpretation

Civilization - what is it? This is the final stage of social development, with a high level of scientific and technological progress against the backdrop of a decline in art and literature.

Stages of civilization development

There are several of them, let’s look at them in more detail.

Pre-industrial

The evolution took place thanks to agricultural and craft production using hand tools. The fundamental form of social organization was the community. Everything new was alien. Humanity not only used the gifts of nature, but was subordinate to it, worshiping the gods of Earth, Water, Sun, Rain.

Industrial, or “technogenic”

There is already a dominance of innovation over tradition, which was interpreted as a source of regression. The more a person is dependent on customs, the more he lags behind in development. Religion fell out of favor because it also discouraged innovation. Extremely rapid technological growth can be observed. The political system is developing. A person does not belong to a certain social status; he is born free. Nature has finally been subdued. How? Humanity controls it using science and technology, and therefore with reason.

Anthropogenic

We live in a technogenic civilization and continue to develop in it. But our era is in a state of crisis. We have enslaved nature and are using its priceless gifts, in particular its subsoil and minerals. They run out and are not replenished.

Nature is trying to protect itself from us, hence the ecological and economic crisis, a moral catastrophe caused by the rejection of traditions and the destruction of ethical standards.

About technogenic civilization

Scientists identify the following stages in its development:

1. Pre-industrial. The main resources are natural. These are wood, coal, clay, metal.
2. Industrial. At this stage energy rules.
3. Post-industrial. Information becomes the dominant resource.

How can humanity overcome a global catastrophe? Move to a new stage.

Anthropogenic civilization - what is it? This is the era in which man formed a philosophical attitude towards nature. Now he doesn’t easily control her, and maybe even obey her himself.

Scientists have suggested that a process of global integration awaits us. All peoples of the world will unite, ethnic and cultural boundaries will be erased, one language and economy will reign. If humanity merges into a single planetary community, one goal will appear. And the emergence of anthropogenic civilization will occur. But for now it is considered only a myth.

The concept of civilization (civilis) - translated from Latin means “civil”, “state”.

In modern use, the term “civilization” means a certain level of social development, a certain historical era of cultural development. Thus, they talk about civilization as a counterbalance to savagery, about civilization as a society with certain social institutions.

An essential feature of civilization is the emergence of the state and the emergence of law is associated with it. In European history, the civilization of a class society (slave society) replaced clan society. In a class society, the state, through the institution of law, takes on the function of managing relationships between people, states, classes - instead of the head of the clan in a primitive society.

The reasons for the emergence of civilization are fundamental changes in production, forms of ownership, forms of labor, the emergence of new technologies, which entails fundamental changes in the social structure, the emergence of politics, law, philosophy, and science.

The problem of the emergence, essence, and patterns of civilizational development has always been the focus of attention of philosophers. There are various original theories of civilization, which are presented in the works of J. -J. Rousseau, I. Kant, M. Danilevsky, O. Spengler, etc. In accordance with the theory of the modern philosopher of history A. Toynbee, civilization is a specific society, a sociocultural formation , localized in space and time, for example, the civilization of ancient Egypt.

O. Spengler in his work “The Twilight of Europe” substantiated the opinion that the development of civilization is a sign, a “symptom” of destruction, the decline of culture. According to his views, the more developed science, technology, technology, that is, civilization, the more culture suffers from their influence.
O. Spengler emphasized that a person takes on the role of a creator, relying on technology. Together, the process of loss of spirituality progresses, which is associated with the destruction of Christian values. So, humanity becomes a force that destroys culture, spirituality, the humanity in man. In the tradition of existential philosophy, in the works of M. Heidegger. N. Berdyaeva, H. Ortega y Gaset, the problem of technology is considered as a metaphysical problem, as a problem of human existence.

N. Berdyaev believed that the negative role of technology manifests itself when means (technology) replace entire lives. Technology turns man into an instrument for the production of things, “things become higher than man.” N. Berdyaev, analyzing the problem of technology as a problem of human existence, wrote: “Technology wants to master the spirit and rationalize it, turn it into an automaton, into a slave. This is the titanic struggle of man and the natures that have been technicalized by it.”

A well-known representative of modern Western philosophy of science, P. Feyerabend, proves the thesis about the negative, largely negative influence on culture of such a factor of civilization as science. He believes that despite the unconditional value of science and its capabilities in improving human life, science simultaneously displaces the positive achievements of earlier eras. That is, science thus reduces the “degrees of freedom” of human activity, limiting the free choice of models of social behavior, moral and ideological guidelines and ideals. P. Feyerabend calls the desire of science to consider the right to truth its own prerogative “the fetishism of science.” P. Feyerabend's opinion is, in fact, a protest against the dominance of the technically oriented thinking and activity of modern man.

Taking into account the fact of the significant influence of modern technologies on all spheres of human life allows us to qualify the current stage of development of society as a technological civilization (New Technocratic Wave in the West), a technocratic society (E. Fromm), a technical civilization (N. Berdyaev), a time of technological revolutions (B Zvegintsev), age of technological culture (Grant).

In modern philosophical literature, an idea has been formed of technology not only as a means, but also as a process of active, purposeful activity of the subject, in which the creative capabilities of man are realized in his relation to the natural world, culture and purely human relations, as well as the conditions of human activity, are reproduced. An artificial world of human activity is being formed, in which human influence on nature, society, and culture is becoming more and more technological. The latter manifests itself as a rigid conditioning of the structure of human attitude towards the object of activity - nature, man, culture - by the practical goals of man, as a rigid sequence of operations of human activity.

The essence of the technologization process lies in the fact that the results that are projected by the subject quite clearly determine the order, the scheme of activity, regulating its methods, and the guidelines and goals of the activity are justified functionally, i.e. based mainly on the possibility of human functioning in a given system - production, scientific research, education, communication, everyday life. Thus, the process of human adaptation to the social environment becomes, so to speak, the mastery of the technology of everyday life. Naturally, in such conditions, even the inner world of the individual is exposed to a technologized environment and becomes an object of technologization.

So, a technological civilization is a society with a high level of development of science, technology, technology, in which all spheres of life are subject to technologization. Sociologists and cultural scientists demonstrate the peculiarities of a technogenic society by comparing it with a traditional one. Traditional society (existed in Europe until about the 15th century) is characterized by slow social development, the slow unfolding of progressive changes, when compared with the lifespan of an individual and even entire generations. In the conditions of traditional civilization, types of human activity, his means, and goals have existed for centuries as stable stereotypes.

In the culture of traditional societies, priority is given to traditions, norms, and the experience of previous generations. And innovations are permissible only within established traditions. Classic examples of traditional societies were Ancient India, Ancient China, Ancient Egypt, and Ancient Greece.

Technogenic society emerges in Western Europe and therefore is often defined as “Western civilization.” Technogenic society is characterized by significant dynamism of social life. In societies of this type, progress is achieved not through the expansion of cultural zones, but through the intensification of activity. The main thing that distinguishes a technogenic society is a new system of values. What is fundamentally new in it is that innovation is considered a value, i.e. In general, it is fundamentally new, original.

In addition, what distinguishes a technogenic society from a traditional one is that individual autonomy becomes a value. If for traditional societies a person is simply an element in a system of corporate connections and if a person is not involved in a certain stable system of relations, he is not considered a person, then in a technogenic civilization a person can change his membership in a certain social system, flexibly build relationships with other people, change cultural system, the state in which it exists.

V. Stepin emphasizes that technogenic civilization is formed on the basis of ancient culture. Essential for the development of the new, in comparison with the traditional type of society, was, firstly, the emergence of democracy as the first way to regulate society. Secondly, theoretical science, which begins with the first scientific theory - Euclid's geometry. Theoretical science has become a new way of understanding the world.

A new step towards technogenic civilization was the European Middle Ages. It was then that the human intention to decipher the plan of God's creation appeared, as can be judged by the development of philosophy of that time. In addition, medieval philosophy substantiated the idea of ​​the historical flow of time - movement from the past, through the present to the future.

During the Renaissance, the basic patterns of technogenic civilization were laid down. V. Stepin calls them the “cultural matrix” of a technogenic society. Actually, technogenic civilization has been developing since the 11th centuries. and has three main stages: pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial. It is in a technogenic society that progress becomes oriented towards the future. Historical time is perceived as an irreversible movement from the past to the present and future. In contrast, in traditional societies time was classified either as cyclical, or they believed that the “golden age” was already behind.

Another feature of the existence of technogenic civilization is the tendency to dominate, through which it is designated as “aggressive” - one that subjugates and destroys the culture of traditional societies. Such destructive influence manifests itself through the affirmation of certain ideological guidelines. Guidelines that work in the formation of meanings in the understanding of what a person, the world, etc. exist.
Consequently, the influence of technogenic civilization on nature, culture, and people is determined by its ideological guidelines. Which ones exactly?
The ideological foundations of technogenic civilization are such that they guide the understanding of man as an active person, a person who sets and achieves certain goals in the process of his activities. The world is perceived, first of all, as an object of activity and knowledge. The worldview orientation becomes dominant, according to which it is believed that the world exists for man. For humans, there is also nature, which, like the world in general, man must conquer.

This is fundamentally different from the ideological orientations of traditional societies, when a person’s activity is viewed as rather aimed at its inner world and manifests itself in self-contemplation, self-knowledge, self-control. Such orientations can be discovered in the culture of Ancient China, Ancient India, etc. According to them, a person must adapt to reality and join the traditional course of life.

The specific ideological foundations of a technogenic society also determine the understanding of nature as an ordered process. Such that is recognizable to a person and is an object for the realization of human goals. The ideological foundations of traditional society are fundamentally different. In it, nature is perceived as a living organism, within which humans exist. The laws of nature and human existence are perceived as something supra-rational. In a technogenic society, a worldview is being formed that it is necessary to create a certain technique and technology that will allow one to master nature and the world.

1. The concept of “civilization”. Development of approaches to the interpretation of the term, history of the emergence of civilizational theory.

a) The concept of “civilization”

The word civilization is associated with the designation of a qualitative milestone in the history of mankind. The concept of civilization was first used by the French economist Victor Mirabeau (1715-1789) in his treatise The Friend of the Laws in 1757.

b) Development of approaches to the interpretation of the term

In ancient times civilization, represented by the Greek and Roman world, was contrasted with barbarians who did not speak Greek and Latin and did not know Greek and Roman culture.

Initially in the 18th century This concept included norms of behavior befitting a citizen (courteous, friendly, polite).

IN Enlightenment period this term denoted the general level of cultural development. Civilization was contrasted with unenlightened peoples, the dark ages of feudalism and the Middle Ages. The concept of “civilization” was associated with the concept of progress and had an educational meaning. The concepts of “civilization” and “culture” initially acted as synonyms, but gradually a difference began to be established between the two terms. The meaning of the word civilization gradually expanded. It was no longer identified only with good manners, but with wealth, the level of intellectual and social development.

Early 19th century the term "civilization" is used close to its modern meaning. It is increasingly being applied to large eras and entire nations as a designation for the totality of human achievements. The works of the French historian Francois Guizot and the English historian Henry Buckle played a major role in this.

Modern understanding of the term “civilization”: world (global) civilization- a stage in the history of mankind, characterized by a certain level of human needs, abilities, knowledge, skills, interests, a technological and economic method of production, the structure of social and political relations, and the level of the spiritual world. Local civilization– expresses the cultural-historical, ethnic, socio-political, religious, geographical characteristics of peoples connected by a common historical destiny.

c) The history of the emergence of civilization theory

Back in the 1st century BC. Titus Lucretius Carus, in his essay “On the Nature of Things,” reflected the understanding of human development as continuous improvement.

Since the 18th century civilization theories are formed. The idea of ​​historical progress appears (Ferguson, Condorcet). Theories of local civilizations emerge. J.B. Vico– believed that history is divided into many streams with their special cultures; did not recognize the idea of ​​progress; all nations go through 3 centuries: the age of gods, the age of heroes (ideas of self-improvement), the age of people (material values ​​are higher than spiritual ones). I.O Herder– every nation has the traditions of its ancestors, and every nation develops according to its behests and a single divine plan. Francois Guizot- the great Idea that moves humanity, the implementation of which is the main goal of humanity. Hegel– The idea was initially inherent in man by nature, and by implementing it, humanity contributes to the improvement of the world. At the same time, each nation has its own role in this process. He distinguished the development of civilization from the development of man.

In the 19th century analogies were often established between living organisms and society. The stages of development that a living organism went through (childhood, adolescence, maturity, old age) were transferred to the history of civilizations. According to Auguste Comte the progress of human history is embodied in three successive stages of culture: theological (development of the world), metaphysical (knowledge of the essence of nature) and scientific (knowledge of natural laws). In the development of civilization, Comte gives preference to the spiritual factor and notes that ideas control the world and turn it upside down. Herbert Spencer believed that progress is a constant slow development from simple to complex. Progress is a necessity. He viewed civilization as a living organism developing according to the laws of biology and physiology. According to Henry Bucklew with the advent of civilization, reason, science, and spiritual laws become the main engine. Physical laws are increasingly losing their meaning.

In the second half 19th century ideas about the cyclical development of history are emerging. By Danilevsky There are cultural and historical types (groups of peoples), each with its own path of development, but each goes through 4 stages: formation, youth, maturity, decline. Types cannot mix; after a decline, one type replaces another, and the development of humanity is the totality of the efforts of all peoples.

Five laws of historical development according to Danilevsky:

1. Every nation is a unique civilization.

2. A civilization must have political independence.

3. Civilizations influence, but do not transform into one another.

4. Civilizations inevitably perish.

5. A civilization can consist of several peoples.

American ethnographer Morgan proposed a diagram of the history of mankind, in which three stages were distinguished: savagery, barbarism and civilization (civilization closes a long chain of stages in the development of primitive society). He believed that the stages of development are universal and characteristic of the history of every nation. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels– a unified theory of historical development: 1. History – change of socio-economic formations (the entire complex of economic, political and social mechanisms of society). 2. History is driven by the struggle of fundamentally irreconcilable classes. 3. Formations replace each other until the socialist formation is established. According to Pitirim Sorokin civilization is a huge complex of cultural achievements; considered societies as large cultural supersystems (civilizations) that determine the life and behavior of people, many specific historical processes and trends. According to Toynbee: Civilization is a single complex system with unique mechanisms of interacting parts; civilization develops when faced with environmental problems; Civilizations go through 3 stages: birth, rise, decline. Every civilization is finite. Lev Nikolaevich Gumilev– history is driven by passionaries (exceptional people). When their percentage in society is large, it changes; if it is not enough, then society does not change.

Conclusion: humanity is developing progressively, going through stages in its development; there is plurality and multidirectionality of historical development; civilization is a complex complex that requires the normal functioning of each of its elements.