World history is very rich and full of all sorts of facts. Even taking into account modern technologies and the unprecedented development of historical sciences, scientists have not fully answered all the questions of interest to mankind. Most of the events, personalities, locations, historical documents remain a mystery to this day. However, such blind spots are not a problem for creating a kind of "historical tree", which would allow in general terms to know the entire historical process of mankind. It should be noted that modern scientists were still able to create a classical model of what happened in the past. But was everything the way it is described in school textbooks?
The formation of history
The development of history as a science began a long time ago since ancient Greece. The process of gradual accumulation of knowledge has led to the fact that this science has become a key one. With its help, you can learn the real world through the prism of time. By learning more and more facts from the distant past, we can explain some of the events of the present and predict the future. But this peculiar function is not the fundamental factor whichnecessitates the study of history. Currently, scientists are increasingly interested in the driving forces of historical development. After all, evolution, wherever it takes place, cannot appear just like that. For this, there must be a certain factor that will give impetus. If you look at all the stages of historical development, which will be discussed below, it becomes clear that throughout the history of mankind there were certain events, people, facts or other elements that stimulated subsequent development.
The essence of theories of historical development
The whole process of human development can be divided into certain stages. However, it is not known how it began, and also what contributes to its dynamics and decline. When scientists began to search for an answer to this question, they began to invent various theories of historical development that would give answers to the existing questions. The term theory itself means a certain hypothesis, overgrown with facts and scientific evidence. It allows you to find out and prove the correctness or falsity of any factor. In our case, the whole process of historical development is proved, and theories, in turn, make it possible to understand its diversity, form, cause, and dynamics. It is theories that confirm the fact that the driving forces of historical development exist and can be explained.
Types of theories of historical development
Events can be viewed based on two main approaches: pluralistic and monistic. Each of themcauses the emergence of one or another type of historical theory. The pluralistic approach tells about the presence of numerous nations and cultures, the development of which occurred independently of each other. The monistic concept is the complete opposite and proves the fact of the interconnection of cultures and nations. Thus, we see that each concept may have its own driving forces of historical development, and they are strikingly different from each other. As for theories, their authors have always been adherents of some concept. Thus, it is possible to single out the main theories of historical development, namely:
- Theological. All living things develop according to the will of God, and man is his best creation. Any processes should take place in the name and glory of him.
- Pagan. This theory is interesting because its adherents completely reject the process of historical development as a whole.
- Linear theory explains any development as a certain point in time. All development must come to an end someday.
- Toynbee's theory. It tells about the cyclical nature of all historical processes. All civilizations experience rise, development, peak of evolution and decline. Moreover, all processes are interconnected.
- Marxist theory is universal. It explains the origin of law, society, and the whole process of historical development. Simply put, Karl Marx explains the origin of any social phenomenon as a consequence of the class struggle. The theory became widespread in the middle of the 20th century, when the world was bipolar: the communist East andcapitalist west.
Historical process and its factors
Theories themselves are only the framework according to which society has developed. Each of them cites exceptional factors that at different times influenced the evolution of society. It should be noted that society and history must be considered as one indestructible whole, because it is people who influence the process of their evolution. Thus, the factors of historical development come from people and influence them, thereby coordinating the behavior of society on a separate territory of the planet. In this case, it is necessary to take into account geographical data, since all peoples are at different levels of their historical development. This can be clearly seen at the present time.
Compare at least European countries and African countries. People are the same, except for the color of the skin, and the gap in development between them is colossal. It follows that the factors of historical development depend not only on the epoch. They will also be determined by the territorial and other characteristics of the population, for example: religion, mentality, political system, etc.
Stages of historical development
So, we have established that the factors depend on the geographical location and a certain historical stage. The systematization of modern science has led to the fact that scientists have divided the entire world history into time periods. Each of them has a certain time frame. Thanks towith them we can study and highlight the main driving forces of historical development.
The following stages are distinguished in all countries:
- Primitive world. The beginning of this stage is characterized by two main dates: 1.2 million years BC, when the first man appeared, and 40 thousand years BC. The last date refers to the emergence of consciousness in Homo sapiens and the emergence of his survival skills among other species.
- Ancient world (IV-III millennium BC - V century AD).
- Middle Ages (5th - 15th centuries AD).
- Modern times (XVI - 60s of the XX century AD).
- Recent times (60s of XX century - present).
Different factors at all stages
Each historical stage reflects the process of human life. Throughout history, people have used the accumulated knowledge to move to a new level of development. But for the accumulation of knowledge is a long process, so the stages are not uniform in their time frames.
Each of them ended with a certain event. For example, primitive society began to disappear with the advent of civilizations and huge empires, such as the Roman, Mesopotamian, Persian. The ancient world ceased to exist when Jesus gave Christianity to the world.
At the turn of the Middle Ages and the New Age, there were great geographical discoveries that led to human development. historic althe legacy that remains after each stage helped people achieve new frontiers, using the mistakes of past generations.
Conclusion
In general, the features of historical development depend on many factors. But the main one is ourselves - the people who inhabit the planet Earth. Any of our actions create the history of this world, and who knows, maybe the next stage is just around the corner.
