Lecture 18

Philosophy of history.

1. History as an object of philosophical research: historical development of the circle of problems. The meaning of history.

2. Coincidence of evolutional and revolution principles in the development of mankind’s civilization.

3. The role and significance of masses of people and personalities in history development.

Basic concepts and categories:

Philosophy of history - a constituent part of social philosophy which is interested in the analysis and interpretation of historical process and historical cognition.

History – the processes of reality that arises and develops as a specific part of cosmic processes, as it is connected with men’s conscious activity and their conscious realization of life-being as a whole. History develops in accelerated tempo constantly extending the sphere of its forms and possibilities, hence it is manifested as the space where human creates and realizes his freedom, his essential forces.

Meaning of history – understanding history as a process directed towards some definite strategic goal, the process in which man can realize his essence – that is his theoretical and practical faculties.

Progress – development of social system from the elementary towards the complex, more perfect, more finely organized, towards a richer potential and greater informational volume.

Regress – “reverse development” that leads to decay, to degradation, from the higher to the lower level.

Revolution – means a qualitative change, the radical turn in a social system that provides progressive development.

Evolution – means gradual changes in the course of social life and in nature that do not change the system as a whole.

Historical personality – is a philosophical characteristic of a personality meaning that his being purport and practical activity are directed towards the development of historical process

Personality’s role in history – means correlation of personality’s being purport with fundamental meaning of history; person’s subjective freedom with objective necessity of life.

Investigating any social phenomenon one can realize its essence and place in the development of history only by analyzing its inseparable links with society as a whole during all historical process. Puzzling over the world history man

wonders whether there is any sense and goal in historical development, what direction history is moving to, and if there is any meaning of history. All these

questions are answered by philosophy of history, a constituent part of social philosophy which is interested in the analysis and interpretation of historical process and historical cognition. As the object of investigation of philosophy of history mankind’s historical process is subjected to philosophical comprehension and philosophical reflexion. The basic problems of philosophy of history are as the following: the meaning of history; direction of historical process; motive forces of history; the role and significance of masses of people and personality in history.

The term of “philosophy of history” was initiated by A. Voltaire in the XVIII century. And it was J.G. Herder who made it a part of European terminology after having edited his work “Ideas as for mankind’s philosophy of history” and G. Hegel who delivered lectures on philosophy of history in Berlin University. Nevertheless comprehension of history as a specific sphere of reality took place at all stages of the development of philosophical thought.

Does historical process have its own qualitative specificity?

History is a part of universal natural-cosmic process (Antique philosophy, Medieval philosophy, partially Renaissance philosophy);

History has its own specificity and in some definite aspects is different from natural-cosmic processes (Modern Ages philosophy, German classic philosophy);

History is the sphere of realization of human essential properties or possibilities of human nature (partially philosophy of Renaissance and Modern ages and non-classical philosophy)

What is the direction of human history?

There are different approaches to understanding the object and the circle of problems of philosophy of history as it has been constantly changing up to present day and even now representatives of various philosophical trends consider historical process and its direction in a different way.

Antique philosophy added human history to universal cosmic rotation. History was moved by supernatural forces though people, as Thucydides stated, played a significant role in history. Antique philosophers Herodotus, Plato, Thucydides, Aristotle, Plutarch and others regarded history as an interaction of man and nature; they described historical events beyond their theoretical systematization and without elaborating an integral philosophical-historical system. Historical development was thought as an exclusive circle with infinite cyclical returns to the same point. Historical events were never compared and

evaluated, sometimes they were opposed as “perfect-imperfect”, “higher-lower” (Empedocles). Ancient Greeks thought that history started in some indefinite time and moved unchangingly in unknown direction.

In the Middle Ages, on the contrary, natural processes were subjected to human history, the central idea of which was God and man relationship. History was strictly directed within the frame of several important events: transgression of protohumans Adam and Eva, First coming of Jesus Christ as the central historical event, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Second coming of Christ and his Last judgment meaning Apocalypses of human history. History acquired linear and progressive way of development, it was regarded as realization of God’s Will, the providence; providentialism was meant as the basic philosophical principle.

In the epoch of Renaissance history was thought as a sphere where human strength was tried. The idea of cyclic character of development was set forth, each rising in history being accompanied by decline, and each decline – by rising. The amplitude of such cycles was constantly growing: the deeper decay – the higher rising. The meaning of history and its motive forces were found in Earthly natural being, in individual’s being in particular. Man as he is appeared in the focus of philosophy of history.

In Modern Ages the problems of history directedness, the human role (both of individuals and classes) in historical process, the idea of social laws became the object of philosophy of history investigations. Fr.Bacon, Th.Hobbes, O.Thierry, O.Mignet and others stated that society should correspond to both the world and human nature; man should be able to realize his aims and achieve his ideals.

One of the first attempts to create a theoretically based periodization of mankind’s history was made by Italian philosopher Giambattista Vico.

He thought that all the nations are subjected to a common law and have to take the same way of development. They go through three epochs in their development - divine, heroic and human which correspond to primitive barbarism, feudalism and civilization (epoch of state, towns, juridical laws). Every cycle finally comes to general decay and then destruction of the given society. But what would be then? The end of history? No, a new cycle begins but this time at the higher level of development.

The existence of cycles in nature and society has attracted attention of philosophers and scientists since ancient times. Thus in ancient Chinese "Book of Changes" the World processes was described as repetitive interchange of situations that were born from the interaction of light and darkness. Vico’s ideas are also intrinsic to cyclic theories of culture and civilizations of M.Danilevsky, O.Spengler and A.Toynbee.

I. Herder brought some novelty into philosophy of history. He suggested that “philosophy is pluralistic”. Every culture develops independently as a variant of historical process and it should be evaluated according to its own inner criteria. The development of every culture is but one of the possibilities of mankind’s historical development. Herder also considered that people and nations who have the right for sovereignty are the motive forces of historical process.

F. Shelling underlined the essential difference between natural history and social one claiming that history has its own quality that makes it peculiar as for nature and human manifestations.

Innovative ideas in understanding the peculiar character of social development though on idealistic base was created by G. Hegel.

He regarded history as a single natural process, in which every epoch is unique and an inimitable one but at the same time it is the subsequent stage in mankind’s development. This process is different from natural regularity for historical laws are realized through people’s conscious activity; nevertheless there is some definite objective logic in history so historical process is just infinite unfolding of its inner opposites and self-development of World Reason, of Absolute Idea. The World history is the progress in understanding freedom that is carried out through man. Hegel worked out the spiral-like theory of development.

K. Marx and F. Engels made a great contribution into philosophy of history by creating the concept of materialistic understanding of history. They stressed the role of material production as primary condition of social existence; in the final analysis material production is the main motive force in historical process; people themselves create their own history but in accordance with the objective laws of its development.

In the XIX –XX century’s new conceptions of historical process appeared: gnoseological (W.Dilthey, R.Collingwood and R.Aron; ontological

(R.Mell, R.Ramon, E. Kallo); axiological (W.Windelband, H.Rickert) and technological (D.Bell, O.Toffler, Z.Bzhezingsky, J.Gelbrait).

Gnoseological approach was formed in the second half of the XIX century; the founder was German philosopher of culture W.Dilthey, who identified life as a mode of human being and history. He did not believe that objective scientific awareness of historical process is possible, for people estimate historical events on the base of their own values and viewpoints. Gnoseological approach is also often called “critical philosophy of history” as the representatives of this school dealt with methodological problems of historical cognition;, they researched the specific character of human history. French philosopher R.Aron is considered to be the founder of this brunch.

The representatives of Ontological approach insist that there are ontological problems that is: mankind’s meaning and development, the essence of historical process, the possibilities to predict future, man’s role and place in historical process etc., that should be focused in the philosophy of history.

In Axiological approach philosophy of history is thought as the theory of values that exposes the nature and the essence of values and also the ways of carrying them out into human being and activity. The representatives of Baden school W.Windelband and H.Rickert, who initiated and developed this theory, regarded values to have suprahistorical character; these values form an ideal independent of people world. Having realized the meaning and the essence of values people are guided by them in their practical life. Windelband and Rickert insisted on the primacy of spiritual being over material.

Technological approach in contemporary West philosophy of history lends greater importance to technique regarding it a decisive factor in social life and progress. The authors of the theories of “postindustrial society”, “informational society” etc. D.Bell, O.Toffler, Z.Bzhezinsky and others stated that

industrialization alone is capable to rationally regulate and master society’s and human being. Microelectronic revolution which is being developed in postindustrial society makes information the fundamental social factor in historical progress.

In the XIX-XX centuries a new polylinear civilization-culturological approach appeared, the basic idea being the existence of great number of

cultures and civilizations, their local character and various essences. Its proponents M.Danilevsky, O. Spengler and A.Toynbee insisted that each

culture develops as an independent organism and they rejected monolinear scheme of social progress.

K. Jaspers, German existentialist philosopher has got an interesting viewpoint as for the problem of mankind’s history directedness. He explains the meaning of history, the structure and forms of its development with the help of so called “axial time” which is a kind of “pivot” of historical process directedness that runs throughout all types of cultures. Axial time is a special synthesis of material and spiritual culture in their universal meanings.

A.Toynbee’s idea of civilization fracture and its influence upon society’s spiritual being is rather suggestive in modern philosophy of history researches.