Path of Science: International Electronic Scientific Journal

The famous British historian, philosopher of history, cultural studies researcher and sociologist A. Toynbee introduced his original concept of emergence and interaction of different civilizations. His universalist approach to philosophy of history, his notion of historical cycles of the rise and fall of civilizations, philosophical idealism and the religious subtext of his analysis are set out in the twelve-volume work “A Study of History”. This paper attempts to analyze the civilizational concept of A. Toynbee. In the course of the research, the comparative historical method, the methodology of philosophical hermeneutics, as well as the anthropological integrative approach were applied. A. Toynbee made a tremendous attempt to present the history of humankind as a chain of emergence, growth, decline, death, and the new emergence of civilizations. This theory has caused sharp debates and ambiguity of interpretations. Nowadays, the postmodern world of the 21st century with its uncertainty, temporality and plurality of interpretations requires a new understanding of Toynbee’s spiritual heritage, which needs new research.

A. Toynbee; civilization; culture; historical process; mimesis; etherification

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