For many centuries, people have been trying to find answers to the questions: why are people so similar in many areas of life, but at the same time they are so different; what determines the formation of a particular personality; what is inherent in a person at the gene level, and what appears under the influence of the environment and communication.
Many scientists in the course of their work put forward hypotheses about the formation of a person with his unique inner world. On the question of what is inherited and what is acquired in the process of life, Cesare Lombroso, Benedict Augustin Morel, Sigmund Freud, Abraham Maslow, Bekhterev Vladimir Mikhailovich and many other experts put forward their ideas. Naturally, each of them proved his hypotheses based on professional practice, observations, and experiments.
Lev Gumilyov is known for putting forward a hypothesis about the structure and mechanisms of development of ethnogenesis and passionarity as an important part of it. What is the difference between this hypothesis and contemporary scientific theories?
The background of a new opinion about the nature of ethnogenesis
Being the child of two poets, who was raised by his grandmother and rejected by society as the son of a "traitor to the Motherland", Lev Gumilyov could not ignore the question of why everyonehappens this way and not otherwise in his environment and whether other options for the development of the scenario of life are possible. The thinker built his hypothesis on the analysis of historical and geographical factors of the emergence and development of ethnic groups.
According to Gumilyov's theory, the formation and subsequent integrity of the ethnos is provided by the geochemical energies of the biosphere. Each nation develops its own rules for interacting with the outside world. The main factor in the emergence of different nationalities is considered to be adaptation to the relief and the nature of the terrain. With the light hand of Gumilyov, passionarity is responsible for the fate of a particular person and an entire ethnic group. What is the meaning of this term?
What is passionarity
The origin of the word is Latin (passio - suffering, but also passion, affect). In the area of European languages, cognate words have some nuances. In Spain, pasion is interpreted in the same way as in Latin. In Italy, passione is passionate love. In France and Romania, passione is a description of sensual passions. In England, passion is a designation for an outburst of anger. In Poland, the term means rage. In Holland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark passion is a hobby.
The Russian equivalent of the Latin word is the old word passion. Many years ago, it had a different meaning than today (according to V. I. Dahl) - it is also a problem, torment, a spiritual impulse for something, a moral thirst, an unaccountable attraction and an unreasonable desire. According to the old Russian concepts, the passionarity of the nation was presented in the person of passionate or passion-bearers.
However, many old words of the Russian language eitherwent out of use, or lost their former semantic load, and today “passion is strong love, strong sensual attraction (according to I. S. Ozhegov). There is a simplification of the meaning of the word. Therefore, Gumilyov does not speak about passion, but about passionarity.
What is passionarity? The definition describes the general statement of V. I. Vernadsky about the heterogeneity of the distribution of biochemical energy in a long historical period. The results of the uneven distribution of energies result in passionarity (according to Gumilyov). And the moments of the highest release of biochemical energy into space are designated as passionary shocks.
It is alleged that passionarity is caused by a micromutation at the gene level, but this fact is practically unprovable. And the point is not even that the relevant studies have not been carried out, but that the deviation of the gene set (in the form of a mutation) even by tenths of a percent from the norm causes severe pathology, and by 1-2% - a change in species (you can become a dolphin or crocodile).
Gumilyov's statements about passionarity as a hereditary trait are true insofar as temperament types and properties of the nervous system are inherited. But psychogenetics is engaged in such research, in which there are enough terms to describe such phenomena. With the help of research methods, scientists have proved that the notorious desire to “learn and learn new and unknown” is encoded in a certain group of genes and is inherited. This fact is confirmed by laboratory studies,many years of observations and experiments.
Multiple definitions of the term
According to Gumilyov, passionarity is “a characterological dominant, an irresistible inner desire (conscious or often unconscious) for activities aimed at achieving some goal (often illusory)” (book “Geography of the Ethnos in the Historical Period”). There are other definitions as well. Some psychologists claim that the author created a new psychodynamic theory of personality, however, in the "classical" typology of characters, all the features attributed to Gumilev's passionaries are described, only in a different classification.
The peculiarity of scientific knowledge, in contrast to hypothetical assumptions, is that it is provable, observable, repeatable in similar conditions, it can be used to create an accurate scenario of future events. The theory of passionarity and ethnogenesis is an attempt to look at the history of peoples from a different point of observation (bypassing economic and political patterns). Since it is known that only 50% of inherited characteristics in a person, and the rest are due to the influence of society and the environment, Lev Gumilyov described the possible impact of the latter (the influence of landscapes and their energy saturation).
Gumilyov's theory of passionarity was published in the book "Ethnogenesis and Biosphere of the Earth". This is a non-standard approach to the study of the history and geography of ethnic groups and the patterns of their development. However, it is not difficult to notice the so-called neo-Eurasianism in it. Eurasianism was nationalpostulate in the 1920s and 1930s. Gumilyov's theory of passionarity is based on the ideas of such well-known Eurasians as Trubetskoy, Krasavin, Savitsky, Vernadsky. Lev Nikolaevich is the successor of many ideas of this culturological concept. This can also be traced in the description of small ethnic groups (closed and original), their religious and typological features, as well as the role of individuals with a special psyche in historically tense moments in the development of an ethnic group.
Gumilyov's views on the interaction of civilization and ethnicity
Lev Nikolaevich was one of those to whom the theory of progress was disgusting. It was in civilization that he saw signs of the destruction of ethnic systems, which, according to Gumilyov, leads to land degradation and deterioration of the ecological state of the habitat. The main destructive factor in this case is "unnatural migration" and the emergence of cities ("artificial landscapes"). It can be argued that this idea was borrowed and continued by some followers of Lev Nikolayevich from the concept of Werner Sombart.
The role of passionaries in the development of ethnic groups
Since the emergence of passionarity among the population of the Earth is influenced by “some cosmic force”, then the specific share of obtaining this trait will be different. To describe this feature, Gumilyov developed levels of passionarity. In total, there are 9 levels in the classification, located on the coordinate scale within the range of values from -2 to 6. Conventionally, all levels are divided into three groups (classical division model):
- Passionaries abovenorms.
- Passionarity is normal.
- Passionaries below the norm.
How are the levels of passionarity according to Gumilyov (briefly) in the listed groups:
- In the group "below the norm" are representatives of humanity, related, according to Gumilyov, to the rating -2 and -1 (subpassionaries). These are people who do not show any activity aimed at change, and those who are able to adapt to the landscape (respectively).
- Interestingly, the "passionarity norm" is at 0 (philistine). Representatives of this group are considered the most numerous and are described as "quiet" people, fully adapted to the surrounding landscape. It is noteworthy that in this case Lev Nikolayevich does not bother to give examples of such personalities from history.
- The above normal group is more diverse:
- Level 1 is characterized by the desire to achieve goals without risking life.
- Level 2 (named "seeking fortune at the risk of life") is characterized by a fair amount of adventurism and is characterized as a "gentleman of fortune".
- Level 3 (called the "breakdown phase") is described by the pursuit of "eternal" ideals: beauty and knowledge. Gumilev refers people of creative professions, scientists to this group.
- Level 4 (denoted as "level of overheating, akmatic phase, transitional") outlines the ability to strive for the "ideal" goal and achieve predominance in society.
- Level 5 is characterized by the ability to achievegoals at any cost, except for their own lives.
- Level 6 (called "sacrificial" or "highest level") marks the ability of a person to make self-sacrifice.
Gumilyov's statement about the independence of his concept from the doctrine of temperament is rather contradictory. This fact is clearly visible when studying the above classification.
Coexistence of ethnic groups
In the issue of interaction between ethnic groups, according to the theory of passionarity, the dimensions of interacting ethnic groups and complementarity (the emotional attitude of ethnic groups to each other) are of key importance. Such relationships are expressed in different ways of interaction:
- Symbiosis - implies the relationship of ethnic groups occupying their own landscape, but interacting for different reasons. This form is considered optimal for the well-being of each ethnic group.
- Xenia – (a very rare form of interaction) implies the presence in the landscape of a large ethnic group of small representatives of another ethnic group, existing in isolation and not violating the system in which they are present.
- Chimera - occurs when representatives of two superethnoi mix in the same landscape. Negative complementarity in this case leads to conflicts and disintegration of ethnic groups.
Stereotypes of behavior in Gumilyov's theory
An important component of an ethnos as a single organism is determined by the stereotype of behavior of the group's representatives. According to L. N. Gumilyov, this characteristic appears to be structurally orderedbehavioral skills characteristic of a particular ethnic group. It is suggested that this factor belongs to the category of inherited (at the biological level). Structurally, four types of relationships are distinguished:
- relationship between group and individual;
- interpersonal relationships;
- relations of intra-ethnic groups;
- relations between the ethnic group and intra-ethnic groups.
Gumilyov also includes the rules of relations between an ethnic group and foreigners in stereotypes of behavior.
Classification of stages of development of ethnic groups
According to Lev Nikolaevich's theory, stereotypes of behavior undergo changes throughout the life of an ethnos until its "aging" (a state of homeostasis). There are nine stages (or phases of development) of ethnogenesis:
- A push or a drift is the stage of the birth of passionarity in an ethnic group, the appearance of representatives with a bright characteristic.
- The incubation period is the stage of accumulation of the energy of passionarity with its manifestations captured in history.
- The rise is a stage of a seething growth of passionarity with all the ensuing consequences (for example, the seizure of new territories).
- The Akmatic phase is the stage of the highest flowering of passionarity in all spheres of the life of an ethnic group.
- Fracture - the stage of "satiation" and a sharp decrease in passionarity.
- The inertial phase is the stage of prosperity of the ethnic group without the manifestation of passionarity.
- Obscuration is a stage in the development of an ethnos characterized by degradation.
- Homeostasis is the stage of the existence of an ethnic group in accordance with the surrounding landscape.
- Agony - the stage of decayethnic group.
Classification of the ethnosphere
Convictions and consortia are located at the base of this pyramid. Further, in ascending order - sub-ethnoi, ethnoi and super-ethnoi.
The origin and development of an ethnos, according to Gumilyov, begins with consortia and convictions. The first is a group of people with a common historical past, and the second is a group with similar household and family ways. The interaction of these groups maintains the unity of the ethnic group.
Criticism of the theory of L. N. Gumilyov
The most compelling argument in favor of the pseudo-scientific nature of Gumilyov's theory is the description and explanation of phenomena from the position of "patriotism" (scientific knowledge is free from "emotional" theories that are not based on a solid factual basis). This circumstance, as noted by critics, prevents the historian from seeing the essence of the historical phenomena that took place. According to Gumilyov himself, “emotions in science give rise to errors,” however, all the author’s works are filled with contradictions (this happens due to the rejection of some research methods in favor of “patriotism”).
The postulate about the “absence of the category of guilt and responsibility” in the development of ethnogenesis is also fairly disputed. Critics see it as a justification for any kind of aggression under the guise of "millstones of history" (urgent necessity). An illustration is the use of Gumilev's concept by radical Russian nationalists to justify their actions.
Eurasian concept was intended to justify the Russian revolution (and all relatedconsequences) without being distracted by ethical assessments. The central idea was the integrity of Russia. And the methods and techniques of interaction with ethnic groups in neo-Eurasianism (Gumilyov's theories) were attributed to the prevailing passionarity of the Russian people.
The concept has supporters and opponents, but one thing remains unchanged - the work never became a scientific work (which is why Gumilyov's dissertation was not approved by the Higher Attestation Commission, since the commission has the same criteria for assessing scientific and pseudo-scientific character). Unfortunately, the contradictions that fill Gumilyov's books have not been eliminated by anyone, and no one turned out to be engaged in the "cutting" of this "diamond".
However, this fact does not detract from the importance of the work done, framed in the concept of the Passionary theory of ethnogenesis by Lev Nikolayevich Gumilyov.
