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Alexander N. Chumakov |
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Metaphysics
of globalization: |
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Cultural
and civilizational context |
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1st edition |
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Contents
Author’s
Preface
Introduction
Methodological preamble 1. On
specifying terms 2. On methods and principles of
research Chapter
I. historical process categorized
as “culture”, “civilization” and “globalization” 1.
Social development as a subject matter of a theoretical study 2.
The holism of historical process: philosophical aspect 3.
Systemic approach to understanding social processes 4.
Global evolutionism 5.
Unity and interdependence of
«culture», «civilization» and «globalization» 6.
Synthetic vision of history Chapter II. culture
as a phenomenon and method of describing social reality 1.
Culture as a general characteristics of society 2.
Etymology of the term “culture” 3.
The idea of culture: in search of meaning 4. The
universal and unique features of culture 5.
The basic functions of culture 6.
Statics and dynamics of the cultural complex 7.
Bearers and fundamental components of culture 8.
The nature of cultural diversity 9.
Spiritual and material aspects of culture 10. Mass and elite cultures as products
of globalization 11. Dialog and conflict of cultures
in the global world 12. Globalization of culture 13. The phenomenon of universal
culture 14. Value and ethical components of
the global world 15. Historical process in the
context of culture 16. Culture as a method of
reflecting and understanding social reality Chapter III. civilization
as a phenomenon and method of describing social ties 1.
Civilization as a general characteristics of society 2.
Etymology of the term 3.
Meaning and evolution of the term «civilization» 4. Civilizations
systematized 5.
Civilization as a form or external frame of culture 6.
Civilizational unity of countries and peoples of the world 7.
Historical types of civilizational development 8.
Local and regional civilizations 9.
From local and regional civilizations to the global one 10. The emergence of the global
civilization 11. The global civilization as
reality 12. Historical process in the
context of civilizational development Chapter IV. Cultural and civilizational systems 1.
Culture and civilization in their unity and diversity 2.
Genesis of cultural and civilizational ties 3.
Cultural and civilizational systems
4.
Ecumenes as regional manifestation of the unity of culture and
civilization 5.
Cultural and civilizational conglomerates 6.
Historical types of cultural and civilizational systems 7.
Universal unity of the world community 8.
Cultural and civilizational dimension of the modern world Chapter V. globalization of Cultural and civilizational systems 1. Globalization
as the third dimension of the world sociosystem
2. Dynamics
of globalization 3. Fundamental
principles of natural sciences applied to society 4. The
formation of a new reality. 5. Cultural and civilizational
systems in the context of globalization 6. Metasystem
«culture – civilization – globalization». 7. On
the way to the global society (instead of the Conclusion) Sources Index Summary Contents Alexander N. Chumakov
Metaphysics of
globalization: Cultural and civilizational
context ___________ SUMMARY
The monograph is an important part of the general globalization theory
that continues a fundamental study initiated by the author in his book
“Globalization: the contour of the holistic world”[1][1]. While in the first book globalization is represented as a
self-sufficient and objective historical process, progressing in accordance
with its own patterns and the logic of local, regional and global social
changes, now it appears to be one of the most important characteristics of
the world sociosystem allowing to understand this system in its dynamics
taking into consideration transformation of its inner contents (culture)
and changes of its forms (civilization). Culture, civilization and globalization analyzed as
tightly connected and fundamental characteristics of various social systems
and world community as a whole are in the center of the study. The book, written in exciting and understandable
manner clearly demonstrates how thanks to objective reasons global problems
of modernity have penetrated economic, political and spiritual life of
various nations and how their cultural and civilizational development has
become part of the spiraling multiaspect globalization. Step by step the
reader may see the logic and certain consequence of historic events when
civilizational ties that engender separated focuses of civilization
emerge and enhance as a result of progressive development and perfection of culture.
Finally, civilizational development had led to globalization that, in
its turn, gave birth to the global problems of modernity in the second
half of the 20th century. Using systemic
approach to understanding social processes and leaning upon the newest
scientific and philosophical achievements in this sphere, the author
concludes that a linear and plane world in the 20th century has
been finally replaced with a multi-dimensional world. The world
understood this way is represented as a complex fractal, consisting of
separated cultural and civilizational systems where relations between culture
and civilization are defined by such principles as subsidiarity and
uncertainty. From this viewpoint culture and civilization are thought to be
an inseparable unity when something related to culture can be at the same
time analyzed as related to civilization, and vice versa. At the same time,
attempts to define culture more precisely make the definition of civilization
less clear; clearer definition of civilization makes the definition of
civilization less precise. The approach to
understanding cultural and civilizational systems suggested in the book
allows to study separated societies and humanity as a whole not only in one
or two dimensions, as within contemporary cultural or civilizational
approach, but “multi-dimensionally” – in three planes at the same time: from
the viewpoint of culture, civilization and globalization. The author
demonstrates that the tightest connection of mutually defining terms
“culture”, “civilization” and “globalization” (and, what is more important,
of those phenomena that exist behind them) is still not enough recognized and
researched. In this volume the issues in question are focused on while
interdependence and mutual support of culture, civilization and globalization
are being formulated as a research problem to be resolved. The author stresses
that not only at the level of everyday thinking, but among professionals more
and more people regret that globalization has destructive impact on culture,
ruins its traditional forms, “levels”, “depersonalizes” or even “wipes out”
its originality and specific features. At the same time,
“civilization” understood mostly as “Western”, “technogenic” civilization is
often proclaimed to be the one to blame for globalization and it-engendered
problems. It is blamed for excessive dynamism and aggression, soulless
mechanism and expansionist aspirations, environmental degradation and, last
but not least, unification of values and destruction of “human nature”. In
the other words, civilization is thought to have destructive and demonic
nature and to be the engine of destructive forces of globalization. Culture,
in its turn, is seen as something passive, a phenomenon, threatened by
globalization and forcefully changed by it through destruction of cultural
basics. Culture, civilization and globalization are usually analyzed as separated, self-sufficient phenomena, being mostly in a situation of serious contradiction and confrontation, which need to be removed through building obstacles in the way of “soulless technogenic civilization” and fighting globalization mercilessly. The volume emphasizes that such, according to the author’s opinion,
mistaken positions ground many popular and non-constructive neo-Russoist
claims, such as “to protect nature”, “to preserve culture”, “to change the
type of civilizational development”, “to restrain globalization”, “to resolve
global problems finally”, etc. This philosophical platform becomes the basis
for isolationism and non-cosmopolitism, for straight-out struggle to protect
“national interests”, for mass protest movements, such as “antiglobalists”,
“alterglobalists” and so on. The
author suggests that one of the reasons for this is the fact that absolute
majority of people consider modern world to be linear and plain. But by the
end of the last century it has finally become non-linear and
multi-dimensional. Nevertheless, we try to understand, to explain, to
describe this new, changed world using customary but old-fashioned terms and
ideas. The author specially stresses that the volume is not a special study
in cultural or civilizational history. It does not aim at building a new
system of periodization or a scheme of historical process in the context of
globalization, as it may look like. Its central purpose is to combine in the
framework of a single approach towards history and modernity three components
or, in the other words, three dimensions: culture, civilization and
globalization. These terms have emerged long ago and are actively used by
social sciences but separately; they still are not taken as a whole in one
context, inseparably, holistically, according to subsidiarity principle. The
time for such approach has come because cultural and civilizational approaches
have nearly lost their heuristic value and are now in a vicious circle of
finding new ways of being applied to understanding social processes. The thought that people will sooner or later have to change their
vision of the world if they want to cope with global problems they encounter
is the leitmotif of the book. Our idea of the world should change in
accordance with the changes of the world itself. For example, as a result of
the “Copernican turn” our ideas regarding the position of our planet in outer
space have changed. Now global studies face a necessity to have a new look at
the apparently unshakable prepositions and to rethink some established
concepts typical for both everyday and research language but being already
backward and non-adequate to the rapidly changing modern world. The book tackles many philosophical, humanitarian, historic problems
and will be useful for researchers and specialists, providing valuable and
topical information for teachers and students. It will also attract attention
of the general reader interested in world problems of modernity and the
future of globalization. Website:
www.globalistika.ru Email: chumakov@logic.ru |
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[1][1]
Alexander N. Chumakov. Globalization: outline of the holistic world –