This concept comes from the Latin word civis, which can be translated as "civil" or "state".In a more or less modern sense it was first mentioned by the French educator Victor Mirabeau.According to his understanding, civilization - a certain set of social norms that distinguish human society from animal existence, knowledge, courtesy, softening of manners, politeness and so on.This term is also referred to in the work of another eminent philosopher of the era - the Scot Adam Ferguson.For him, civilization - is a certain stage of development of human society.Ferguson saw history as a gradual development of human culture (literature, cities, society) - from barbarism to a highly developed culture.In a similar vein, developing understanding of the subject and studies later philosophers, historians and sociologists.For them, all civilizations - a concept that somehow related to human society and has a set of features that characterize a society.However, to change the approach.For Marxists, for example, the civilization - is the stage of development of the productive forces of society.
historical approach Arnold Toynbee
interesting model of the historical process offered the British historian Arnold Toynbee.In his famous work "A Study of History", consisting of several volumes, it considers the entire history of human society as a set of nonlinear origin, development and decline of civilizations occurring at different times and in different regions of the globe.Features every civilized community explained their different environmental conditions: climate terrain, historical neighbors and so on.
This process is Arnold Toynbee called the law of challenge and response.According to his theory, everyone knows the secret and civilization arise from pratsivilizatsionnyh communities as a result of a response to external challenges.And in the course of his answer they either die or create a civilization.For example, there were ancient Babylonian and Egyptian civilizations.In response to the aridity of the land for the survival of local families required the creation of a whole system of artificial irrigation channels, which after careful maintenance required.This, in turn, led to the birth of the coercive apparatus of the peasants, the appearance of wealth, and consequently the State, which took the form of civilization dictated by external climatic conditions.
medieval Christian civilization in Russia has emerged as a reaction to the constant raids of nomadic tribes to rally disparate Eastern Slavic tribes.In the first volume of his "Study of History" Toynbee identifies twenty-one civilization in human history.Among them, in addition to those mentioned, the ancient Chinese, Hellenic, Arabic, Hindu, Andean, Minoan, Mayan, Sumerian, India, western, Hittite, Far East, two Christian - in Russia and in the Balkans, Iran, and Mexico's Yucatan.In later volumes, his views underwent a change, and decreased the number of civilizations.In addition, the historian noted some communities that have a chance to become a civilization, but were not able to successfully overcome its own challenge.These were, for example, the Spartans, the medieval Scandinavians, the nomads of the Great Steppes.
