The most important element characterizing the east is. It directly relates to the political sphere of society. Basic questions for self-control
Eastern civilization
It is known that world history began from the East, it is he who is the center of civilization. The oldest social and political institutions arose and acquired stable forms here.
What is the East? This is not a geographical, but a civilizational, historical and cultural concept. This is a gigantic human integrity, very heterogeneous and contradictory. She has some common features: the reproduction of established social cultures, the stability of the way of life, the rigid priority of religious and mythological ideas and canonized thinking styles, the dissolution of the individual in the team.
The East is, first of all, a traditional society and a traditional way of development. Where did this tradition come from, how and by whom was it established? According to Orientalists, the tradition was, firstly, borrowed from the cyclical nature of agricultural work, on which the prosperity of the first centers of civilization directly depended. Secondly, having taken shape in the first state formations, their population tried in every possible way to oppose themselves to the barbarians and assert their priorities as decisive and extremely important.
The main cultural dominant here are myths, religious cults, rituals and ceremonies…
The most important element characterizing the East is "oriental despotism". Despotism as a form of power and the general structure of society arises where private property has no priority and the land belongs to the rural community. In order to organize intercommunal work, an authority is formed, which, gradually gaining strength, becomes despotic in relation to the community members. However, this power does not deprive the community of autonomy in deciding own problems. Deducting rent-tax in favor of the state, the community lived with its own concerns, and the community members were of little interest in who replaces whom at the top of the political pyramid. However, both state rulers and their servants were not interested in the joys and troubles of the peasants. The main thing is to receive the traditionally established rent-tax on time. (E. I. Popov)
The correct answer must contain the following elements:
1) it should formulate an understanding of Eastern civilization:
2) signs of eastern societies are given:
Reproduction of established social cultures;
Stability of a way of life;
· rigid priority of religious and mythological representations and canonized styles of thinking;
Dissolution of the individual in the team.
2. What conditions for the formation of an oriental traditional society does the author cite, referring to oriental scholars? Give them based on the text and illustrate any of them with a specific example.
(Other formulations of the answer are allowed that do not distort its meaning)
The correct answer must include the following items:
1) conditions (signs) of the formation of Eastern societies:
· firstly, the cyclical nature of agricultural work, on which the prosperity of the first centers of civilization directly depended;
· secondly, the desire to oppose oneself to the barbarians and assert one's priorities as decisive and extremely important.
2) an example illustrating one of the signs, for example:
· the life of the ancient Egyptians was completely dependent on the floods of the Nile and the fertile silt caused by spills (the first sign);
The ancient Greeks in every possible way emphasized their superiority in relation to other peoples, whom they considered savages, barbarians, opposed themselves to other peoples (the second sign).
Other valid examples can be given.
3. What does the author see as the most important element characterizing the East? What, according to the author, are the reasons for the formation of a special political organization in the East? (give two reasons). What is the specificity of relations between the state and the community in the East? Based on the knowledge of the course, give any sign of Eastern society, in addition to those indicated in the text.
(Other formulations of the answer are allowed that do not distort its meaning)
The correct answer must contain the following elements:
1) "the most important element" that characterizes Eastern society - "oriental despotism";
2) the reasons contributing to its occurrence:
Lack of priority for private property, land belonging to a rural community;
· the need to organize inter-communal work, contributing to the formation of a government body, which, gradually gaining strength, becomes despotic in relation to the community members.
3) an additional feature is given, for example:
· the predominance of static, wary attitude to changes, changes.
Other additional features may be given.
4. The author emphasizes that myths, religious cults, rituals and rituals are the main cultural dominant of Eastern society. Explain the author's idea. Based on the courses of social science and history, give three specific examples illustrating the cultural heritage of Eastern civilization.
(Other formulations of the answer are allowed that do not distort its meaning)
The following elements can be included in the correct answer:
2) examples are given:
· ideological spiritual foundations of Buddhism, which arose in India;
the philosophy of Confucianism, which appeared in ancient China;
"Avesta" - collection ancient texts Zoroastrianism in Ancient Iran.
Other explanation can be given, other examples are given.
The study of this issue must begin with the identification of the essence of the concept of "civilization". In this regard, attention should be paid to the fact that the term "civilization" (from Latin civilis - civil, state) is used in several senses:
a) as a step historical development humanity following barbarism (L. Morgan, F. Engels, A. Toffler);
b) as a synonym for culture (A. Toynbee and others);
c) as a level (stage) of development of a particular region or a separate ethnic group (ancient civilization);
d) as a certain stage in the development of local cultures, the stage of their degradation and decline (O. Spengler "The Decline of Europe").
The most ambitious theories of civilizational development were created by N. Ya. Danilevsky, O. Spengler, A. Toynbee, P. A. Sorokin. N. Danilevsky substantiated the theory of a general typology of cultures or civilizations, according to which there is no world history, but only the history of these civilizations. In the book "Russia and Europe", he criticized the generally accepted concept of dividing world history into ancient, middle, new and singled out the following "original civilizations", or cultural and historical types: Egyptian, Chinese, Assyrian-Babylonian-Phoenician, Chaldean, Indian, Iranian , Hebrew, Greek, Roman, New Semitic, or Arabian, Germano-Romance, or European, American. Each of the cultural and historical types, or original civilizations, goes through three periods in its development: ethnographic (ancient), which begins from the moment the tribe is separated from its kindred tribes and acquires the ability for original activity; political (state), when peoples build their own state and ensure their political independence; civilizational, providing peoples with the opportunity to realize their spiritual ideals in science, art, public improvement and personal well-being.
The German philosopher and historian O. Spengler criticized the concept of a single world history and substantiated the doctrine of a multitude of cultures. In his book The Decline of Europe, he identifies eight types of cultures: Egyptian, Indian, Babylonian, Chinese, Apollonian (Greco-Roman), Faustian (Western European) and Mayan culture. Each cultural "organism" lives for a predetermined (about 1,000 years) period. Dying, culture is reborn into civilization. Civilization according to Spengler is a radical negation of culture, its “disintegration”, the final stage in the development of any culture. The main signs of civilization: the development of industry and technology, the degradation of art and literature, the emergence of huge crowds of people in large cities, the transformation of peoples into faceless "masses".
The English historian and philosopher A. Toynbee, in his 12-volume work A Study of History, explores the meaning and patterns of the historical process. World history, from Toynbee's point of view, is a collection of histories of individual, unique, relatively closed civilizations, each of which goes through stages of emergence, growth, breakdown and decay in its development. The driving force behind the development of civilization is (according to Toynbee) the “creative minority”, which successfully responds to various historical challenges, captivates the “inert majority”. The death of civilization can be delayed through the rational politics of the ruling class.
In the understanding of P. Sorokin, civilization is a type of historical integrity (system), characterized by the unity of ideas, that is, the unity of ideas about the nature and essence of being, about the needs of subjects, ways and degree of their satisfaction.
The criterion for distinguishing between types of culture, its basis and foundation is the system of values (or truths) accepted in culture. Sorokin identifies three types of cultures:
1 Ideational, based on a system of values associated with ideas about the supersensibility and superreason of God. The goals and needs of this type of culture are spiritual, aimed at bringing people closer to God. This type characterizes the culture of Brahmin India, Buddhist culture and the culture of the Middle Ages.
2 Idealistic, covering supersensible, superrational, rational, sensory aspects, forming the unity of this infinite variety. Greek culture of the 5th–4th centuries. BC e., the culture of the XIII-XIV centuries in Western Europe were predominantly idealistic.
3 Sensual, which is based on the idea that objective reality and its meaning is sensual, for outside sensory reality or there is nothing, or there is something that we could not feel. Having become dominant since the 16th century, this type determined the features of modern culture.
And although these ideal models are not found in their pure form in the history of world culture, nevertheless, most cultures can be explained by referring them to one of the types.
Sorokin casts doubt on the thesis of the isolation of local civilizations and emphasizes the most important feature of their functioning, interconnection and interaction, as a result of which each historical era includes subcultural types. In civilizations, a system of values of previous periods of development is found, and new spiritual values are being developed for future stages.
Based on various approaches to understanding civilization, we can give the following definition. Civilization- this is a stable cultural and historical community of people, distinguished by a common spiritual and moral values and cultural traditions, similarities in material production and socio-political development, features of lifestyle and personality type, the presence of common ethnic characteristics and the corresponding geographical framework.
Compared to formations, civilizations are deeper and longer-lasting social communities in terms of their history. In modern conditions, such major civilizations as Western, Eastern European, Muslim, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Latin American are known.
Civilizations have two levels: regional and national (local). For example, French, German, North American and other national civilizations form Western civilization.
The formational and civilizational approaches to dividing the historical process should not be considered as mutually exclusive, but should be approached from the point of view of the principle of complementarity, conjugation. What is needed now is an integration approach that takes into account the progressive stage-by-stage progressive nature of the development of human history, its development in time, chronology, and at the same time all the multidimensionality, complexity, and uniqueness of individual cultures and civilizations.
Primary ancient civilizations arose in the Ancient East. Their homeland was the river valleys. In the III millennium BC. e. civilization arose in the Nile River valley in Egypt, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia. In the III-II millennium BC. e. in the valley of the Indus River, Indian civilization was born, in the II millennium BC. e. in the valley of the Yellow River - Chinese.
Around this time, the Hittite civilization was formed in Asia Minor, the Phoenician civilization in Western Asia, and the Hebrew civilization in Palestine. At the turn of the III-II millennium BC. e. in the south of the Balkan Peninsula, the Cretan-Mycenaean civilization appeared, from which the ancient Greek civilization grew. In I millennium BC. e. list ancient civilizations replenished: on the territory of Transcaucasia, the civilization of Urartu was formed, on the territory of Iran - the powerful civilization of the Persians, in Italy - the Roman civilization. The zone of civilizations covered not only the Old World, but also America, where in its central part (Mesoamerica) the civilizations of the Maya, Aztecs and Incas developed. However, here the development of civilization was noticeably delayed: it began only at the turn of our era.
Civilizations of the ancient world have a number of common features. This stage of human development is significantly different from subsequent eras. However, even then two large regions stand out - East and West, in which civilizational features begin to take shape, which determined their different fate in antiquity, and in the Middle Ages, and in modern times.
The following features are characteristic of the eastern ts and v i liz and ts and:
1) A high degree of human dependence on nature.
2) The dominance of religious and mythological ideas (the unity of man with natural and supernatural forces, absolute lack of freedom and complete dependence on the actions of cosmic laws) in spiritual life oriental man. The most common symbol of Eastern culture is "a man in a boat without oars." He testified that a person's life determines the course of the river, that is, nature, society, the state, therefore a person does not need oars.
3) Traditionalism, that is, traditional patterns of behavior and activities that accumulate the experience of ancestors. Hence - respect for the experience of older generations, the cult of ancestors. Eastern civilizations do not know the problem of "fathers and sons". There is a complete understanding of generations.
4) The principles of collectivism. Personal interests are subordinated to the general, state ones. The community team determined and controlled all aspects of human life.
5) Political despotism. A characteristic feature of Eastern despotism is the absolute predominance of the state over society. It regulates human relations in the family, society, state, forms ideals, tastes. The head of state (pharaoh, caliph) has full legislative and judicial power, is uncontrolled and irresponsible, appoints and dismisses officials, declares war, makes peace, exercises supreme command of the army, creates the highest court (by law and arbitrarily).
An important sign of Eastern despotism is the policy of coercion, terror. The main task of violence is to instill fear of the authorities. Fear of supreme power was combined with boundless faith in its bearers. The subjects tremble and believe at the same time. The tyrant in their eyes appears as a formidable defender of the people, punishing the evil and arbitrariness that reigns at all levels of the corrupt administration. However, despotic rule in its pure form did not exist in all countries of the Ancient East and not at all stages of development (in the states of Ancient Sumer there were elements of republican government; in Ancient India there was a Council of Royal Officials).
6) Public-state property (primarily land).
7) Complex hierarchical social system. The lowest level was occupied by slaves. But most of the population were farmers - community members. The pyramid of the state bureaucracy towered above the producers - tax collectors, overseers, scribes, priests, etc. The figure of the deified king crowned this pyramid.
8) The existence at the grassroots level of autonomous, self-governing collectives - rural communities, guild organizations, castes, sects and other corporations of a religious industrial nature. The elders of these groups acted as a link between the state apparatus and the bulk of the population. It was within the framework of these collectives that the place and possibilities of each person were determined; outside of them, the life of an individual was impossible.
9) The richest spiritual life, highly developed science and culture. The oldest writing systems arose here, the beginnings of modern world religions were born. In Palestine, the foundations of a new religion were formed, which in the Roman Empire was called Christianity. Significantly earlier than in Europe, printing appeared. The invention of paper in China was of great importance for the development of printing.
The Western type and vili lization represented the civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. The first great European civilization arose on the island of Crete. The civilization of the Bronze Age that arose on the island of Crete is called the Minoan after the name of King Minos.
TO specific features ancient society should include: 1) classical slavery; 2) the system of money circulation and the market; 3) the main form of the political organization of society - the policy (for Ancient Greece), the civil community (for Ancient Rome); 4) the concept of sovereignty and a democratic form of government (Ancient Greece and certain periods in the history of Ancient Rome); 5) the emergence of developed relations of private property (the ancient form of property); 6) development ethical standards and principles of morality, aesthetic ideals; 7) the main phenomena of ancient culture - philosophy and science, the main genres of literature, order architecture, sports.
Ancient states played prominent role in world history: for the first time in the field of economics, politics, culture, such relations were formed and developed, such concepts, concepts, ideas were formulated that formed the basis of European civilization.
For a more complete understanding of the peculiarities of the civilizational development of the East and West, it is necessary to pay attention to the difference between the Eastern community and the ancient Greek one. In this regard, it should be noted that the eastern community was characterized by extraordinary stability. For centuries, such a community has invariably preserved archaic farming technologies. The social structure also changed very slowly. State-communal property dominated. Private property had a subordinate character or was completely absent.
In ancient Greece, a community was called a polis. Each policy was an independent state. Most of the population of the policy were free citizens, which distinguished it from the eastern community. In the Greek policy, both economic and social changes took place very quickly, and private land ownership played an important role here.
It is known that in the states of the Ancient East, power was exercised, as a rule, in the form of despotism. Why did this form of power not spread in ancient Greece? To what extent can the power of the emperor of Ancient Rome be correlated with the power of the kings of the Ancient East? What made them different?
Answering these questions, it is necessary to understand that in the East the transition from primitive to civilization was accompanied by the development of irrigation agriculture. The creation of irrigation systems required the organization collective labor a large number people, the efforts of the whole country as a whole. It was difficult to keep the canal system in order. All these works could not be carried out without a rigid organization, without a strong centralized authority. As a result, in all ancient Eastern civilizations, a special form of the state, despotism, developed.
In ancient Greece, things were different. Here, in a somewhat modified form, the democratic system of government has been preserved since the days of military democracy. The power of the ruler has always been limited first by the council of the tribal nobility, and then by the elected bodies.
In the states of the Ancient East, the highest legislative, executive, military, judicial, and very often religious power was concentrated in the hands of the monarch. IN Ancient Rome emperors also wielded absolute power. However, paying tribute to strong republican traditions, they were forced to disguise their autocracy for a long time, while maintaining democratic governing bodies. The emperor bore the honorary title of Augustus, the first citizen; the Senate operated, which gradually lost its legislative functions; in the cities, curia continued to be elected - councils of city self-government.
Comparing the position of slaves in the East and in Ancient Greece and Rome, it should be noted that in the Ancient East the majority of the population were free peasants - community members. There were also slaves. But there were few of them. Slaves belonged to temples, kings, royal dignitaries, other noble and wealthy people. Slaves worked primarily as domestic servants, but also in handicrafts, construction, stone quarries, and other labor-intensive jobs. Slave labor was little used in agriculture.
There were many slaves in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. They produced the main products in agriculture, handicrafts, and construction.
In the East, a slave was seen as a worker who lost his freedom and temporarily belonged to his master. In ancient Greece and Rome, slaves were completely dependent on their masters.
Slavery in the Ancient East can be defined as "patriarchal". Here, the daily life of slaves was not much different from the life of the owner's family.
Slavery in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome is classified as classical. The position of slaves differed sharply from other segments of the population. It was under classical slavery that slaves were brutally exploited, had virtually no rights, and were wholly owned by slave owners.
Civilizational features can be traced in the development of the religions of the East and West. The ancient Egyptians imagined the gods as ordinary people or in the form of people who have the head of an animal, or in the form of animals. This feature is explained by the great dependence of ancient Egyptian society on the environment.
Despite the awareness of human dependence on external forces, the ancient Greeks believed in the power human mind. That is why they represented their gods in human form, with human weaknesses. In most ancient peoples, religions were polytheistic (many gods and goddesses), and only some peoples had monotheistic religions(with one god). Monotheistic religions include: ancient Jews - Judaism (one God Yahweh), Buddhism (Buddha), Christianity (God Jesus), Islam (Allah).
In ancient Egypt, Pharaoh Amenhotep IV attempted a religious reform. He adopted a new name - Akhenaten, banned all cults, except for the cult of the god of the solar disk Aten, built a new capital. However, his attempt to introduce monotheism was not successful, since new religion did not have a moral basis, first of all - charity and attractiveness.
revealing character traits Egyptian and Greek architecture, it is impossible not to notice that the temple architecture of Ancient Egypt was distinguished by its gigantic size and unusual luxury of interior decoration. The capitals (upper part) of the columns had a characteristic shape: they resembled a bundle of papyrus or lotus buds.
The temples of ancient Greece were not as large as the ancient Greek ones. The Greek column was proportionate to a man and looked like his figure. This is explained by the fact that in the worldview of the ancient Greeks, unlike the Egyptians, there was not such a big difference between gods and people. The ancient Greeks gave great importance appearance temple. Its individual parts were painted in different colors.
In ancient times, in the states of the East, great achievements were made in the field of mathematics, astronomy, medicine, however, as a science, they developed only in Ancient Greece. The scientists of Ancient Greece were in a more favorable situation than the scientists of the Ancient East: there was classical slavery, democratic norms of political and public life, there were a large number of states - policies. All this contributed to the emergence in ancient Greece of various philosophical schools(academies). The spirit of competition, free searches, doubts and knowledge led to a sustainable development of science for those times, a certain system of knowledge was formed. IN ancient Greek philosophy there was a new understanding of the role of man, his special value was emphasized.
Particular emphasis should be placed on the role of the Egyptian civilization, which laid the foundations of the entire European civilization. Greece, as the closest country to the Asian East, was the first to accept the achievements of the culture of the East and became the distributor of Eastern education in Europe. However, Greek society not only accumulated the achievements of ancient Eastern civilizations, but also achieved higher results in science, philosophy, literature, and fine arts.
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Page 1 of 4
Chapter 1. Phenomenon of the East: history of study and contemporary problems
Interest in the East today is enormous and, apparently, will grow. This interest is comprehensive and all-encompassing: history and culture, society and the state, man and religion (gods and people), finally, the ancient foundations of the great civilizations of the East - all this is now in the center of attention as the inhabitants of the countries of the East themselves, striving for self-knowledge and self-identification, to the discovery of the fundamental foundations of one's own existence, and even more so of representatives of a different, Western, European tradition, whose general parameters are so different from those of the East. This kind of general interest is far from accidental: the end of the 20th century. with its gloomy apocalyptic clouds hanging over the planet, it encourages many to become seriously interested in both existential problems (which awakens active attention to mysticism, and here the indisputable priority is for the ancient cultures and religions of the East), and the search for roots, primary sources. In addition, much in the modern world is closely connected with the East - suffice it to recall the phenomenon of developing countries with their most acute economic, demographic and sociocultural problems, the solutions to which have not yet been found. How and when these problems will be solved, what are the ways leading to their solution - all this worries and cannot but worry the world, the vast majority of whose population, growing both absolutely and relatively, lives precisely in developing countries, primarily in the countries of the East.
What is the East?
Europe and the East: two structures, two ways of development
History of the study of the East
The phenomenon of developing countries and the traditional East To
What is the East?
What is this - the East? The question is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. We are not talking about a geographical concept, but rather about a historical, cultural, sociopolitical, civilizational one... We are talking about a gigantic all-human wholeness, albeit in some ways very heterogeneous and contradictory, but still almost monolithically integral in its deepest basis - the very basis that , in fact, gave rise to the East-West dichotomy in its time. But how did this dichotomy come about, and what ultimately gave rise to it?
As you know, history begins in the East. The oldest centers of world civilization have their roots in the fertile valleys and foothills of the Middle East. It was here that the oldest social and political institutions arose and acquired stable forms, the totality of which determined the outlines of the earliest modifications of human society, and then the state. No wonder the ancient Romans, whose civilization was in many respects a subsidiary of the Middle East, respectfully said: “Ex Oriente lux” (“Light from the East”).
The Middle Eastern Mediterranean lands, which connect Africa with Eurasia by a narrow isthmus, for many hundreds of millennia were the natural crossroads bridge along which the oldest populations of hominids (prehumans), archanthropes and paleoanthropes moved, meeting and mixing with each other. The mixing of such populations and the resulting cross-breeding sharply accelerated the process of transformation of hominids, playing a significant role in the preparation of those favorable mutations that ultimately led to the emergence in this region of the world of a modern type of man - Homo sapiens. And although experts disagree on the question of whether the Middle Eastern zone of sapientation was the only one, there are good reasons to believe that it was here about forty millennia ago that the first sapient people appeared, whose migration to various regions of the ecumene with the displacement of the pre-sapient hominids that lived there and with crossbreeding with these latter served as the basis for the appearance in various regions of the globe of numerous racial types.
The first sapiens neoanthropes were mainly hunters and gatherers and moved after the animals that served them as food, the habitats of which changed depending on fluctuations in climate, from ice ages caused by geological cataclysms. At the same time, the Middle East-Mediterranean remained the most favorable zone for existence; it was here that the transition from the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) to the Neolithic began 10–12 millennia ago. The essence of the transition was reduced to the gradual settling of collectives of wandering hunters and gatherers in the forest-steppe regions of the Middle Eastern foothills (Palestine, Anatolia, Zagros, etc.) abundant in vegetation and game. The groups that settled here at first only hunted for small animals that lived in the mountains and collected wild plants, especially cereals. Later, they found a way to tame animals and domesticate some plants, which marked the beginning of cattle breeding and agriculture.
The transition from an appropriating economy (hunting, fishing, gathering) to a producing economy, that is, to regular food production, made at the turn of the Paleolithic and Neolithic, was called the Neolithic revolution in science (sometimes it is also called the agrarian revolution - a term less successful because of the impossibility avoid unnecessary coincidences and associations). This transition really played a truly revolutionary role in the history of mankind, so that in terms of the new opportunities and prospects that opened up for people, it can be put on a par with the industrial revolution of early European capitalism and modern scientific and technological revolution. Its essence is that a sedentary life with guaranteed food contributed to a sharp acceleration in the further development of production and culture, which, in turn, led to the flourishing of housing and economic construction, the production of diverse and high-quality stone tools (Neolithic tools), ceramic storage vessels and cooking, as well as the invention of spinning and weaving with the subsequent manufacture of various clothes. However, for history, those consequences that were caused by a revolution in production are of the greatest importance. Among them, attention should be paid to the two main and most important.
Firstly, the new conditions of a settled and food-sufficient life for farmers played an important role in a fundamental change in the entire way of life of a person who has acquired favorable opportunities for a guaranteed stable existence. An increase in the birth rate (an increase in the fertility of women) and the survival of children in the new conditions led to a sharp increase in the rate of population growth, due to which the process of migration and the spread of the achievements of the agricultural Neolithic noticeably intensified: the surplus population, sporadically settling outside their native village, quickly mastered new territories suitable for agriculture - first in the region of the fertile river valleys of the Middle East, then in other lands, including North Africa, the European Mediterranean, Iran and Central Asia, India and China. At the same time, the new subsidiary settlements, as a rule, retained the general stereotype of existence already developed by the early farmers, including the social-family and communal-clan organization, mythology, rituals, production skills and technology, etc. Of course, with time and depending on the circumstances in new habitats, all this underwent a certain transformation and was enriched with new elements of culture.
Secondly, the productive potential of the agricultural Neolithic turned out to be so significant that already in the early stages of the existence of agricultural communities - especially those that were located in the most fertile regions of the river valleys, in the optimal ecological conditions of the Middle East zone - there was an objective possibility of creating an excess product, due to which it was possible to support people exempted from food production, who performed various administrative functions. In other words, it was on the basis of the production possibilities that emerged as a result of the Neolithic revolution that the oldest centers of urban civilization eventually arose, with their characteristic supra-communal social structures and early forms of political administration.
So, the history of man, his producing economy, culture, as well as history in the full sense of the word, i.e. the history of human civilization - all this goes back to the Neolithic revolution that took place in the Middle East zone about 10 thousand years ago, not to mention about the fact that the sapiens man himself was formed in the same zone. This is truly Ex Oriente lux! It is worth adding to this that on the basis of the production capabilities of the agricultural Neolithic, the first proto-state structures known to science arose, the overwhelming majority of which, again, existed in the East, and not only in the Middle East.
It is important to note that before the era of antiquity, the same type of proto-state existed in Europe, in particular in Greece, starting from the Mycenaean period of its history. There is hardly any reason to doubt the Middle Eastern origins of the early European agricultural culture, as well as the parameters of its pre-antique statehood. For up to ancient Greece, appearing before the world most clearly from the pages of the Homeric epic, were characterized by approximately the same relations that existed in other early proto-states, in particular the eastern ones: communal ties dominated, there were petty rulers-leaders (Basileus, etc.), while private property relations were still undeveloped. Another thing is the times of antiquity. Actually, it was from the appearance in the second third of the 1st millennium BC. e. ancient Greece and the East-West dichotomy originates, for it was from that time that the Greeks began to feel and fix very noticeable differences in their way of life from the way of life of the civilized peoples of the East neighboring them, not to mention the uncivilized “barbarians”. What were these differences?
Answer: 3 |
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| 6. | Young scientists held a conference on the prospects for the development of domestic science, expressing the danger that low incomes, lack of material incentives to work, contribute to the "brain drain", the mass departure of young specialists abroad. This example can be used to illustrate the relationship between such areas of society as Answer: 2 |
| 7. | Traditional society is characterized Answer: 1 |
| 8. | Gradual transformations in society, involving an organic combination of the old with the new, are characteristic of Answer: 1 |
| 9. | Are the following judgments about social progress true? A. Social progress does not extend to relations between people and the moral qualities of people. B. Social progress includes the introduction of new technologies that make human labor easier and free up time for recreation and creativity. |
| 10. | Global environmental issues include Answer: 2 |
| 11. | Nomadic tribes invaded a rich and prosperous country from the north, ruining the systems of irrigated agriculture, cities, cutting off traditional trade routes. Cities and villages were deserted for many decades. This example illustrates such a form of social change as Answer: 3 |
| 12. | Are the following statements about society correct? A. Society is a complex dynamic system in which there are elements and subsystems that interact with each other. B. The development of society is influenced by the natural environment, natural conditions are able to promote or hinder social development. |
| 13. | To political global problems modern world applies Answer: 2 |
| 14. | Are the following statements about terrorism correct? And international terrorism is a powerful economic structure and is ahead of national states in the development of a network of interaction. B. International terrorism is a response to the aggressive intrusion of the values of the Western world into the rest of the world. |
| 15. | The processes of globalization are connected with Answer: 3 |
| 16. | With the help of such a criterion of social progress as the strengthening of the moral foundations of society, one can illustrate Answer: 3 |
| 17. | Three of the statements below are objective FACTS and one is Subjective opinion. Which statement is an opinion? Answer: 3 |
| 18. | Below is a list of social science concepts. Indicate which of them is the most particular, the narrowest in meaning. Answer: 4 |
Part B.
| 1. | Write down the missing word in the diagram: Form of social change - ______________________________ includes all incremental changes determines the vector of development of society from less perfect to more perfect one of the criteria is the improvement of the moral foundations of society Answer: progress (social progress) |
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| 2. | List the features that distinguish society from nature. Answer: 245 |
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| 3. | Read the text below with a number of words missing. The following most common indicators can be distinguished _______________ (1). From epoch to epoch there is an increase in labor productivity on the basis of the improvement of the means and organization of labor; which in turn entails the improvement of the workforce, brings to life new production skills and knowledge and changes the existing __________ (2). Simultaneously with the progress of the productive forces, there is an increase in the volume of scientific information. Science turns into a direct ___________(3) of society. Under the influence of progress in social production, social needs rise, as well as ways to satisfy them, lifestyle, culture and way of life are improved. The tendency of society to master the spontaneous forces of nature and to free people from the yoke of spontaneous social factors is increasing. There is ____________ (4) social life on a planetary scale, leading to the formation and functioning of ___________ (5) ideals, norms and values. Humanity is gradually turning into a single whole. But the main indicator and criterion of social progress is the expansion of freedom. Freedom is a person's ability to be active in accordance with his intentions, desires and interests, in the course of which he achieves his goals. Therefore, in order to determine whether a given stage in the development of society is more progressive than the previous one, it is necessary to find out how fully the essential features of ____________ (6) are realized in the lives of people in this society.
Answer: ZHVDBZG |
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| 4. | Establish a correspondence between the type of society and its characteristic features: for each position given in the first column, select the corresponding position from the second column.
Enter the answer you received in the table, and then transfer the resulting sequence of letters to the answer sheet (without spaces or other symbols).
Answer: BBAB |
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| 5. | List the features of a traditional society. Answer: 124 |
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| 6. | Read the text below, each position of which is numbered. Determine which provisions of the text are worn |
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Part C
Eastern civilizationIt is known that world history began from the East, it is he who is the center of civilization. The oldest social and political institutions arose and acquired stable forms here. No wonder the ancient Romans respectfully said: "Light - from the East."
What is the East? This is not a geographical, but a civilizational, historical and cultural concept. This is a gigantic human integrity, very heterogeneous and contradictory. It has some common features: the reproduction of established social cultures, the stability of lifestyle, the strict priority of religious and mythological ideas and canonized thinking styles, the dissolution of the individual in the team.
The East is first of all a traditional society and a traditional way of development. Where did this tradition come from, how and by whom was it established? According to Orientalists, the tradition was, firstly, borrowed from the cyclical nature of agricultural work, on which the prosperity of the first centers of civilization directly depended. Secondly, having taken shape in the first state formations, they tried in every possible way to oppose themselves to the barbarians and assert their priorities as decisive and extremely important.
The main cultural dominant here are myths, religious cults, rituals and ceremonies…
The most important element characterizing the East is "oriental despotism". Despotism as a form of power and the general structure of society arises where private property has no priority and the land belongs to the rural community. In order to organize intercommunal work, an authority is formed, which, gradually gaining strength, becomes despotic in relation to the community members. However, this power does not deprive the community of autonomy in solving its own problems. Deducting rent-tax to the state, the community lived on its own, and the community members were of little interest in who replaces whom at the top of the political pyramid. However, the state rulers and their servants were not interested in the joys and troubles of the peasants. The main thing is to receive the traditionally established rent-tax in time.
(E.I. Popov)
1. Based on the text, reveal the author's understanding of the Eastern civilization ("East"). Give four characteristics that distinguish Eastern society.
| | Points |
| elements:
Lifestyle stability; Rigid priority of religious and mythological ideas and canonized thinking styles; The dissolution of the individual in the team. | |
| An understanding of the essence of Eastern civilization is formulated, four signs are indicated | 2 |
| An understanding of the essence of Eastern civilization is formulated, one or three signs are indicated | 1 |
| An understanding of the essence of Eastern civilization is formulated OR one or two signs are indicated OR Wrong answer. | 0 |
| Maximum score | 2 |
2. What conditions for the formation of an oriental traditional society does the author cite, referring to oriental scholars? Give them based on the text and illustrate any of them with a concrete example.
| Content of the correct answer and instructions for scoring (Other formulations of the answer are allowed that do not distort its meaning) | Points |
| The correct answer must include the following: elements:
Secondly, the desire to oppose oneself to the barbarians and assert one's priorities as decisive and extremely important. 2) brought example, illustrating one of the signs, for example: The life of the ancient Egyptians was completely dependent on the floods of the Nile and the fertile silt caused by floods (the first sign); The ancient Greeks in every possible way emphasized their specialness and superiority in relation to other peoples, whom they considered savages, barbarians, and opposed themselves to other peoples (the second sign). | |
| Two conditions are specified, an example is given | 2 |
| Two conditions specified, no example provided | 1 |
| One OR condition specified Wrong answer. | 0 |
| Maximum score | 2 |
3. What does the author see as the most important element characterizing the East? What, according to the author, are the reasons for the formation of a special political organization in the East? (give two reasons). What are the specifics of relations between the state and the community in the East. Based on the knowledge of the course, give any sign of Eastern society, in addition to those indicated in the text.
| Content of the correct answer and instructions for scoring (Other formulations of the answer are allowed that do not distort its meaning) | Points |
| The correct answer should include elements:
The need to organize intercommunal work, contributing to the formation of a government body, which, gradually gaining strength, becomes despotic in relation to the community members.
Other additional features may be given. | |
| The most important element is indicated, two reasons, an additional feature is given | 3 |
| The most important element is indicated, two reasons, the sign is not given. | 2 |
| Critical element specified, one reason, OR element not specified, but two reasons given. | 1 |
| The most important element is indicated OR one reason is given OR Wrong answer | 0 |
| Maximum score | 3 |
4. The author emphasizes that myths, religious cults, rituals and rituals are the main cultural dominant of Eastern society. Explain the author's idea. Based on the courses of social science and history, give three specific examples illustrating the cultural heritage of Eastern civilization.
| Content of the correct answer and instructions for scoring (Other formulations of the answer are allowed that do not distort its meaning) | Points |
| The correct answer may include: elements:
Philosophy of Confucianism, created in ancient China; Spiritual foundations of Zoroastrianism, "Avesta", the most ancient holy book created in ancient Iran. Other explanations may be given, other examples given. | |
| An explanation is given, three examples are given. | 3 |
| An explanation is given, one or two examples are given OR an implicit explanation is given, but three examples are given. | 2 |
| An explanation is given OR an explanation is implicit, but two examples are given | 1 |
| One example is given OR Wrong answer. | 0 |
| Maximum score | 3 |
5. American political scientist Samuel Huntington noted that "traditional society is easier to destroy than to modernize." How is modernization understood by modern scientists? What problems of modernization of traditional societies does the author have in mind? Explain the author's words and give at least two problems.
| Content of the correct answer and instructions for scoring (Other formulations of the answer are allowed that do not distort its meaning) | Points |
| The correct answer must contain the following elements: 1) formulated concept of modernization For example :
2) indicated Problems, For example:
| |
| The concept of modernization is formulated, two problems are indicated. | 3 |
| The concept of modernization is formulated, one problem is indicated OR the concept of modernization is formulated implicitly, but two problems are given. | 2 |
| The concept of modernization is formulated OR one problem is indicated | 1 |
| The answer is incorrect. | 0 |
| Maximum score | 3 |
6. You are instructed to prepare a detailed answer on the topic "The problem of international terrorism as a global problem of our time". Make a plan according to which you will cover this topic.
| Correct Answer Content and Grading Instructions (Other formulations of the answer are allowed that do not distort its meaning) | Points |
| When analyzing the response, the following are taken into account: - the correctness of the wording of the points of the plan in terms of their relevance to the given topic and the clarity of expression of thought; - reflection in terms of the main aspects of the topic in a certain (adequate given topic) sequence. | |
| One of the options for the disclosure plan for this topic: 1) Threats and challenges of modern humanity. 2) International terrorism as a threat to the world community. 3) Features of terrorism at the present stage: a) supranational character; b) use of modern electronic networks and means. 4) Manifestations of terrorist activity. 5) Ways and methods of struggle of the world community against terrorists. Perhaps a different number and (or) other correct wording of the points of the plan. | |
| The wording of the points of the plan is correct. Together, the points of the plan cover the main issues of the topic. The structure of the response follows the complex type plan. | 2 |
| The wording of the points of the plan is correct. Certain issues relevant to this topic are omitted. The structure of the response follows the complex type plan. OR Some of the wording of the points of the plan is incorrect. Together, the points of the plan cover the main issues of the topic. The structure of the response follows the complex type plan. | 1 |
| The plan does not cover the proposed topic. OR The response structure does not match the complex type plan. | 0 |
| Maximum score | 2 |
7. Select one from the statements below and state your thoughts (your point of view, attitude) about the problem raised. Give the necessary arguments to justify your position.
When completing the task, use the knowledge gained during the study of the social science course, the relevant concepts, as well as the facts of social life and your own life experience:
Section 2 "Man, individual, personality"
5. Features of Eastern and Western cultures
Mankind, with all its extraordinary diversity, rushes between two cultural poles: East and West. Let's try to clarify these concepts.
It is known that world history began from the East, it is he who is the center of civilization. The oldest social and political institutions arose and acquired stable forms here. No wonder the ancient Romans respectfully said: "Light - from the East"
What is the East? This is not a geographical, but a civilizational, historical and cultural concept. This is a gigantic human integrity, very heterogeneous and contradictory. It has some common features: the reproduction of established social cultures, the stability of lifestyle, the strict priority of religious and mythological ideas and canonized thinking styles, the dissolution of the individual in the team.
The East is first of all a traditional society and a traditional way of development. Where did this tradition come from, how and by whom was it established? According to Orientalists, the tradition was, firstly, borrowed from the cyclical nature of agricultural work, on which the prosperity of the first centers of civilization directly depended. Secondly, having taken shape in the first state formations, they tried in every possible way to oppose themselves to the barbarians and assert their priorities as decisive and extremely important.
The main cultural dominant here are myths, religious cults, rituals and rituals.
There are few such civilizations. Of those actively functioning today and largely determining cultural traditions over a number of centuries, it is necessary to name the Arab-Islamic, Indo-Buddhist, Chinese-Confucian (12. Vol. 1. P. 26). Of course, within each of them there are many internal differences, but for all that, over the long centuries of its existence, each has created a stable system of values that expresses the specifics of the respective cultural types.
The most important element characterizing the East is "oriental despotism". Despotism as a form of power and the general structure of society arises where private property has no priority and the land belongs to the rural community. In order to organize intercommunal work, an authority is formed, which, gradually gaining strength, becomes despotic in relation to the community members. However, this power does not deprive the community of autonomy in solving its own problems. Deducting rent-tax to the state, the community lived on its own, and the community members were of little interest in who replaces whom at the top of the political pyramid. However, the state rulers and their servants were not interested in the joys and troubles of the peasants. The main thing is to receive the traditionally established rent-tax in time.
In Chinese culture, emphasis is placed on social ethics and the administratively regulated behavior of the inhabitants of the country. Religiously sanctioned ethics obligated the Chinese to look to the emperor as a caring father and strictly follow the traditional norms of community relations.
Tradition forbade sons to leave their father and mother and surrender to the love of their wife. Love is associated not with the freedom to choose a partner, but with a duty to parents, brothers and sisters. Chinese poets sing of friendship, the only form of communication in which a man remains free. There is nothing like the Biblical Song of Songs in their poetic treasury.
The ideology of China from the VI century BC. is Confucianism. “In the doctrine of Confucius there was no place for mysticism and irrationalism, ontology and cosmology, even for religion and mythology in general, for abstract metaphysical speculations. Even the Sky - the only metaphysical substance presented in the main Confucian treatise "Lunyu" - appears not as a deity, but as the supreme regulating and controlling principle. At the same time, emphasized rationalism, didactics, and a strong emphasis on social ethics should be considered characteristic features of Confucius's philosophy” (13, p. 51).
And in the Indo-Buddhist culture, private property did not play a special role, however, as well as in general in the Eastern tradition. It emphasizes the spiritual life of the individual, for whom liberation from the law of karma is the goal of life. The community strictly ensures that each member of the community harmoniously combines in his life the norms of kama (sensual attraction), dharma (moral law and order), artha (practical behavior) and moksha (liberation from samsara) Since the fate of each person is determined by karma, the ratio of good and unseemly affairs in the past reincarnation, insofar as his property status is not essential for this reincarnation, and he must take care not to do something that he will have to pay for in a future reincarnation. Focusing on the main value - moksha - the community member could count on liberation from tiresome trials in the world of samsara. Such a liberation is a rejection of the earthly "I", an egoistic attitude to life and a complete merger with absolute spirituality, indistinguishable in itself.
In the traditional Islamic society, the commitment of Muslims to the religious community and the strict observance of the instructions of the Koran are valued. Private property is recognized but limited. A fair amount of fanaticism and fatalism of the faithful is noticeable. “The deity in Islam is an absolute despot who, at his own will, created the world and people who are only blind tools in his hands, the only law of being for God is His arbitrariness, and for man - blind irresistible rock” (61. T. 1. C . 20).
Traditional civilizations have amazing vitality. Alexander the Great conquered the entire Middle East, founded a vast empire. After him, the system of Hellenic states remained. But the East digested both the Seleucids and the Ptolemies, and the magnificent culture of the ancient Greeks brought to the conquered countries, which, it would seem, was established there forever. One day everything returned to normal - to its eternal order.
Like a huge flurry, the troops of Genghis Khan passed through the countries of the East; later Tamerlane crushed empires and reshaped countries - and yet everything returned to its old places, the peoples continued to live in the old way, with their clans and communities. And they continued to worship the old gods, changing only the name.
The English historian Toynbee believes that religion is one of the characteristics of civilization and even determines it. Others argue that civilizations choose religion. The Middle East could not accept Christianity with its freedom of conscience and the responsibility of man for his deeds. But Islam, with its clear regulation of the life of the faithful, most fully meets the needs of the civilization of the Middle East.
Differences in worldview are very significant for the way of life of peoples. Traditional Eastern society appreciates the various information needed to organize everyday life, but is inhospitable to abstract theoretical studies. As a result, science developed in the East with difficulty. Modern natural science has not been formed either in China or in India, although both the Chinese and Indians have never been mentally retarded and have a number of outstanding discoveries and inventions to their credit.
It would be an unforgivable delusion to think that the East stood still. Albeit slowly, it has evolved. True, the dynamics of its development differed from the Western one. First, its development is cyclical, and the structure rejected those innovations that could threaten its stability. Secondly, in Europe the owner-owner was the engine of progress and the supporter of innovations. In the East, only those innovations were selected and reproduced that corresponded to the norms of corporate ethics and the interests of the state. These were innovations aimed at strengthening the effectiveness of power or the stability of the state.
In the East, a person's life is adjusted to the rituals of traditional culture most often without any respect and condescension towards him. There is a strict practice of total adaptation of the individual to the government, and not the government to the individual. Usually violence against a person in the name of an abstract ideal. The intrinsic value of human life and its personal originality mean nothing. Personality is replaced by a role, i.e. the place of a living personality is occupied by a class abstract scheme. Within its framework there is no room for personal will and personal action.
Directly opposite to the East character is, according to V. S. Solovyov, Western civilization. “Here we see rapid and uninterrupted development, free play of forces, independence and exclusive self-affirmation of all particular forms and individual elements” (61. T.1. C.23).
The term "West" is understood as a special type of civilized and cultural development, which was formed in Europe around the 15th - 17th centuries. The forerunners of this type were the culture of antiquity and the Christian tradition. It is in ancient culture that the philosophical and religious consciousness loses its monopoly, a system of rapid logical assimilation of knowledge arises. The forced connection of the individual with the tradition collapses, society loses a single system of values.
One of the most important factors that influenced the formation of Western civilization was ancient Greek philosophy. Only she formulated the idea of love for knowledge itself, unprecedented for its time. In it, it is not the impersonal Tao or Nirvana that acts as an absolute,* but Loyus, moreover, comprehended rationally through the comprehension of nature. This attitude to knowledge in the ancient Greek world is explained as follows. First, Greece played the role of an intermediary between different cultures. It was located at the junction of several original cultures (Cristo Mycenaean, Ancient Egyptian, Phoenician, Babylonian), and as a result could take advantage of the results of foreign achievements.
* Tao in Chinese philosophy is incomprehensible and inexpressible in words spirituality peace. Nirvana in the Hindu-Buddhist culture is understood as a state of detachment from being, eliminating the individuality of personal life and attaching the consciousness of the individual to the absolute.
Secondly, Greece is the birthplace of democratic orders and civil laws. The great reformer Solon sought the obligatory execution of the law by all citizens, regardless of their property, social or any other status, thereby contributing to the formation of a single legal field.
Thirdly, the Greeks infinitely appreciated in their way of life their dissimilarity to the environment and realized themselves through "argon", a style of life, thinking, which determines the craving for polemics, dialogue, the clash of opposing points of view, and hence the limitation of personal opinion by referring to supreme arbiter of reason. Let us recall the famous saying of Aristotle: "Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer."
The second factor that contributed to the formation of the Western type of culture was Christianity, where the Logos becomes God. It gave humanity a "personal" God, i.e. personality becomes the absolute beginning of the world. And since all people are individuals, they are all equally worthy of their personal participation in God, with whom they are connected by love. Serving God is associated primarily with work, which is considered and appreciated regardless of its specific form. “He who works hard grows in the eyes of God, even if his estate is despised, and his position is barely noticeable. The one who works negligently is a mob in the eyes of the Creator, even if he were a prince or the most prominent of lawyers” (54, p. 122).
Luther was the first in Christian culture to oppose work and idleness, reviving the well-known saying of the Apostle Paul: "He who does not work, let him not eat." The moral exaltation of labor and the condemnation of idleness prepared one of the most important guidelines for humanistic and democratic culture. The initial prerequisites for the cultivation of private entrepreneurial success and private property were created.
While science owes its origin to the ancient Greeks, modern technology has its roots in Christian faith into God the Creator. Only a culture based on belief in a transcendent God could demystify nature. Only such a culture could set itself the goal of conquering nature, forcing it to serve people; only such a culture allowed the development of attitudes, guided by which the monks became in the XII century. to block rivers with dams, using their energy for complex systems of water mills, and later Bacon expressed his famous position “Knowledge is power”. To see that knowledge is power, a very special point of view is needed, from which the object of knowledge appears in a purely instrumental capacity, a point of view unknown to all other cultures.
An equally important component that characterizes the spiritual life of the West is democracy. Democracy is a certain type of power opposed to those governments where one - be it a tyrant, a monarch or a Fuhrer - rules over all. In a democracy, there are representative bodies of power and the majority determines the domestic and foreign policy of the country.
Like any power, democracy contains a certain danger for the individual, subordinating it to the will of the majority. And if the interests of the individual, as well as the interests of the minority, are not protected, or even directly suppressed, sacrificed to the state, then such power develops into its opposite - totalitarianism, the absolute power of the majority over the minority, the collective over the individual, the general interest over the private and individual.
Against the dictates of the majority western culture developed a system of legal norms that provides the individual with autonomy, protects him from state arbitrariness. The rule of law has its origin in people's hope for equality of opportunity, for relative freedom in their individual life.
But the achievements of Western culture are not absolute. Technological, economic and legal rationalism do not coexist badly with moral faith in the good. Private entrepreneurial activity, tough competition sharply limit the scope of compassion and mercy, deform the moral principles of brotherhood and respect for every individual.
It is no coincidence that it was Western European culture that gave rise to social Darwinism with its dismissive attitude towards the peoples of Asia and Africa, the cults of violence and technology, two world wars and aggressive campaigns against non-European peoples. “Today Europe is strong and powerful, and Europeans consider themselves the most civilized and cultured in the world,” wrote J. Nehru. “Europeans look down on Asia and its peoples, they come and seize everything they can in the countries of Asia” (47, vol. 1, p. 40).
And in relation to nature in the system of Western culture there is no place for reverence for life.
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