A compact and easily read examina¬ tion of some of the leading modern philosophies and theories of history, in an attempt to help towards an understanding of the acute problems of our own age. Professor Sorokin, founder of the Department of Sociology at Harvard, in this most recent of his published works, explains the basic ideas of a number of modern philosophers, among them Danilevsky, Spengler, Toynbee, Berdyaev, Northrop, and Schweitzer. He analyses the points at which they agree or disagree, and draws from them their contribution to a deeper and more valid understanding of man and his destiny, at a time of unsettlement, insecurity and social upheaval.
Author(s): Pitirim A. Sorokin
Publisher: Adam and Charles Black
Year: 1952
Language: English
Pages: xii+345
City: London
Acknowledgments, vii
PART ONE
Outline of Modern Social Philosophies
I. Man’s Reflection on Man’s Destiny in an Age
of Crisis, 3
II. Aesthetic Interpretations of History, 10
1. Theories of W. M. F. Petrie, Paul Ligeti, and others. 2. Theories of Waldemar Deonna, Frank Chambers, Charles Lalo, and others. 3. Sensate, Ideational, Idealistic, and Eclectic art. 4. Conclusion.
III. Nikolai Danilevsky, 49
IV. Oswald Spengler, 72
V. Arnold J. Toynbee, 113
VI. Walter Schubart, 121
VII. Nikolai Berdyaev, 137
VIII. F. S. C. Northrop, 145
IX. Alfred L. Kroeber, 159
X. Albert Schweitzer, 176
PART TWO
Comparative Critical Analysis of Modern Social Philosophies
XI. Bases of Criticism: Cultural Systems, Supersystems, and Congeries, 187
1. Componential structure of cultural phenomena. 2. Ideological, behavioral, and material cultures of individuals and groups. 3. Main forms of interconnection of sociocultural phenomena. 4. Main cultural systems and supersystems. 5. Cultural and social systems (or organized groups).
XII. Critical Examination pf the Theories of Danilevsky, Spengler, and Toynbee 205
1. Are civilizations cultural congeries or unified sys¬ tems? 2. The fatal error. 3. What is not integrated cannot disintegrate; what is not born cannot grow and die. 4. Longevity and death of cultures or civilizations. 5. Longevity of cultural systems. 6.The birth of civilizations. 7. Factors in creativity. 8. Growth and disintegration of civilizations. 9. The fallacy of one life-and-creativity cycle of a civilization. 10. The fallacy of one specific creativity of a civilization. 11. Shift of centers of creativity.
XIII. Critical Examination of the Theories of Northrop, Kroeber, Schubart, Berdyaev, and Schweitzer, 244
1. Northrop’s “theoretic” and “aesthetic” categories. 2. Ambiguity in Northrop’s view of dependence of philosophy on science. 3. Criticism of Kroeber’s theory. 4. Critical remarks on theories of Schu¬ bart, Berdyaev, and Schweitzer.
PART THREE
Towards a Valid Social Philosophy
XIV. Areas of Agreement among Modern Social Philosophies 275
1. The civilization or cultural supersystem. 2. Rejection of the linear conception of historical processes. 3. Similarities between “phases” of civilization and prototypes or supersystems of culture.
4. The temporal sequence of “phases” and prototypes. 5. The crisis of our age and the coming new culture. 6. The decisive role of immanent factors.
7. The mobility and diffusion of cultural phenomena.
8. The transmissibility of cultures or civilizations.
9. The sociology of knowledge. 10. Integral cognition and epistemic correlation. 11. Similarities between Kroeber’s and Sorokin’s findings. 12. Significance of ethical values. 13. Significance of art-forms and their rhythms.
XV. The Importance of Social Philosophy in an Age of Crisis, 321
Notes, 323
Index, 342
