Many leading philosophers and historians have sought an explanation for the distinctive development of individual regions, countries, cultures, as well as humanity as a whole. Such scientists as O. Spengler, V Schubart, N. Danilevsky, F. Northrop and others were interested in this issue. The most representative and interesting theories of civilizational cultures include the work of A. Toynbee. His theory of local civilizations is widely recognized as a masterpiece of macro-sociology.
He bases his research on the assertion that the real
object of research should be societies, which have a much greater extent in space and a life span than ordinary national states. Such a society is a local civilization.
There are more than 20 developed civilizational cultures. These include: Western Orthodox Russian, Orthodox Byzantine, Antique, Indian, Arabic, Sumerian, Chinese, Egyptian, Andean, Mexican, Hittite and other civilizations. Toynbee also places emphasis on the five “stillborn,” as well as the four civilizations that have stopped in development — Momadic, Eskimo, Spartan, and Ottoman. It is interesting why some cultures are dynamically developing, while others stop developing in the early stages of their existence.
The origin of civilizations cannot be explained by the influence of individually such factors as the
geographical environment, racial criteria, aggressiveness or favorable conditions, and the presence of a creative minority in society. The theory of local civilizations claims that only groups where there are many of these factors together evolve into civilizational cultures. Communities where these conditions are absent are at a pre-civilization level. For example, a moderately favorable environment will always challenge society, creating problems that need to be understood and addressed with the use of creative abilities. Such a society lives by the principle of challenge-response and is always in motion, because it knows no peace. Therefore, over time, it will create its own civilizational culture.
The theory of local civilizations says that the
history of mankind is perceived as a community of stories of local civilizational cultures that go the following way: origin - dawn - decline - extinction. Each of them is unique. The signs of civilization are the creative core around which the distinctive forms of spiritual life are formed, as well as the economic, social and political organization.
One local civilizational culture can spawn others. For example, Ancient Greece led to the emergence of Western, Orthodox Russian and modern Orthodox Greek cultures. If civilization loses its cultural and creative core, then this leads to its death. Culture is viable as long as it can adequately respond to external challenges that threaten its existence.
Toynbee’s theory of local civilizations calls for abandoning “West-centrist” views and stop considering cultures that are incomprehensible to Western society and do not fit into its worldview as “backward” or “barbaric”.