Comprehension of history

The book is devoted to the presentation of the theory of civilizations by A.J. Toynbee. The author put forward criteria for assessing civilizations: stability in time and space, in situations of challenge and interaction with other peoples. He sees the meaning of civilization in the fact that comparable units (monads) of history go through similar stages of development. Successfully developing civilizations go through stages of emergence, growth, breakdown and decay. The development of civilization is determined by whether the creative minority of civilization is able to find answers to the challenges of the natural world and the human environment. Toynbee notes the following types of challenges: the challenge of a harsh climate (Egyptian, Sumerian, Chinese, Mayan, Andean civilizations), the challenge of new lands (Minoan civilization), the challenge of sudden attacks from neighboring societies (Hellenic civilization), the challenge of constant external pressure (Russian Orthodox, Western civilization) and the challenge of infringement, when society, having lost something vital, directs its energy to develop properties that compensate for the loss.

According to Toynbee, living civilizations are the last members of civilizational triads. These are the sequences: Minoan - Hellenic - Western civilizations, Minoan - Hellenic - Orthodox civilizations, Minoan - Syrian - Islamic civilizations, Sumerian - Indus - Hindu civilizations.