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 enlightener Victor Mirabeau. According to him, civilization is a set of certain social norms that distinguish
human society from bestial existence: knowledge, courtesy, softening of morals, politeness and so on. The term is also mentioned in the work of another prominent philosopher of the era, the Scotsman Adam Fergusson. For him, civilization is a certain stage in the development of human society. Ferguson saw history as a consistent development of human culture (writing, cities, society) - from barbarism to a highly developed culture. In a similar vein, the idea of the subject developed in the studies of later philosophers, historians and sociologists. For all of them, civilization is a concept that is somehow connected with human society and has a set of features that characterize this society. However, approaches have changed. For Marxists, for example, civilization is a stage in the development of the productive forces of society.
Arnold Toynbee's historical approach
An interesting model of the historical processproposed by the English historian Arnold Toynbee. In his famous work "Comprehension of History", which consists of several volumes, he considers the entire history of human societies as a non-linear totality of the birth, development and decline of civilizations that arise at different times and in different regions of the globe. Features of each
civilizational community is explained by different environmental conditions: the climate of the area, historical neighbors, and so on.
This process Arnold Toynbee called the law of challenge and response. According to his theory, all known and secret civilizations arise from pracivilizational communities as a result of a response to some external challenge. And in the course of their response, they either die or create a civilization. So, for example, the ancient Babylonian and Egyptian civilizations arose. In response to the aridity of the land, in order to survive, the local tribes needed the creation of a whole system of artificial irrigation canals, which then required careful maintenance. This, in turn, caused the emergence of an apparatus for coercion of the peasants, the emergence of we alth, and, consequently, the state, which took on a civilizational form dictated by external climatic features.
Christian medieval
civilization in Russia arose as a reaction to the constant raids of nomadic tribes that rallied the scattered East Slavic tribes. In the first volume of his "Comprehension of History" Toynbee identifies twenty-one civilizations throughout history.humanity. Among them, in addition to those mentioned, are ancient Chinese, Hellenic, Arabic, Hindu, Andean, Minoan, Mayan, Sumerian, Indian, Western, Hittite, Far Eastern, two Christian ones - in Russia and the Balkans, Iranian, Mexican and Yucatan. In later volumes, his views changed, and the number of civilizations decreased. In addition, the historian noted some communities that had a chance to become civilizations, but could not successfully overcome their own challenge. Such were, for example, the Spartans, medieval Scandinavians, nomads of the Great Steppe.
