Sociocultural dynamics in brief. Sociocultural dynamics: conceptual and fundamental meanings

Topic 11. SOCIODYNAMICS OF CULTURE

1. Models (forms) of cultural dynamics

2. Types of Culture Dynamics

3. Mechanisms of cultural dynamics

4. Factors of cultural dynamics

1. Models (forms) of cultural dynamics

Culture cannot exist without updating; it is always a unity of tradition and innovation. Within the framework of evolutionism of the 19th century. the first ones appeared scientific ideas O cultural dynamics. Scientists spoke about the programmed progressive complication of culture. They believed that all cultural changes must represent a movement from simple to complex.

Since the 20th century. Changes mean not only development, but also any transformations within a culture, for example crises, a return to the old, complete disappearance; they are beginning to talk about the transformation of cultural forms, which can be stable and unstable, leading to development or crisis.

In line with the structural-functional approach, the main attention began to be paid to the phenomena of culture as whole system, the elements of which are interconnected. At the same time, questions were raised about the sources and causes of cultural change.

A milestone for the analysis of the issue of cultural changes was P. Sorokin’s book “Social and Cultural Dynamics” (1937-1941), where the term “cultural dynamics” was first introduced into scientific circulation. Today under

cultural dynamics understand any change in culture, sustainable

the order of interaction of its constituent components, its periodicity, stages, direction towards some state.

A range of issues related to the dynamics of culture gradually emerged - types and forms (models) of cultural change, determinants and mechanisms of cultural dynamics.

IN history and culture, changes have a fixed sequence of stages or states; their continuity and periodicity can exist in two “pure” forms:

in the form of a time circle (cycle), which is a repeating sequence of certain phases or states;

in the form of an evolutionary process, which consists of a consistent irreversible increase in the level of complexity and organization cultural systems.

The real course of world history shows us several more cultural models.

Cyclic model. Originated back in ancient world, within the framework of mythological models of the world in China, India and Ancient Greece. They were based on the idea of ​​the eternal cycle of events, the periodic repetition of phenomena in nature and culture.

The first systematic presentation of this model of cultural dynamics belongs to Hesiod and other ancient thinkers. According to his views, the entire history of mankind is divided into four eras, or centuries

- gold, silver, copper and iron - and represents movement in time, which is understood as eternity. The meaning of history is the constant repetition of general laws. The further a society moves from the golden age, the more it deviates from the original ideal model of the archetype. Culture was understood as a set of moral norms, the nature of power, connections between generations, and a way of assimilating cultural values. In the golden age, man became like the gods, love and equality reigned in the world, man received everything for life directly from nature, including the knowledge that he possessed from birth. Man came to the Iron Age with complete oblivion of moral regulators, war of all against all, loss of communication between generations, loss of harmony with nature. Development ends with a cultural crisis caused by the rebellion of nature against man. The crisis could not be considered a completely negative phenomenon, since it did not lead to the final collapse of culture, it returned it to the starting point from which a new development cycle began. Such cycles were repeated endlessly.

Inversion is a variant of the cyclical model of cultural dynamics, when changes do not go in a circle, but perform pendulum swings from one pole cultural meanings to another. Changes of this kind occur when a culture has not developed a strong core or structure. Therefore, the lower the degree of stability of a society, the sharper the turns in its spiritual or political life: from strict normativity to laxity of morals, from wordless obedience to merciless rebellion.

An inversion wave can cover a variety of periods - from several years to several centuries (in the Roman Empire, this was the transition from paganism to monotheism, accompanied by the eradication of previous cults). Inversion leads to the destruction of the previously accumulated positive heritage, which causes a revival (or restoration) of the past (the European Renaissance led to the restoration of ancient pagan culture, those values ​​that were denied by the Christian Church for many centuries). The 20th century demonstrated a transition from religion to atheism in Russia. At the end of the century the pendulum swung to reverse side, and we see a revival of interest in religion, both among the people and on the part of the state.

The idea of ​​cyclicity received an interesting development in works of Yu.M. Lotman. In his book “Culture and Explosion” the main form of dynamics

culture is called inversion, a transition from one pole of cultural meanings

To to another - both continuous and in the form of an explosion, the unpredictable emergence of something new in science and art.

Modern domestic culturologist Yu.V. Yakovets understands the cycle as the time from the revolutionary revolution, which marks the birth of a new historical system, to the next revolution, which approves the new system. Moreover, the course of history is a spiral. The pendulum never ends up at the same point twice, but oscillates in similar phases. Yakovets identified five phases in the development of civilization:

1. The origin, the formation of the initial elements of a new civilization in the depths of the old one is a long period when the development of a civilization that has not yet manifested itself on the historical stage takes place; this is her backstory.

2. Formation – the period from the emergence of a society that has declared itself to be a social upheaval and the formation of its main elements. This is the beginning of history, the rapid growth of the born civilization.

3. Maturity - civilization fully realizes its potential in all spheres of culture, but its inherent contradictions and limits of possibilities make themselves felt.

4. Decline - within a still powerful civilization, a new civilization is already emerging, experiencing a period of formation.

5. Relict phase, when fragments of a bygone civilization are preserved in certain peripheral regions.

Yakovets’ concept considers not only the model of development of civilizations (microdynamics of culture), but also of all humanity as a whole (macrodynamics of culture). In his opinion, the path of development of society and culture combines irreversible evolution, a progressive transition from the stage

To stages, with reversibility in wave-spiral form of movement, periodic alternation of phases of rise, stabilization, crisis, depression, revival and a new rise of culture. This rhythm is specific to each element of culture, each country, but together it forms a general symphony of the evolution of humanity, its movement from the turn

To turn of the historical spiral.

Concepts of local civilizations N.Ya. Danilevsky, O. Spengler,

A. Toynbee – variants of the cyclic model of cultural dynamics. Denying the concept of world history as a single historical process, they put forward the idea of ​​the development of individual peoples and cultures, occurring according to cyclical laws. The development of individual civilizations can occur either sequentially or in parallel. The form of development is the same for everyone, but the content is unique for each culture. The development of local civilizations goes through the stages of emergence, development, prosperity and decline - a return to their original state.

Linear model of cultural dynamics. With the emergence of Christianity

ancestry, the emergence of a linear (evolutionary) model of cultural dynamics is associated with the comprehension of its ideas within the framework of theology. It is based on one of the fundamental paradigms of Christianity - the arrow of time,

unlocking eternity, introducing the concepts of the beginning and end of history - from the creation of the world to the Last Judgment and the end of the world. Within the framework of this model, the problems of progress in history and culture were posed for the first time.

This model actively developed within the framework of the French and German Enlightenment (A. Condorcet, I. Herder), German classical philosophy (I. Kant, G. Hegel), in Marxism, in the evolutionism of social and cultural anthropology (E. Tylor, D. Frazer , L. Morgan), as well as in the neo-evolutionist direction of cultural studies (L. White, K. Kluckhohn).

The linear model can take on a variety of forms, depending on what is recognized as the source and goal of the development of society and culture. Thus, in Kant it is the development of man himself, in Hegel it is the self-development of the absolute spirit, in Marxism it is the development of material production. From all representatives of this trend, several fundamental ideas can be identified. The main one – the idea of ​​the unity of the human race – leads to the recognition of the uniformity of cultural development in any part of the world. This single world culture develops from a lower, simplest state to a more complex, higher level, passing through a continuous series of successive stages, each of which is more perfect than the previous one.

An important element of linear concepts is the concept of progress

– quantitative and qualitative improvement of human life and society. Depending on the concepts of the mechanism of cultural development, its goals and means, one or another criterion of progress is introduced. Thus, for Hegel, the criterion for the progressive development of history and culture, or the self-development of the absolute spirit, is the consciousness of freedom. In Marxism, progress is understood as the correspondence of productive forces and production relations in the process historical development. For L. White, who considers the development of culture to be a process of conquering natural forces, the criterion of progress is the increase in the amount of energy spent per year per capita.

Reversible model is a variant of the linear (evolutionary) model of cultural dynamics, which uses some value determinants of the cyclical model of development, and, unlike classical evolutionary models, represents an arrow of time facing the past. Everything further is just a degradation of culture. Man must turn back the course of history, return to the ideal original state of culture - to the golden age. So for J.J. Rousseau, the development of culture, the growth of a person’s material well-being bring about the alienation of a person from the products of his labor, from society, from other people, i.e. negative factor. Human happiness is in unity with nature. You can return to it only by abandoning modern civilization and its values.

Deviant model of cultural dynamics was formulated within

kah of neo-evolutionism, based on the linear model of cultural dynamics (A. White, A. Kroeber, D. Stewart, M. Harris). Graphically it can be

is presented in the form of a strongly branching tree, where the trunk is the general line of development of society and culture, and the branches are deviations from it, allowing us to explain the specifics of individual cultures. The evolutionary interpretation of human culture as a whole must be unilinear. But human culture, as a collection of many cultures, must be interpreted multilinearly.

To explain the diversity of cultures, this model introduced the concept of general and specific evolution. The general evolution that forms common cultural traits occurs through processes of intercultural interaction. Specific evolution characterized each individual culture, adapted to the characteristic conditions of its natural environment.

Wave model of cultural dynamics combines cyclic and linear model, connecting reversible and irreversible processes. D. Vico and P. Sorokin spoke about wave changes in culture, but this model was most fully revealed in the works of the Russian economist ON THE. Kondratieva. He suggested that the economy and other closely related spheres of culture develop on the basis of a combination of small cycles (3-5 years) with medium term (7-11 years) and long (50 years) cycles. The recovery phase is associated with the introduction of new means of labor, an increase in the number of workers, which is accompanied by an increase in optimism in society and a balanced development of culture. The recession causes an increase in unemployment, a depressed state of many industries and, as a consequence, pessimistic moods in society, and a decline in culture.

Kondratiev’s main ideas were developed by the American economist J. Schumpeter, who considered innovations, both technical and socio-cultural, to be the main factor in the cyclical dynamics, which serve as a stimulus for economic growth and recovery from the crisis. In the second half of the 20th century. Schumpeter's ideas were implemented by developed countries in the innovation policy of firms operating on the market, which constantly offered new products. States supported this policy with tax regulation, as a result, society rose to a qualitatively new, post-industrial stage of development.

E. Toffler also speaks about the wave nature of human history in his work “The Third Wave”. He distinguishes three stages: agricultural, industrial and informational, replacing each other thanks to technical progress. Toffler notes the acceleration of progress: if the first stage lasted thousands of years, then the second took only three hundred years to outlive itself. Therefore, the third wave is unlikely to last more than a few decades.

Newest models of cultural dynamics. One of the latest discoveries of cultural studies - synergetic model dynamics of culture - created as a result of the application of models of the new science of synergetics, which studies the self-organization of simple systems, to the study of cultural phenomena.

Self-organization is a process that transforms an open (exchanging matter, energy or information with the environment) non-equilibrium (being in an extremely unstable state) system into a new, more stable state, characterized by a higher degree of complexity and order. The study of these processes began in the 1970s. within the framework of synergetics, the creators of which were the German radiophysicist G. Haken and Belgian chemical Russian originI. Prigozhin. They managed to reflect in mathematical models the emergence of order from chaos.

From the point of view of synergetics, any open nonequilibrium system in its development goes through two stages: the first is a smooth evolutionary development of the system, with well-predictable results, the second is a leap, a nonlinear process that instantly transfers the system to a qualitatively new state. When a jump occurs, the system is at a bifurcation (branch) point; it has several possible options for further evolution, but it is impossible to predict in advance which one will be chosen. The choice occurs randomly, determined by the unique combination of circumstances that arise at a given moment in time and in a given place. After passing through the bifurcation point, the system cannot return to its previous state.

The synergetic paradigm can be very effectively used to study the dynamics of culture, since all cultural systems meet the requirements of multivariate development, nonlinearity and irreversibility. It allows us to see in the dynamics of culture not a linear process of development, but many paths of evolutionary or intensely rapid (up to catastrophic) development. In addition, dynamic changes in culture are a set of processes occurring at different rates, unequal directions and in different modes. The result of dynamics can be upward development, growth, increasing complexity and adaptability of the system to environment, as well as decline, increasing chaos, crisis or catastrophe, which entails a break in linear development.

One more modern model cultural dynamics is postmodern concept. Postmodernism is a general mentality of the second half of the 20th century, based on the ideas of pluralism. Postmodernists do not reject any of the known forms of cultural dynamics, believing that they are all combined with each other, because many different fragments of reality cannot be reduced to a single principle that unites them.

Choosing any of the models of cultural dynamics existing in modern cultural studies as the only possible one would be wrong. Such complex object Research into what culture is cannot, in principle, be reduced to a single factor, cause or model.

2. Types of cultural dynamics

Qualitative changes in culture depend on the internal processes of the dynamics of culture and its constituent elements, which are called types of cultural dynamics. In modern cultural studies, several types of cultural dynamics are distinguished.

Changes leading to a change in spiritual styles, artistic directions, orientation and fashion (change of artistic styles in the history of Western European art and culture - Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, classicism, Rococo, romanticism, realism, modernism, postmodernism - to which the concept of progress is not applicable, since masterpieces appeared in line any of these styles).

Changes leading to enrichment and differentiation of culture or the relationships between its different elements. This is the formation of new genres and types of art, the creation of new scientific directions. Such processes occur in certain spheres of culture while maintaining stable mechanisms for stabilizing culture as a whole (for example, the scientific and philosophical discoveries of the New Age and the subsequent industrial revolution almost did not affect the role of the church in society).

Cultural stagnation as a state of long-term immutability and repetition of norms, values, meanings and knowledge and a sharp limitation or prohibition of innovations. Today, stagnation is demonstrated by the occasionally discovered tribes of Asia, Africa and Latin America, who have maintained their way of life and level of culture for centuries and millennia. Stagnation can also be the lot of highly organized civilizations that decide that they have reached the ideal state of their society and culture (civilization Ancient Egypt, which existed for about four thousand years based on the conservation of economic, social and cultural structures).

In weak cultures of small ethnic groups decline and degradation associated with the obsolescence of some elements of culture, the disappearance of its constituent parts, previously stable norms and ideals (Indians of North America, indigenous peoples of Siberia and Far East). Decline also occurs in various spheres of highly developed cultures, when the spiritual significance of certain trends and genres weakens and they are replaced by other options for understanding the world (the high classical art of ancient Greece in the Hellenistic era fell into decline, demonstrating features of eclecticism and formalism).

Crisis of culture as a gap between weakened or destroyed previous spiritual structures and institutions and emerging new ones that better meet the requirements of a changing society, which can lead to a transformation or breakdown in social regulation (social, political and spiritual crisis of the ancient world at the end of the Hellenistic era of the 2nd-1st centuries BC AD, when imperial thinking destroyed the old ancient system of values, and the formation of world civilization received its ideological justification in the new world religion - Christianity).

Conversion or cultural transformation– the emergence of a new state that arose under the influence of intensive renewal processes occurring in a given society. New elements are introduced through rethinking the historical heritage or giving a new meaning to established traditions, as well as through borrowing from the outside, subject to a mandatory qualitative change in these elements. The result of the transformation is a holistic organic synthesis of old and new.

The transformation of culture usually leads to the reformation of religion or the formation of a national culture. Thus, the ancient Russian and then Moscow cultural tradition during the time of Peter I was subjected to massive influence of European culture. During the 18th century. their synthesis took place, which gave rise to the highest rise in spirituality in the first half of the 19th century, which deservedly bears the name of the “golden age” of Russian culture.

There was no doubt the presence progressive development in such spheres of culture as economics (the criterion of progress is the development of productive forces, increasing satisfaction of human needs), science (the criterion of progress is knowledge about the objective laws of nature, confirmed in practice), the media (the criterion of progress is the speed of information flow and breadth audience coverage).

But it is not possible to talk about progress in relation to art, philosophy, and religion. Therefore, neo-Kantianism and diffusionism based on its ideas, the psychological school in anthropology, the American historical school, functionalism and structuralism excluded the ideas of development and progress from their basic settings. Cyclic models of local civilizations appeared, preserving the concept of “progress”, but understanding it as a growing number basic ideas, given by God to every developing civilization for its self-expression.

At the beginning of the 21st century. simplified historicism is overcome. Today, the fundamental multivariate nature of history and culture and the diversity of forms of cultural dynamics are recognized, which does not exclude the possibility of progressive development of some spheres of society and culture.

3. Mechanisms of cultural dynamics

Changes are an integral property of culture and include both internal transformation of cultural phenomena (their changes over time) and external changes (interaction with each other, movement in space, etc.). They manifest themselves both through the expansion of existing ones and through the emergence of qualitatively new cultural forms. At the same time, changes in culture occur in the form of either activation or slowdown, which is expressed in the pace and rhythms of cultural dynamics, as well as in its various types and forms.

In cultural studies, it is customary to distinguish the following sources (mechanisms) of cultural dynamics: innovation, appeal to cultural heritage, cultural borrowing, cultural diffusion, synthesis. Their result is a transition from the past to the present and the future. European culture has always been oriented towards a better future; traditional Chinese culture always turned to the past, seeing an ideal in it; a bunch of small peoples Those who exist in harmony with nature are quite happy with the present, because it completely repeats the past and will not change at all in the future. But at the same time, any culture again and again faces the problem of the relationship between old and new, tradition and innovation in culture.

Innovations are the discovery or invention of new images, symbols, norms and rules of behavior, political or social programs aimed at changing the living conditions of people, the formation of a new type of thinking or perception of the world. Discovery is the acquisition of new knowledge about the world (all scientific discoveries). Inventions are new combination famous cultural elements or complexes, they involve a new way of making things, i.e. technologies.

The carriers of innovations can be creative individuals or innovative groups that put forward new ideas, norms and ways of doing things. Innovators may belong to different social groups. These are: representatives of the elite of a given society - its political leadership, scientists and cultural figures; people from the avant-garde environment (as a rule, literary and artistic figures looking for special ways of self-affirmation); people from marginal groups that arise on the borders between different social strata and groups who are looking for their own specificity and justification for their existence; dissidents (people who disagree with the policies pursued by the state on any issue); people from other countries and cultures (for example, the colonies of English Puritans in North America, which became the foundation for the formation of the future USA).

The reasons for the emergence of innovations are the rejection by individuals or groups of dominant cultural values, norms, traditions and customs and their search for their own ways of cultural and social self-affirmation. At the same time, the problem of connecting emerging innovations with the sociocultural environment always arises. Thus, a steam engine was built almost simultaneously by I. Polzunov in the Urals and D. Watt in England, but after the death of the inventor, Polzunov’s machine was broken and forgotten, and in England this invention became an important milestone in the industrial revolution.

Tradition and cultural heritage. Tradition is a mechanism for reproduction

products of culture and all cultural institutions that are legitimized and justified by the very fact of their existence in the past. Its main property is the preservation of past patterns through the elimination and limitation of innovations perceived as a deviation from the ideal. Tradition is part of more broad concept – cultural heritage, which

appears as the sum of all cultural achievements of a given society, as its historical experience, including its reassessed past.

The values ​​and symbols embodied in the monuments of the past must not only be preserved, but also reproduced. Appeal to cultural heritage is intended to ensure the maintenance familiar meanings, norms and values ​​that have developed in society. Those elements of cultural heritage that are passed down from generation to generation and preserved for a long time ensure the identity of the culture. The content of identity consists not only of traditional cultural phenomena, but also of its more mobile elements - values, norms, social institutions.

The protection and development of one's cultural heritage (folklore, monuments of artistic culture, books, achievements of science and technology) is a feature of any normal society, the most important part of the activities of the state, public and international organizations (UNESCO).

The process of cultural dynamics is at risk from two opposing trends:

1) canonization of what has been achieved and rejection of any further searches in the field of form or content (the extreme form of this desire in religion becomes fundamentalism - the restoration of earlier examples of religious faith, not affected by the corrupting influence of its later opponents: Iran, Afghanistan, Chechnya);

2) rejection of cultural heritage, often in the course of a revolutionary breakdown of previous social and cultural structures (the ideology of Proletkult in Russia in the first years after the revolution of 1917, which rejected all previous culture as bourgeois).

The relationship between tradition and innovation is one of the grounds for dividing societies into traditional and modernized (industrial). Traditional societies are characterized by reliance on traditions with minimal inclusion of innovations in culture. Industrial society accepts innovations much more easily. The combination of tradition and innovation, the ability to find a “golden mean” between them - important task any culture.

Cultural diffusion and cultural borrowing is the spatial, geographic distribution of cultural elements. In this case, mutual penetration of individual elements of culture or its entire complexes occurs.

Channels of cultural diffusion include migration, tourism, missionary activity, trade, war, scientific conferences, fairs, exchange of specialists, etc. All these forms of cultural diffusion can spread in vertical and horizontal directions. Horizontal diffusion occurs between cultures of several ethnic groups, sociocultural groups or individuals (police officers borrowing jargon, behavior and communication from the criminal world). Vertical (stratification) diffusion develops between

Sociocultural dynamics- the process of cyclical change and development of social and cultural systems, the transition from one state to another under the influence of changes in the dominant value system. The concept of sociocultural dynamics was introduced into scientific circulation by the Russian-American sociologist Pitirim Sorokin.

Theoretical background. The concept of sociocultural systems by Pitirim Sorokin

Before the appearance of the concept of Pitirim Sorokin, reality in the social sciences was presented as something material, studied through scientific research tools.

Sorokin calls this picture of reality “too narrow and inadequate.” According to the concept he developed, sensory perception of the world is only one of the ways of knowing it. Reality is, according to Sorokin’s definition, “indeterminate diversity.” This diversity cannot be known using exclusively scientific methods:

The science of previous centuries has openly and covertly shown a tendency to reduce reality either to matter or to what is perceived by our senses. Such science either denied or had an agnostic attitude towards any non-sensory reality. At present, this concept of reality has largely been rejected by all sciences as narrow and inadequate. It has already been superseded by a broader and more adequate concept of absolute reality...

Aspects and forms of knowledge of reality

According to Sorokin's theory, reality includes many different aspects, among which the three most important for a person are: sensual, rational and supersensible (intuitive). These aspects complement each other, but do not replace each other. Comprehension of each of them requires a corresponding form of knowledge:

...the first mistake is the illusion that there can be only one system of truth, and all three systems - sensory, rational and intuitive - are sources of reliable knowledge... each of them, used for its intended purpose, gives us knowledge of one or another important aspect of objective reality, and none of them can be considered completely false...

In turn, ways of knowing different aspects of reality exist within different cultural forms. So, for the sensual aspect this is scientific knowledge, for the rational aspect it is philosophy, and for the super-rational (intuitive) aspect it is religion. Sorokin's concept suggests that the most complete study of reality is possible only with an optimal combination of all three ways of cognition.

Contents of the concept of sociocultural dynamics

Values

One of the main concepts of Pitirim Sorokin’s sociocultural concept is the concept of value. Value is the foundation of any culture. A change in the value system leads to a change in cultural and social systems, which transform into a new quality.

Supersystems and phases of cultural development

The model of sociocultural dynamics proposed by Sorokin is based on the principle of cyclical development of culture. Within this model, the history of civilization represents a change in cultural supersystems. The scientist identifies three types of supersystems, each of which corresponds to a specific phase of development of any culture:

• Ideational
• Sensual
• Idealistic

Each of the listed supersystems is based on its own value system:

Ideal supersystem

The basic values ​​of the ideal supersystem are God and the divine supersensible reality, religion. A theocratic type state is emerging, where clergy form the highest strata of society. Public law and ethical standards are based on religious precepts.

...ideational culture is uncreative in the field of science and technology, since it focuses its cognitive energy on the study of the Kingdom of God and the realization of values ​​during man's short earthly journey to eternity...

An important feature of religious cultures of this kind is the neglect of “earthly values.” Everyday comfort does not matter, but asceticism is welcomed as a fulfillment of duty to God. The art of an ideal society is completely religious. Its themes are God and supersensible existence, atonement for sins and salvation of the soul. Over time, the religious value system begins to decline and a transition to an idealistic supersystem occurs.

Idealistic supersystem

The idealistic supersystem of culture, according to Sorokin, is a kind of synthesis of the idealistic and sensory supersystems. The main value of an idealistic culture is truth. The search for truth is carried out through a combination of supersensible and sensory methods of cognition. Religious values ​​in their essence are embodied through rational knowledge. The structure of an ideal society based on an idealistic culture is described in philosophical concepts. Sorokin includes the works of Plato, Aristotle, and Thomas Aquinas as such:

... the idealistic system of truth occupies an intermediate link between the sensory and ideational systems and combines in its crucible the three distinctive elements of sensory, religious and rationalistic truth. The systems of Plato and Aristotle, Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas are the best examples of attempts to synthesize divine, sensory and dialectical truth into one whole...

Sensual supersystem

The sensory supersystem is based on the perception of reality through feelings and sensations. Religion in this phase loses its former meaning. Cognition of the world occurs through intelligence and rationality. The main value is the person. Within the sensory supersystem, everyday comfort becomes of great importance.

Although the sensual society is quite successful in producing many technological discoveries aimed at increasing the bodily comfort of sensual life, it does not achieve success in developing effective technology for the transformation of souls and the “production” of supersensible values ​​​​of the Kingdom of God... it is concerned mainly with sensual pleasures, the values ​​of well-being, and health , bodily comfort and thirst for power and glory

The legal and ethical norms of society at the sensory phase of development, in contrast to the ideational ones, are of a purely secular nature. They are created by people, so they can be revised and changed based on the needs of society.

Sensible law presents a completely different picture... Its purpose is purely utilitarian: the preservation of human life, the protection of property and property, peace and order, the happiness and well-being of society in general and the ruling elite that establishes and enforces sensual law in particular. Its norms are relative, changeable and conditional... There is nothing eternal and sacred in such a system of law

The art of the sensual phase is the complete opposite of the ideal art. Its subject is the average person, an ordinary person in various life circumstances. The focus here is on relationships between people, strong feelings, passions and emotions.

Criticism

P. Sorokin's theories caused controversy and resulted in the volume “Pitirim Sorokin in Review”, published in 1963. Distinctive can be considered the polemic of P. Sorokin with the scientist from Australia O. Anderle, who defended the paradigm of civilization as a system, while P. A. Sorokin did not consider systematicity to be the basic quality of civilizations. Sorokin’s theories are large-scale and complex, perhaps because of this A. Kroeber reproaches P. Sorokin for abstraction. The idea of ​​a religious reorganization of humanity is, in particular, the basis of P. Sorokin’s concept. In its origins and essence, this project can be considered similar to the ideas of classical theology. While it was theology that for the most part determined the author’s views. Sorokin sees religion not as an institution or creed, but as a main system, while religion is formulated by society during the historical process. The scientist is also reproached for the fact that when considering the history of various countries and peoples, the concepts of “Tatar” civilization or “Arab” civilization are used by the author in an abstract, descriptive sense. This also applies to other countries and peoples that have similar characteristics. The ideas of P. Sorokin from the pages of “Sociology of Revolution” were actively criticized and not accepted by the Bolshevik Party and V.I. Lenin himself. In particular, Sorokin pointed out the illusory nature of ideas that are broadcast during periods of revolution and believed that they have a disintegrative effect on society, awakening hostility, anger, and destruction in it. And in 1922, P. Sorokin was expelled from Russia by train.

Dynamics of sociocultural changes

The abstract was completed by A.I. Suslova.

group 427

The work was checked by Belov M.T.

State Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education Rostov State University "RINH"

Faculty of Accounting and Economics

Department of Labor Economics, Employment, Sociology and Psychology

Rostov-on-Don

Introduction

Cultural dynamics describes the change or modification of cultural traits over time and space. What is the basis for culture change? And what are the mechanisms of such change?

They are discoveries and inventions. Discovery supplies humanity with new knowledge and gives rise to new elements. Invention is the creation of new elements of culture. They are divided into material and spiritual. Discovery and invention are types of innovation. This is the creation or recognition of new elements in culture. Innovation depends on accumulated knowledge that is reinterpreted, evaluated and put into practice.

An artist, like a scientist, creates in solitude, but under the influence of the cultural elements he has acquired. Ideas and finished works are first distributed in a microenvironment: “closed” viewings, publications in small editions, etc. A certain part of cultural elements is drawn from the microenvironment in a “semi-random” way by means of mass communication (such as radio, television, mass print, cinema, etc.), which are guided by their inherent internal needs and criteria of accessibility for a mass audience. After some time, the processed works are distributed among a wide range of means of mass circulation. In practice, this general public accepts not all, but some of the works being distributed; works that gain popularity on more or less equal grounds settle in the memory of society and form mass culture. However, the creator-artist himself lives in this “mass society”. He reads newspapers, watches TV, goes to the cinema and at the same time collects the very material that later becomes part of his personal cultural baggage. On this basis he creates his new works, and so the cycle of culture continues. The rate of revolution of the cycle and its structure can be precisely determined in quantitative terms by studying these processes for various specific cases, for example, in the field of visual arts.

Cultural lag.

William Ogborn (1922) introduced the concept of cultural lag (lag). Ogborn distinguished two aspects in culture - material and intangible. Material culture includes manufactured goods, factories, houses, cars, i.e. all material objects, as well as inventions and technological innovations. Intangible culture, which Ogborn called adaptive, includes social institutions such as the family, church, school, value systems (laws, religions, customs, mores and beliefs) and political institutions (governments, political clubs).

Ogborn's main idea: adaptive culture usually changes more slowly than material. Cultural lag is observed when changes in the material life of society outstrip the transformation of intangible culture (customs, beliefs, philosophical systems, laws and forms of government). According to Ogborn, this leads to a constant discrepancy between the development of material and intangible culture, and as a result many unresolved social problems arise.

Theories of cultural-historical types.

They place emphasis on the cyclical and multilinear development of society and culture, identify certain types of social and cultural systems, emphasize their originality, and in some cases put forward the idea of ​​isolation, locality of cultures and civilizations. The theory of cultural-historical types was formed as the antithesis of the linear Eurocentric theory of social development, according to which all historical development is carried out within the framework of a single and indivisible civilization and represents a unidirectional, natural process of progressive development, the transition from lower to higher stages. The model of historical development in this concept was the development of Western Europe, which supposedly, after a long period of formation and struggle, finally achieved its destiny - world domination.

The linear, Eurocentric concept of historical development did not provide a satisfactory explanation for the development of the East, Russia and other regions that were apart from the developed Western European civilization. The theory of cultural-historical types attempts to provide a satisfactory answer to these problems.

The founder of the theory of cultural-historical types is the Russian sociologist N.Ya. Danilevsky (1822-1885). In the book “Russia and Europe,” he presented human history as divided into separate and vast units—“historical-cultural types,” or civilizations. Western, or in other words, German-Roman civilization, is only one of many that have flourished in history. He saw the mistake of historians in the fact that they considered the contemporary West as the highest, culminating stage and constructed a linear chronology of eras (ancient-medieval-modern) as approaching this culmination. In the reality of a common chronology, which could intelligently divide the fate of all humanity into periods, which would mean the same thing for everyone and would be equally important for the whole world. No civilization is better or more perfect; each has its own internal logic of development and goes through various stages in a sequence unique to it. “Each civilization arises, develops its own morphological form, its own values, thereby enriching the general treasury of human cultural achievements, and then passes away without being continued in its specific and essential form.”

History is made by people, but their historical roles are different. Accordingly, there are three types of historical actors (agents):

The positive characters of history, i.e. those societies (tribes, people) that created great civilizations (separate historical and cultural types) - Egyptian, Assyro-Babylonian, Chinese, Roman, Arab and German-Roman (European);

Negative historical characters who played a destructive role and contributed to the final collapse of decaying, declining civilizations (for example, the Huns, Mongols, Turks);

On the other hand, there are people and tribes who lack creativity. They represent only “ethnographic material” used by creative societies to build their own civilizations. Sometimes, after the collapse of great civilizations, the tribes that comprise them return to the level of “ethnographic material” - a passive, dispersed population.

Civilizations manifest their creative essence only in selected areas. Those. they concentrate on some individual areas and themes characteristic only of them: for the Greek civilization - beauty, for the Semitic - religion, for the Roman - law and administration, for the Chinese - practice and benefit, for Indian - imagination, fantasy and mysticism, for German-Roman - science and technology.

There is a typical cycle of development observed in the fate of every great civilization. The first period, sometimes quite long, is the period of emergence and crystallization, when civilization is born, takes on various forms and images, asserts its cultural and political autonomy and a common language. Then comes the phase of prosperity, when civilization fully develops and its creative potential is revealed. This period is usually relatively short (Danilevsky estimated it at 400-600 years) and ends when the reserve of creative forces is exhausted. The lack of creative forces, stagnation and gradual collapse of civilization means the final phase of the cycle. As Danilevsky believed, European (German-Roman) civilization entered a phase of degeneration, which was expressed in several symptoms: growing cynicism, secularization, weakening of innovative potential, a stormy thirst for power and domination over the world. In the future, the Russian-Slavic civilization will flourish. This is the finale of Danilevsky’s somewhat ethnocentric histriosophy.

Another noteworthy theory of humanity belongs to Oswald Spengler (1880-1936). His most famous work, The Decline of Europe, was published in 1918. from Spengler's point of view, there is no linear process in history, but rather a series of separate, unique "higher cultures" "thriving against the backdrop of a specific landscape to which they are attached like plants." Having realized “the whole sum of possibilities in the form of people, languages, dogmas, arts, states, sciences, they die.” History is "the collective biography of such cultures."

Each individual culture experiences a cycle of childhood, adolescence, maturity and old age: it arises, grows and, having fulfilled its purpose, dies. The decline phase is called "civilization". In its death throes, a culture exhibits certain characteristic qualities: cosmopolitanism instead of a local perspective, urban ties instead of blood ties, a scientific and abstract approach instead of a natural religious sensibility, mass values ​​instead of folk values, money instead of true values, sex instead of motherhood, brute force politics instead of consensus. This state of decline or agony can last for a long time, but someday the culture is doomed to decay and disappears.

Spengler identified eight “higher cultures”: Egyptian, Babylonian, Indian, Chinese, Classical (Greco-Roman), Arabic, Mexican and Western (which emerged around 1000 AD). Each of them had its own dominant theme, or “primary symbol,” which was embodied in all its components, giving a specific shade to the way of thinking and action, determining the nature of science, art, customs, habits, etc. For example, the “primary symbol” of Greco-Roman culture is the cult of the sensual, the theme of Apollo. In Chinese culture, this is the “Tao”, an uncertain, wandering, multi-linear “path” of life. For Western culture The "primary symbol" is "boundless space" and the concept of time extending into infinity as a destination, the "Faustian theme". It is obvious that Spengler is looking for the “spirit” of culture for a given period. Naturally, each spirit penetrates all its spheres, since it animates all components of culture, to the extent that any fact and event serves as a symbol of its spirit. This was cultural relativism par excellence. “Truths are true only in relation to concrete humanity.”

The life path of “higher cultures” cannot be explained from the point of view of causality. Rather, it is a “predetermined cycle,” a manifestation of internal necessity, or destiny, which can only be guessed intuitively. “Rapid and profound changes in the history of great cultures occur without any significant causes, influences or goals.” Likewise, there is no reason why cultures are born. Arising according to the verdict of fate, they choose certain societies as their carriers or agents.

The most comprehensive and historically grounded theory of civilizations and their life cycles is presented by Arnold Toynbee (1889-1975). In the 20-volume work “Comprehension of History,” published over 27 years (1934-1961), he attempted to summarize a very extensive material covering the entire written history.

According to Toynbee, the appropriate unit for historical study is neither humanity as a whole nor nation states, but intermediate formations that have a greater spatial and temporal extent than individual societies, and less than all of humanity. These are civilizations; there are twenty-one of them in history. Toynbee's list echoes the list presented by Danilevsky or Spengler, although it is more impressive. However, the idea of ​​a specific, dominant theme in each civilization reappears. For example, in the Hellenic civilization it is aesthetics, among the Hindus it is religion, in Western civilization it is science and mechanical technology.

Civilizations arise from a combination of two factors: the presence of a creative minority and environmental conditions that are neither too favorable nor too unfavorable. The mechanism of birth, as well as the further dynamics of civilizations, is embodied in the idea of ​​“challenge-response”. The environment (initially natural, and then social) constantly poses a challenge to society, which, through the efforts of a creative minority, finds ways to cope with it. Once the answer is found, you should new challenge, and to it, in turn, a new answer is given. In the growth stage of civilization, the responses are successful because people make unprecedented efforts to solve enormous problems and thus shake up the “usual foundations.” However, in the phase of disintegration and decay, creativity dries up. Civilizations develop from within. “The decline of civilizations occurs due to the combined effect of three circumstances:

Lack of creative power in the minority,

A reciprocal weakening of the imitative instinct of part of the majority (which refuses to blindly copy the successful elite)

And the ensuing weakening and loss of social unity in society as a whole.”

An additional factor is the uprising of the “external proletariat”, i.e. barbarians. As soon as civilization begins to crumble, they rebel, not wanting to continue being subjugated. The fate of most civilizations is always final collapse, even if they are able to survive in a frozen state for a long period of time. No less than sixteen great civilizations are already “dead and buried.”

At the end of his analysis, without abandoning the idea of ​​cycles within each civilization, Toynbee argues that there is a common unified logic that manifests itself over a long period of time and covers all of them together - this is the progress of spirituality and religion. Civilization is “the work of religion.” “The historical function of civilization is to promote the progressive process of ever deeper religious insight and to act in accordance with this insight.”

Sociocultural supersystems.

In the work “Social and Cultural Dynamics”, having carefully analyzed various aspects of human culture - art, education, ethics, legislation, military affairs - P.A. Sorokin proposed dividing it into two opposite, mutually incompatible types.

“Each type of culture has its own mentality; own system of knowledge, philosophy and worldview; one’s religion and standards of “holiness”; own ideas about what is right and wrong; form of art and literature; own morals. Laws, norms of behavior; dominant forms of social relations; its own economic and political organization and, finally, its own type of human personality with a special mentality and behavior."

Two opposing cultural types are “speculative” and “sensual”. These are ideal types that cannot be found in their pure form in any era. The intermediate form between the first and second is designated as “idealistic”.

Speculative culture is characterized by the following features:

reality is spiritual in nature, immaterial, hidden behind sensory manifestations (for example, God, nirvana, Tao, Brahma); it is eternal and unchanging;

the needs and goals of people are mainly spiritual (saving the soul, serving the Lord, fulfilling a sacred duty, moral duties);

To satisfy these goals, efforts are made to free the individual from sensual temptations and everyday earthly worries.

At least two conclusions follow from this:

truth is comprehended only through inner experience (revelation, meditation, ecstasy, divine inspiration), and therefore it is absolute and eternal;

the idea of ​​good is rooted in the immaterial, internal, spiritual, in supersensible values ​​(eternal life, the city of the Lord, merging with Brahma).

The premises of the second type (sensual culture) are directly opposite:

reality by its nature is material, accessible to the senses, it moves and constantly changes6 “Becoming, process, change, flow, evolution, progress, transformation”;

the needs and goals of people are purely flat, or sensual (hunger and thirst, sex, shelter, comfort);

to satisfy these goals it is necessary to use the external environment.

Two conclusions also follow from this:

truth can only be found in sensory experience, and therefore it is temporary and relative.

goodness is rooted in sensual, empirical, material values ​​(pleasure, enjoyment, happiness, usefulness), and therefore moral principles flexible, relative and dependent on circumstances.

Intermediate, idealistic culture is a balanced combination of speculative and sensual elements. It recognizes that reality is both material and supernatural; the needs and goals of people are both physical and spiritual; Satisfaction of goals requires both improvement of oneself and transformation of the environment. In short, “while recognizing the ideal world as supreme, it does not declare the sensory world to be a mere illusion or a negative value; on the contrary, since the feelings are in harmony with the ideal, they have a positive value.”

Based on this typology, Sorokin periodizes the historical process. The principle of periodization is the change of dominant types of cultural mentality and cultural systems: a repeating sequence of speculative, idealistic and sensual cultures.

Periodization according to Sorokin:

Greece, 8-6 centuries. BC. - speculative;

Greece, 5th century BC - idealistic;

Rome, 4th century BC. - sensual;

Europe, 4-6 centuries AD - idealistic;

Europe, 6-12 centuries AD - speculative;

Europe, 12-14th century AD - idealistic;

Europe, from the 14th century AD - to the present - sensual.

Conclusion

So, sociology and all social Sciences The 20th century found the study of rhythms, cycles, tempos and periodicities more productive, giving richer and more specific results than the search for eternal historical paths of development, which they were engaged in in the 19th century. There is no doubt that rhythms and repeating processes will be studied even more carefully, more diligently, more intensively in the coming decades and, in all likelihood, much greater achievements await the social sciences along this path than in the 19th century.

These are, in brief, the main changes in the study of sociocultural dynamics that occurred in the sociocultural thought of the 20th century in comparison with the 19th.

Bibliography

Volkov Yu.G. etc. Sociology: a course of lectures: a textbook, Rostov-on-Don, Phoenix Publishing House, 1999.

Erasov B.S. Social cultural studies: A textbook for university students. M., -2000.

Orlova E.A. Dynamics of culture and goal-setting human activity // Morphology of culture: structure and dynamics. M., 1994

Perov G.O., Samygin S.I. Sociology, Rostov-on-Don, Publishing house “March-2002.

Sorokin P.A. SOCIO-CULTURAL DYNAMICS AND EVOLUTIONISM //American sociological thought.- M.- 1996. P.372-392.

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Concept sociocultural changes. Modernization concept

What are sociocultural changes? This concept is difficult to grasp precise definition due to the relative instability of everything connected with the human world: you cannot enter the same river twice, as Heraclitus argued. The multidimensionality and versatility of the category of “sociocultural changes” makes it difficult to define. The same concept - “social change” - describes transformations related to different levels of social organization (micro-, meso-, macro-level), affecting various spheres of society (ecological, demographic, technological, economic, political, sociocultural, socio- psychological (etc.) changes), characterized by different actual dynamic parameters (different speed, scale, complexity, direction). The category of social change thus covers any transformation of social structures, practices, the emergence of new ones or ensuring the functioning of old groups, forms of interaction and behavior. social culture modernization

However, for now we are interested in “significant” sociocultural changes. However, the concept of “significance” is also very subjective and requires the introduction of a certain point of reference: “Significant for whom? Compared to what? It is only obvious that “significant” sociocultural changes can only include those associated with a fundamental transformation of the very structure of a sociocultural community or the situation as a whole, i.e. with transformations of the main social institutions.

Let us note that in modern social science the problem of social change is one of the central, key ones for a reason. Its significance is determined by its special applied significance - clarification of the issues that make up the problem of sociocultural dynamics (the causes and factors of sociocultural changes, the immediate and long-term prospects of emerging trends, the stages of the dynamic process, etc.) has an important explanatory and prognostic meaning.

In modern scientific literature and, especially, in journalism, the complex category of “sociocultural changes” is often replaced by a simpler concept - “modernization” - which in reality implies only one of the options for transforming culture and society. Despite the fact that the concept of “modernization” is, of course, already the concept of “sociocultural changes”, it can also be applied to the analysis of changes affecting various levels of the social order and having consequences of different scales: from renewal and improvements in any one area life support to a comprehensive restructuring of the entire sociocultural system. Therefore, the term “modernization” is no more specific than the category “social changes” in general, and, depending on the context, can be used in different meanings. Therefore, the term “modernization” is no more specific than the category “social changes” in general, and, depending on the context, can be used in different meanings.

P. Sztompka identifies three meanings of the concept of “modernization” Sztompka P. Sociology of social changes. M., 1996. In the first, general sense, modernization is a synonym for all progressive social changes. According to the second approach, modernization means achieving modernity, which presupposes a complex of social, political, economic, and cultural transformations occurring mainly through “ Western style" Classic sociological works on modernization in this aspect of consideration belong to Comte, Spencer, Marx, Weber, Durkheim and Tönnies.

And finally, the last of the meanings in which the concept of “modernization” is used essentially complements (continues) the previous one. In this regard, the term "modernization" refers to backward or underdeveloped societies and describes their efforts to catch up with more advanced ones. the developed countries. It was with this content that the concept of modernization was formed in line with the evolutionary approach to the study of cultural dynamics (Tylor, Spencer).

Without dwelling in detail on the discussion of the stages and logic of the formation of the theory of modernization in its classic version, we indicate only the main postulates on which it is based:

1) only a culture with a significant level of industrialization, sustainable economic development with a high gross domestic product and widespread use of inorganic (non-living) energy sources. Modern culture is characterized by faith in the power of rational scientific knowledge as the basis of progress. Industrial production creates an abundance of food and consumer goods. In addition, modern culture is characterized by a high level of quality of life and developed political governance structures;

2) cultures that do not meet these criteria and cannot be classified as modern are either traditional or transitional (post-traditional);

3) Western societies are a kind of example of “modernization”, therefore the theory of modernization itself is often called the “theory of Westernization”. Increasingly, in the literature devoted to the problem of modernization, thoughts creep in that the West is doing everything possible so that in the mass consciousness both terms (modernization and Westernization) become synonymous. Thus, it turns out that change and reform are only possible if they are oriented in a Western manner;

4) modernization (modernity) is a complex phenomenon that has technological, economic, political, social and psychological dimensions, and modernization itself is a complex integrated process of change in each of these areas; The core of all changes is scientific, technical and technological progress, which determines the need and conditions for corresponding changes in other areas.

In its most general form, modernization is thus characterized as a socio-historical process during which traditional societies become industrialized (as a process of displacement of tradition by modernity), and also acquire a number of other cultural characteristics associated with a high level of industrialization - the concept of “modern society" is seen as synonymous with "Western society". The very process of transition from traditional to modern society is characterized as a) revolutionary (requiring fundamental, radical changes in models of social life); b) complex (including changes in all areas of human thought and behavior); c) systemic (assuming that changes in one area necessarily cause changes in other areas); d) global (gradually covering all countries of the world); e) possessing certain dynamic characteristics (duration, tendency to accelerate, stages, irreversibility); e) generating rapprochement social systems(reducing them to the model of the Western world); g) progressive (helping to improve the material and cultural well-being of a person), etc.

Main aspects of modernization: industrialization and urbanization, cultural influence of the West.

We can identify a number of criteria for modernization in various sectors of public life. So, S.A. Ermakhanova, describes the following complexes of changes occurring in different areas of the development and functioning of sociocultural systems Ermakhanova S.A. Modernization theory: history and modernity, 2006:

In the social sphere: the individual, not the group, becomes the basic social unit; the following processes of differentiation are gaining strength - the transfer of individual functions that previously belonged to the family to specialized social institutions - and formalization, the reorientation of social institutions towards abstract and universal laws and rules; there is a separation of the spheres of private and public life, a weakening of family ties, an increase in formal education and professional specialization, and an improvement in the quality of life;

In demographic terms: a decrease in the birth rate, an increase in life expectancy, an increase in the urban population and a decrease in the rural population;

In the economic sphere: technological development based on the use of scientific (rational) knowledge, the emergence of secondary (industry, trade) and tertiary (services) sectors of the economy, deepening the social and technical division of labor, developing markets for goods, money and labor, ensuring sustainable economic growth ;

IN political sphere: formation of centralized states, separation of powers, increasing political activity of the masses, development and spread modern institutions and practices, as well as modern political structure;

In the spiritual field: changes are taking place in the value orientations of social groups, there is a need to master new values ​​that correspond to modern realities, the secularization of education and the spread of literacy, the development of a diversity of currents in philosophy and science, religious pluralism, the development of means of disseminating information, introducing large groups of the population to the achievements culture.

Three main processes from the listed manifestations of modernization can be classified as its primary, system-forming elements: industrialization, urbanization, westernization (the increase in the cultural influence of Western civilizations). Let's take a closer look at them.

Industrialization refers to the process of intensive development of modern forms of industry - factories, machines, large-scale production processes Giddens E. Sociology. M., 2005, which begin to play a leading role in the socio-economic system, replacing previously leading other forms of economic activity (hunting, fishing, agriculture). In accordance with the decline in the importance of previous forms of activity and the increasing role of machine production, cities are intensively developing: in mature industrial societies more than 90% of all citizens live in cities and metropolitan areas, where the largest number of jobs are concentrated. As a result, fundamental changes are taking place in the sphere of employment of peoples involved in the processes of industrialization and urbanization.

Thus, it is necessary to reverse Special attention on one of the most important socio-cultural processes accompanying modernization - urbanization occurring at an intensive pace - the growth of the political and socio-economic role of cities and, accordingly, the increasing migration of the population from the rural environment to the urban one. At the same time, researchers describe urban life itself using the concepts of role conflict, position uncertainty, status of impermanence or inconsistency, cultural disunity, polarization and alienation.

S. Milgram Milgram S. Man in the Big City. St. Petersburg, 2000. explains the impact of the urban environment on a number of socio-psychological characteristics, appealing to the concept of “overload”, i.e. the inability of the system to process data coming from the external environment, which is a kind of resultant of the main demographic aspects of urban life: 1) a large number of people, 2) high population density, 3) its heterogeneity. The concept of overload allows us to explain at least four psychological phenomena of urban life: a) changes in the performance of roles; b) the evolution of urban norms that are very different from the traditional values ​​of small cities (for example, approval of laissez-faire, impersonality and alienation of city life); c) changes in the cognitive processes of a resident of a big city (his inability to recognize most of the people he sees during the day, his selection of sensory stimuli, the formation of his indifference to deviant behavior and the selectivity of his reactions to the calls of other people); d) much stronger competition for scarce technical means and resources in big cities(traffic jams, standing in queues). Apparently, this same concept of overload partly explains the stress reactions in the process of migration to cities.

When analyzing modernization changes, it must be remembered that in the vast majority of cases the changes occurring in these societies were initiated external reasons- direct influence of more modernized cultures. Indeed, starting from the 17th century. and for three seconds more than centuries Western states were engaged in the colonization of new lands. The policy of colonialism, apparently, became the main transforming factor that changed the “social face” of the Earth. Thus, the modernization of traditional societies has the connotation of cultural assimilation of small ethnic groups by industrially and economically more developed societies. The interaction of cultures that “speak” the languages ​​of tradition and modernity, as it turns out, can have unpredictable consequences - from the rapid economic growth of former traditional societies (for example, China, Vietnam, South Korea) to economic crises and social explosions (the Chechen crisis, September 11, 2001 year in the USA, Paris events in October 2005).

So, the understanding of sociocultural dynamics in the classical theory of modernization came down to building the opposition “tradition” - “modernity”. Tradition, with rare exceptions, was interpreted as a brake in history, as an exclusively conservative force that resists innovation and which, therefore, must be overcome and broken in order to provide conditions for the introduction of everything new Osipova O.A. American sociology about traditions in Eastern countries. M.: Nauka, 1985. “For modernization theorists,” writes V. Rukavishnikov, “a modern man” is essentially none other than a representative of Western culture - independently thinking, socially and politically active an individualist who independently achieves success in life (“self-made man”) and recognizes the right of others to act in a similar way, competing with them for a place at the top of income and power” Rukavishnikov V.O. Sociological aspects of modernization of Russia and other post-communist societies // Socis No. 1, 1995 p. 35.

However, from the moment of its appearance to the present, the evolutionary approach to understanding modernization itself has evolved significantly.

Neo-evolutionist understanding of modernization. A relativistic approach to the study of sociocultural dynamics.

In the late 1950s, and especially from the mid-1960s, criticism of the early theories of modernization began to grow, which gradually undermined most of the “classical” provisions. The focus of criticism was precisely the dichotomy “tradition - modernity”, which was basic for early approaches to modernization, the unhistorical nature and Western-centricity of this model by Ermakhanov S.A. Modernization theory: history and modernity, 2006, failure existing theory explain the diversity of transitional societies, their inherent internal dynamics, as well as the possibility of independent development of modern political and economic structures. As a result, numerous “national” modernization projects appeared, focused on accounting cultural specificity one or another social community. However, in reality, abandoning “Western-centrism” turned out to be not so easy, and most of these “national projects” emphasize the possibility of their implementation only on the basis of achieving a certain level of assimilation of Western experience.

Interesting in this context is the theory of modernization of the Dutch scientist E. De Vries, who, to explain the mechanism of influence of modernized Western societies on traditional Eastern ones, used the metaphor of a “mechanical first push” and borrowed from chemistry such concepts as “catalysts” and “inhibitors” De Vries E. Man in rapid social change. L., 1961. The role of the “primary push” in the process of modernization in his model was performed by the advanced countries of the West to the traditional East. Traditional Eastern society has factors that both accelerate this effect (“catalysts”) and slow it down (“inhibitors”). The structure of the “first push” consists of five interacting forces: 1) economic, 2) technological, 3) spiritual, 4) sociocultural, 5) political. “Catalysts” and “inhibitors” in De Vre’s concept are distributed in pairs (table)

Table “Catalysts” and “inhibitors” of modernization in the concept of E. De Vre Selishchev A.S., Selishchev N.A. Chinese economy in the 21st century. St. Petersburg: Peter, 2004.

Analyze the sociocultural realities of Russian society in accordance with the table above and evaluate its “modernization potential.”

By the beginning of the 1970s. It became obvious that modernization processes were not spreading unimpeded - numerous empirical data indicated the failure of modernization tendencies. The negative consequences of the destruction of traditional institutions and ways of life during modernization were manifested, in particular, in the growth of poverty in the Third World countries, increasing social disorganization, chaos and anomie, deviant behavior and crime.

Comprehensive studies of the modernization process in our country have demonstrated the existence serious problems adaptation of representatives of traditional cultures to the conditions of a changing world. Maladaptation manifests itself in a complex of interrelated problems:

Deterioration of public health. This applies, in particular, to such a factor as “inadequacy of lifestyle” (“life-style incongruity”). Convincingly shown by Dressler W.W. Hypertension and Cultural Change: Acculturation and Disease in the West Indies. N.Y.: Redgrave Publishing Company. 1982. that “inadequacy of lifestyle” is combined with high blood pressure, and in some cases with depression. The inability or unwillingness of a person to internally restructure himself in order to accept and conform to the “modern” value system can negatively affect his physical and psychological well-being Chance N.A. Acculturation, self-identification, and personality adjustment // Amer. Anthropology. 1965. Vol.67. P.372-393; Dressler W.W. Hypertension and Cultural Change: Acculturation and Disease in the West Indies. N.Y.: Redgrave Publishing Company. 1982; Graves T.D. Acculturation, access, and alcohol in a tri-ethnic community // Amer. Anthropology. 1967. Vol.69. P.306-321.;

Unfavorable changes in the demographic situation: changes in family structure - an increase in the number of single people, a decrease in the level of children Kvashnin Yu.N. Comparative socio-demographic characteristics of the peoples of Western Siberia (Nenets, Khanty, Siberian Tatars). // Ethnodemographic collection. Peoples of the North of Russia. -M.: IEA RAS, 2000.-169p. Ss. 5-76, increase in violent mortality and suicide among the indigenous population Neotraditionalism in the Russian North. M.: Nauka, 1994; Pivneva E.A. Morbidity and mortality as indicators of the health of indigenous peoples of the North (based on materials from the Berezovsky district of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug) // Ethnodemographic collection. Peoples of the North of Russia. -M.: IEA RAS, 2000.-169p. pp.93-132, etc.;

Long-term economic, social and psychological maladjustment. Ultimately, this leads to the fact that the individual develops a whole complex of unfavorable individual psychological properties that indicate frustration: a feeling of psychological insecurity, isolation, low level of aspirations, passivity, reluctance to defend the values ​​of one’s clan and sociocultural community - the complex that described by the concept of “marginal personality” Park R.E. Cultural conflict and marginalized people // Social and Humanitarian Sciences: RZh. Episode 10. Sociology. -M.: INION RAS, 1998. -No. 2. -Ss.172-175.;

Exacerbation of intercultural contradictions and growing tension in the interaction between representatives of traditional cultures (indigenous population) and modernized societies (the “newcomer” population) Pavlov S.M.. Psychological characteristics of children of indigenous peoples of the North (based on a study of junior schoolchildren of the Khanty, Forest Nenets). Diss...Ph.D. M.: MPGU, 2001; Khairullina N.G. Sociological diagnostics of the ethnocultural situation in the northern region. Diss....d.s.s. Tyumen, 2001.. In the broadest sense, this tension is explained by the difference in ideological positions of representatives of contacting cultures. The loss or reduction of “their” space leads to the development in the indigenous population of a feeling of inferiority, deprivation in economic and cultural spheres, which, in turn, leads to increased opposition between ethnocultural communities.

Read the excerpts from P. Berger’s article on the criticism of “modernity” given at the end of the paragraph. Find in your experience confirmation (or refute) of the existence of those “dilemmas” generated by modernity that the author analyzes. Express your opinion about the goals and ideals of sociocultural changes in modern Russia and the world.

Critics pointed out the fallacy of direct opposition between tradition and modernity and gave examples of the advantages of traditional sociocultural systems in some areas (S. Huntington, Z. Bauman, J. Gusfield).

The significant shift that occurred from the original unilinear neo-evolutionist theory of modernization to the pole of relativism also gave rise to new terminology, focused rather on emphasizing differences rather than searching for similar aspects of modernization transformations. Thus, the terms “counter-modernization” (meaning an alternative version of modernization according to a non-Western model) and “anti-modernization” (open opposition to modernization) (A. Touraine), “super-modernization” (a strategy determined by the desire to achieve superiority over the leading civilization) (Kholmogorov) took shape. . P. Sztompka, considering the theory of modernization, proposes the concept of “false modernization” in relation to post-communist countries, which means an inconsistent, disharmonious, internally contradictory combination of three elements: 1) modern features in certain areas of public life; 2) traditional, pre-modern characteristics in many other areas and 3) all that was dressed in elaborate clothing designed to imitate modern Western reality.

Under the influence of growing criticism of sociocultural changes along the “Western model,” by the second half of the 1980s. the concept of “modernization bypassing modernity” is emerging - modernization in which traditional national culture is not sacrificed to the Western system of values ​​and meanings (A. Abdel-Malek, A. Touraine, S. Eisenstadt). However, as A. Touraine noted, the real course of modernization, and in particular, the experience of interaction between “traditional” and “modernized” communities, although it refuted the unique path of liberal-rationalistic universalism, did not, however, confirm the absolute priority of particularism. Tradition and modernity began to be viewed as systems not only coexisting, but also interpenetrating and mutually adapting. Elements of traditional cultures continue to be preserved in the context of the transition to modernity, only with the passage of time they begin to not only be supplanted and modified under its influence. As a result, universalism was replaced not by “belief in a special path” for each country, but by a synthesis of universalism and particularism. The search for such a synthesis is becoming the main problem of the development strategy of many countries, since an imbalance between modernity and tradition leads to the failure of transformations and acute social conflicts.

In the process of developing the theory of modernization, in addition to the concepts of “traditional society” and “modern society,” the concept of so-called “transitional systems” between traditional society and modern society began to be used as completely independent, viable and in development. It is the question of the nature of this transition, which remained unanswered within the framework of the “classical” theory of modernization, that today, first of all, is of interest, both in theoretical and applied terms. Regarding the process of modernization, the analysis of socio-cultural forms that represent transitional stages between “traditional” and “modern” societies is especially relevant in this regard. It is precisely these forms that researchers and practitioners are dealing with today, when there are no “pure” traditional cultures left.

Transitional societies

At present, there are no traditional societies left in a “pure” form. Most non-modernized cultures, especially if their representatives live as part of a multicultural state, belong specifically to “post-traditional” societies. This is true, including for Russia. Representatives of various ethnic groups living on the territory of Russia cannot be strictly divided into representatives of traditional and modern societies. Rather, representatives of different ethnic and subcultural groups differ precisely in the nature of their dominant attitudes and orientation towards maintaining a modern or traditional way of life.

From the point of view of O.D. Fais Fais O.D. Modernization in Sardinia and ethnocultural transformations. M.: RUDN Publishing House, 2003. Representatives of a “post-traditional” or transitional society are distinguished by a number of new acquired features:

- “openness” to new ways of interacting with people and learning new professional skills;

Increased independence from the authority of parents, local groups, and churches;

A departure from passive fatalism when encountering new non-traditional phenomena;

The desire to achieve a higher professional and educational status;

The ability to plan things and implement actions, “fitting” them into precise periods of time;

Increasing interest in social and political life, expanding horizons.

The problematic nature of transitional societies as such (regardless of what they are transitioning to and from) is associated with the non-simultaneity of transformations affecting various spheres of culture and social organization. Thus, modernization changes are not limited to transformations of social institutions. Transformations necessarily invade the sphere of value and semantic orientations, social norms, habits, and patterns of behavior. But, if at the institutional level the existing mechanisms are quite flexible and can be restructured relatively easily, since they are associated with rational control over sociocultural processes, then the value-normative level is difficult and far from completely amenable to comprehension; the corresponding mechanisms are more rigid and conservative . However, we can talk about the completion of the modernization transition only when the restructuring of both levels of regulation is completely completed. To date, a number of sociocultural communities have been unable to bring the value-normative system into line with modernized socio-economic institutions.

Thus, the main feature of the transition state can be considered the imbalance of systems and structures, which at stable stages are clearly differentiated, but at the same time highly consistent. It is this discrepancy, the inability to easily restore the lost correspondence between different levels of regulation of dynamic processes in sociocultural systems, that lies the main conflict-generating, stress-generating potential of intensive, often externally imposed modernization changes. And it is the resolution of this intracultural conflict that opens the way to optimize adaptation to changing sociocultural conditions for representatives of ethnocultural communities that have undergone intense changes in a relatively short time.

One of the widely studied problems of modernization is the problem of conflict of values. It is recognized that many values ​​of Western culture are not suitable and therefore do not coexist in some cultural environments. Individualism is in some cases recognized as a purely Western product. In this regard, it is of interest for Western scientists to study the problem of the “modern personality”.

Personality: new - well forgotten old? Personality types in traditional and modernized culture

Let us touch upon another consequence of the modernization of traditional societies - changes in the generalized model of personality, which can be considered as one of the aspects of transformations in the value-semantic sphere. The influence of modern processes on a person shapes in him such personal attitudes, qualities, values, and habits that are prerequisites for the effective functioning of modern society. Some authors tried to identify a “personality syndrome”, “modern mentality” (R. Bella) or the “ modern man"(A. Inkeles). A classic study on this issue was conducted in the 70s. under the auspices of the Harvard Project on Social and Cultural Dimensions of Development. A comparative study of six countries - Argentina, Chile, India, Israel, Nigeria and Pakistan - made it possible to construct an analytical model of modern personality. The following qualities were identified:

Openness to experimentation, innovation and change, readiness for pluralism of opinions and even approval of this pluralism;

Perception of time as a linear vector (from the past - through the present - to the future), where each moment is unique and, as a result, the desire to save time (“time is money”), punctuality, focus on the present and future, and not on preserving traditions and reproduction of the experience of ancestors;

Development of personal responsibility and independence, the need for control “over the situation”, confidence in the ability to organize life in such a way as to overcome the obstacles it creates;

The need for justice to the detriment of equality of distribution of benefits, i.e. the belief that rewards are not dependent on chance, but are commensurate to skill and contribution whenever possible;

Belief in the controllability and predictability of social life (economic laws, trade rules, government policies), allowing actions to be calculated;

High value of formal education and training;

Respect for the dignity of others, including those of lower status or less power.

The idea of ​​a “mature personality” in modern psychological literature is conceptually formalized and consolidated in the works of, first of all, Western researchers Maslow A. Psychology of Being. M.: “Refl-book”, Kyiv: “Waxler”, 1997; Erickson E. Identity: youth and crisis. M.: Progress, 1996.. In accordance with their concepts, personal maturity can be described in terms of identity with oneself, a sense of continuity, integrity of one’s existence, a feeling of recognition by others of one’s identity, the ability to establish close, emotionally rich relationships with people around, the desire and ability to creatively transform oneself and the surrounding objective and social reality. In other words, personal maturity presupposes the achievement of correspondence between a person’s group self-identifications and his internal, individually unique content. Such an approach presupposes the correspondence of the direction of personal development of an individual, a bearer of a certain culture, and the values ​​​​accepted in this culture.

Here, to understand the problem of intercultural differences in the ideal type of personality, the postulate about the “consonance” of the personality and that person is fundamentally important. cultural environment, in which it is formed and exists. In other words, we are talking about the impossibility of identifying personal characteristics that are ideal for all times and peoples. Moreover, cross-cultural differences probably relate not so much to the set of personal properties required by the culture, but to different understandings of their content.

Case-study: changes in the “ideal personality type” in the process of modernization of traditional cultures of Western Siberia

The essence of the process of modernization among the indigenous peoples of Siberia and the Urals is determined by the state of transition from the traditional cultural system, focused primarily on building relationships in the context of “man - nature”, to the historical system of culture, which is organized in the concepts of “man - society” Burkov S.M. Problems of social adaptation of the individual on the example of the indigenous peoples of the North. Abstract thesis...Ph.D. Sverdlovsk, 1990. . At the same time, a positive way out of the current problematic situation is seen in the formation of a person who is confident in his own personal identity and individual significance, successfully included in a wide system of social connections, and capable of transforming the surrounding objective and social environment. The observed adaptation difficulties are due to the excessive intensification of the transition from one type of culture to another. Moreover, the fact of its external nature in relation to the sociocultural community gives additional drama to the current transitional situation. The changes in question are imposed on an ethnic group from the outside. As a result, manifestations of inadequacy or failure of adaptation strategies are increasing.

Thus, it is fundamentally important for us to adequately understand the essence of the differences between the psychological requirements for the individual in those cultural systems from which and towards which the ethnic community is moving. It is on the basis of this understanding that one can try to “bridge the gap”, outline ways for cultures to come into contact and, thus, optimize the passage of the transition stage.

Traditional culture is based on “stability” and is focused on preserving the traditions of ancestors. Its “traditionality” presupposes the homogeneity, orderliness and peremptory nature of the requirements that a cultural community makes of its representatives, regulating every step of an individual from birth to death. In cultures of this type, focused on ancestors and traditions (post-figurative, in M. Mead’s terminology): “The past of adults turns out to be the future of each new generation; what they have lived is a blueprint for the future for their children” Mead M. Culture and the World of Childhood. M.: Nauka, 1988. .

Traditional culture, as noted by A.V. Golovnev (1995), analyzing the essence of the culture of the Ob Ugrians - Khanty and Mansi, is based on the perception of the stability of the universe and, accordingly, on the idea of ​​​​its own inviolability. “She is slender and rich, but fit into a “firm framework”, which does not allow her to quickly respond to external changes... And if something changes, it is at the base. This is why there are massive losses of traditions among the Khanty and Mansi, because without the “solid framework” crushed by external influences, the culture turns out to be defenseless.” Golovnev A.V. Speaking cultures: traditions of the Samoyeds and Ugrians. Ekaterinburg: UrORAN, 1995, p.576..

Probably, these frameworks are generated by a very complex, subtle style of relations between man and nature, developed over centuries, which forms the core of traditional culture. The destruction of this core makes the culture extremely vulnerable to external attacks.

Let's try to analyze the semantic core of traditional culture, taking as an example the culture of the peoples of Western Siberia - the Ob Ugrians (Khanty and Mansi).

In the traditional worldview of the Ob Ugrians, nature does not act as an aggressor, to whose dictate it is necessary to adapt, and not as a tool that a person is free to use as he pleases. Nature here is a friend, partner, nurse, home. There are many similar epithets that can be chosen, and these are not just artistic images.

According to the traditional ideas of the Ob Ugrians, the system of the universe has a three-member structure: the upper, middle and lower worlds. This system is further divided into the spheres of nature and man. The mediator between all levels and subsystems is the bear, which is both an “element” of nature and a “brother” of man. Thus, man is in a “kinship” relationship with nature. That is why man has learned not only to appreciate the beauty of nature and to be grateful to its gifts, he has learned to subtly feel its mood, and in accordance with it to build his own behavior, harmonizing the wishes of man with the capabilities of nature. Therefore, no matter what element of the traditional material or spiritual culture of the Khanty and Mansi is discussed, it is always considered from the standpoint of environmental feasibility.

The Khanty and Mansi perceived the entire world around them as alive. All phenomena of the world, including those “inanimate” from our point of view - elements of the landscape, celestial bodies, were understood as something that not only has its own life, but is also capable of influencing human life. Accordingly, a person had to take special actions to appease the spirits of nature and, thereby, gain happiness for himself. The deities worshiped by the inhabitants of Siberia are personified natural phenomena, the significance of which is directly related to the economic activities of the local population Gemuev I.N., Sagalaev A.M., Soloviev A.I. The legends were of the taiga region. Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1989.. Accordingly, natural phenomena associated primarily with forests and rivers were deified.

The most important stabilizing factor in the Ob-Ugric culture was the family. In the family, as noted by Y.V. Chesnov, Chesnov Y.V. Lectures on historical ethnology. M.: Gardarika, 1998, p.89. , culture is constantly reproduced in its undivided form, where “ethnologists find elements of economic and cultural types, ethnographic characteristics, historical and cultural communities, identify in it layers of traditions, borrowings, innovations, etc.” The family in the traditional culture of the Khanty and Mansi is also an economic collective, with its inherent complex of labor operations, seasonality of work, etc., which has a certain transformative influence on the territory it occupies Alekseev V.P. Essays on human ecology. M.: Science. 1993..

In traditional Khanty culture, from the moment of birth, a child was surrounded by a large number of adults focused on caring for him. This additional attention and care was provided by the institution of “social parents.” One of the fundamental differences in the organization of the socialization process in a traditional society and in a modernized one is that the child, in fact, belongs to the entire community in which he lives, and not just to his biological parents.

Among the Khanty, the woman who gave birth became the “umbilical mother” pukan angki, her husband or another man respected by the family became the “umbilical father” pukan as "i. Also, the child could have godmothers and fathers - pyarn angki and pyarn as"i - and more young “bearing father and mother” - altum angki and altum as "and Voldina T.V. Maternity and funeral-memorial rituals of the Kazym Khanty // Ethnography of the peoples of Western Siberia. Siberian ethnographic collection. Issue 10. / Responsible editor D. A.Funk, A.P.Zenko. M.: Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology RAS, 2000. P.190-199..

As noted by researchers of the process of socialization in traditional societies, Mead M. Culture and the world of childhood. M.: Nauka, 1988; Butinov N.A. Childhood in the conditions of a communal-tribal system // Ethnography of childhood. Traditional methods of raising children among the peoples of Australia, Oceania and Indonesia. / Ed. N.A. Butinova, I.S. Kona. M.: Science, Eastern Literature, 1992. P.56-84., the existence of a social institution, i.e. additional, parents performed the function of protecting and supporting the child. In this case, not only the biological parents, but also quite big circle other adults were obliged to take care of the child, monitor his development, try to see him as often as possible, i.e. take a direct part in his upbringing.

M. Mead, regarding “social education”, which she studied, naturally, on completely different ethnographic material, notes that it “leads to the fact that the child gets used to thinking about the world as something filled with parents, and not as a place where his safety and well-being depend on the maintenance of his relationship with his own parents.”

However, the child, upon becoming an adult, had to, in turn, take care not only of his biological, but also of his social parents.

In a Khanty family, as a rule, the two most revered people are the youngest and the oldest. This is usually explained by the principle of justice: since each family member will be in these hypostases, then everyone will receive, sooner or later, their share of honor and respect. Such a prioritization presupposes an emphasis on the line of transmission of cultural baggage from the oldest to the youngest and, accordingly, to a certain extent, the conservation of culture.

Another mechanism of vertical cultural transmission can be considered the following ritual, which has survived to the present day. After the birth of a child, fortune telling was necessarily carried out, which was supposed to indicate whose soul was reborn in the child. An elderly woman lifted the baby's cradle, calling out the names of deceased relatives. When pronouncing the name of the reborn ancestor, the cradle became heavy. It was believed that with the soul (lil-soul-breath) of the ancestor, the child also received it character traits- physiological and social, including the name and terms of kinship Zenko A.P. Ideas about man in the traditional view of the Ob Ugrians // Ethnography of the peoples of Western Siberia. Siberian ethnographic collection. Issue 10. / Responsible editor D.A.Funk, A.P.Zenko. M.: Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology RAS, 2000. P.169-177; Sokolova Z.P. Hereditary or ancestral names among the Ob Ugrians and customs associated with them // Soviet ethnography. 1975, no. 5. P.42-52.. The baby was called “grandfather”, “uncle”, etc., depending on who the family members were of the person whose soul was incarnated in the child.

Thus, the traditional ideas of the Ob Ugrians and the rituals associated with them emphasize the value of not just procreation, but the sustainable transmission of cultural experience from generation to generation and repetition human destinies. In contrast to traditional culture, the upbringing and education of children in a modernized society is focused on constantly making changes to the culture. Accordingly, in a modernized society, the priority becomes not vertical (intergenerational) cultural transmission, but the exchange of experience and cultural values ​​between representatives of the same generation. A frequent consequence of modernization is that representatives of the older generation are no longer perceived as the wisest and, therefore, the most respected members of society. Young people turn out to be more competent in the constantly changing conditions of a modernized culture, and they, accordingly, take on the functions of managing the life of society, which in traditional society belonged, as a rule, to old people. M. Mead designated such cultures as cofigurative, in which “the predominant model of behavior for people is the behavior of their contemporaries” M. Mead. Culture and the world of childhood. M.: Nauka, 1988, p. 342..

The traditional activities of the Ob Ugrians - hunting, fishing, reindeer herding - require a person to be able to live and work alone, or, in extreme cases, in “company” with a dog or deer. Accordingly, with this requirement of loneliness in folk pedagogy, two basic principles of education were born: V.S. Kukushkin, L.D. Stolyarenko. Ethnopedagogy and ethnopsychology. Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, 2000. .

Firstly, every action is even very little man must be subordinated to a specific purpose. Thus, in sports competitions, elements of hunting and reindeer herding are played out (throwing a lasso, jumping over sleds, etc.). Any business is focused on achieving a specific household goal.

Secondly, the child must learn to find a way out of any difficult life situation on his own, and not use tips from adults. An adult can only suggest HOW to do, but not WHAT to do, and then only when he sees that the child has already exhausted his strength and knowledge in trying to solve the problem on his own. “No later than tomorrow, the child will be in the tundra alone (not counting the dogs) with the wind and frost. There will be no one to ask. If today you don’t load the child’s thinking, limiting yourself to loading memory, then tomorrow thinking will no longer turn on. After all, even an adult cannot foresee the tomorrow’s situation in which the pupil will find himself. Giving him a ready answer today means ruining him!” (Kukushkin, Stolyarenko, 2000, p. 248).

The boarding education system, even in its ideal, “model” version, is built on completely different principles and practically does not give the child the knowledge and skills that may be useful to him in the future. This training requires the child only to assimilate ready-made information, which is also very far from the realities of life of the northern peoples and does not have sensory support in the out-of-school experience of children. Adding to this the often low level of teacher training, lack of textbooks, etc., we get an education that is passive in form and almost useless in content.

In today's post-modernized world, more and more efforts are being made to create new system education - focused not on the broadcast of some ready-made information, but on teaching children to independently obtain knowledge and produce new ideas. Development of such educational system is dictated by the requirements of the modern world, where the intensive development of science and the introduction of high technologies lead to the constant updating of the knowledge that humanity operates: discovery new information about the world around him refutes those theories that seemed true quite recently or corrects and clarifies them.

In modern conditions, it is not so important to remember what is known today; the ability to independently find the necessary information is much more effective. Therefore, school education is aimed, first of all, at developing children’s ability to think and independently explore the world. Thus, in essence, the modern reform of the education system is focused on the same values ​​that were key in raising and educating children in traditional societies: the child’s independence, his creative mental activity, and the ability to set goals. The means of achieving this goal in traditional and modern societies are different, but the fundamental orientations are similar.

The traditional culture of the Ob Ugrians, like the cultures of other peoples, where the main occupation was hunting and fishing, gravitates towards the pole of individualism on the “collectivism - individualism” scale. The hunter is forced to spend a long time alone, relying only on own strength and experience, which requires the development of certain character traits. The inhabitants of the forest, as noted by V.K. Arsenyev Arsenyev V.K. Dersu Uzala. Through the taiga. M.: Nauka, 1972., are distinguished by silence, calmness, and thoughtfulness. Therefore, one of the dominant features of traditional education among the Ob Ugrians was the development of child independence. As new achievements in independence accumulated, different ages of the child were named: 1) the age of running, 2) the age of killing an animal, 3) the age of killing with a bow. Or: 1) grew up to hunt squirrels, 2) grew up to hunt forest animals Chesnov Ya.V. Lectures on historical ethnology. M.: Gardarika, 1998. .

However, in any traditional society, collectivist orientations are still stronger than in a modernized one. Thus, among the Khanty, the main decisions regarding the life of the community (cleaning rivers of debris, helping those in need, punishing violators of public morality) were made by the people's assembly. Everyone was present at these meetings, but only adult men had the right to vote. Execution of decisions, adopted by the meeting was mandatory, no one dared to disobey them. In this case, a person would place himself outside of society and lose its support, which is unthinkable in the harsh conditions of fighting the elements.

After general remarks describing the attitude towards a person in traditional culture and in a modernized society, we will consider the ideas about the ideal type of personality accepted in typologically different cultures. At the same time, we will be guided by the logic of describing psychosocial identity proposed by E. Erikson, which involves reflecting a whole complex of human relationships - to himself and the development of his own life, to the world around him and other people, to the activities he performs. However, before moving on to further presentation of the material, we suggest that you fill out a psychological test that allows you to diagnose the development of qualities that vary significantly in different types of cultures.

When answering the following questions, you need to read the statements and choose the ending with which you agree. to a greater extent agree. Then circle the number that reflects the degree of your agreement with the chosen ending - the closer the number is to the chosen option, the more you agree with it.

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Introduction.

Over ten thousand years of its development, human culture has gone from the stone ax to space exploration. It never remained motionless: having originated, it developed and spread from one region to another, was transmitted from past generations to the present and future, and was constantly replenished with new material and spiritual products.

Numerous and varied types of cultural change have been defined by the concept of "cultural dynamics", which implies both changes within a culture and in the interaction of different cultures.

The concept of cultural dynamics is closely related to the concept of “cultural change”, widely used in cultural theory, but is not identical to it. Cultural changes presuppose any transformations in culture, including those that lack integrity and a clearly defined direction of movement; the concept of “cultural change” is broader than the concept of “cultural dynamics”; at the same time it is less certain.

In the 30s P. Sorokin called his four-volume work on the history of culture from ancient times and the transition from one cultural system to another “Social and cultural dynamics.” The widespread use of the concept of cultural dynamics occurs in the second half of the twentieth century, when in the field of scientific analytics there is an active expansion of ideas about changes in culture, about the diversity of dynamic types and forms, as well as about the sources and prerequisites of cultural movements. To date, a huge volume of ideas, ideas and concepts has been accumulated in world scientific thought, allowing us to give a scientific and philosophical interpretation of cultural dynamics from different cognitive and epistemological positions - from the point of view of the patterns of evolutionary changes, historical development, as well as based on postmodern ideas about fragmentation cultural dynamic fields; in terms of philosophy or information-cybernetic analysis; based on the ideas of the theory of innovative, creative or managerial activity. A significant contribution to the development of the theory of cultural dynamics was made by researchers working within the framework of the structural-functional approach, conflict theory, and synergetics.

Sociocultural process and cultural dynamics.

“Cultural processes represent the goal-oriented vital activity of people and are the implementation of a more or less typical sequence of procedures: people’s understanding of their interests and needs that arise in connection with certain circumstances; development of technologies (methods) to satisfy these interests and needs (or modernization of existing technologies for new tasks); practical applications these technologies and obtaining some result (product); assessing the effectiveness of the technologies used and the compliance of the results obtained with the goals pursued; selection of the most utilitarian effective and socially acceptable methods and results of carrying out this activity; transmitting information to other people about these methods and results; consolidation of selected patterns of activity in norms, rules, standards, value orientations, traditions, etc. in the form of “cultural texts” containing organizational-technological, normative-regulatory, communicative-evaluative and other information about the most effective and socially acceptable ways of satisfying certain interests and needs of people (i.e. social experience of carrying out activities in forms that do not have destructive consequences for the level of social integration and consolidation of the community). The totality of such “texts” is the culture of a given community.”

National cultures are specific cultural systems that have relative autonomy and autochthony (indigenous origin). Various cultures numerous peoples and nationalities, are based on a single universal human creative principle. They differ from each other in form, which is determined by the peculiarities of the history of specific peoples, the various conditions in which the formation of these cultures took place. It is also necessary to take into account the fact that the vast majority of peoples do not exist in isolation, but actively interact with other peoples. Therefore, many national cultures are the result of the interaction of several peoples living (or previously living) next to each other.

Cultural differentiation is the quality of change in culture, which is associated with isolation, division, separation of parts from the whole.

Interaction of cultures -- special kind direct relationships and connections that develop between at least two cultures, as well as those influences and mutual changes that appear in the course of these relationships. Of decisive importance in the processes of interaction between cultures is the change in states, qualities, areas of activity, values ​​of one and another culture, the generation of new forms of cultural activity, spiritual guidelines and signs of people’s lifestyles under the influence of impulses coming from outside.

Highlight different levels interactions. The ethnic level of interaction is characteristic of relations between local ethnic groups, historical-ethnographic, ethno-confessional and other communities. At the national level of interaction, regulatory functions are largely performed by state-political structures. The civilizational level of interaction takes on spontaneous historical forms; however, at this level, both before and now, the most significant results in the exchange of spiritual, artistic, and scientific achievements are possible. In the everyday practice of communication between countries and peoples of the world, processes and relationships characteristic of all three levels of interaction most often intersect. In intercultural relations, especially within a multinational state, both large and small nations, both having their own administrative and state forms of regulation of ethnic entities and those without such forms, simultaneously take part. At the same time, larger in number of representatives and in role in life different nations cultural education can have a greater influence on interaction processes than a small ethnic group, although the latter’s contribution to interaction should in no way be underestimated. Nevertheless, researchers distinguish between a donor culture (which gives more than it receives) and a recipient culture (a culture that mainly receives). Over historically long periods of time, these roles may change. Its structure is important in the interaction of cultures, i.e. those meaningful directions and specific forms of mutual exchange through which it is carried out. One of the most ancient and widespread forms of interaction is the exchange of economic technologies and professional specialists; A stable type of interaction is interstate relations, political and legal ties. Under the influence of the interaction of cultures, changes in the language, artistic or religious practices of interacting peoples, as well as in their customs, can occur in a very unique way.

International relations are not only a form of interaction between cultures, but they also contain a whole chain of mechanisms through which it is carried out. In addition to the mechanisms operating within international relations, in the practice of interaction, the system of social institutions and mechanisms within the cultures themselves is widely used. An important mechanism of interaction can be modernization policy, national and cultural policy, implemented at the state level, as well as within individual production and corporate structures, municipal authorities, societies, organizations, cultural and national associations.

Ultimately, all cultural processes are functionally related to the implementation and maintenance of the collective life of people, increasing the level of their social integration, organization, regulation, communication, social reproduction of their communities, etc. .

Researchers identify three types of time scales of sociocultural dynamics:

1. Microscale time scales (1-25 years) are used in the analysis of processes occurring in the life of groups and individuals (for example, human age rhythms, business activity cycles, etc.);

2. Medium-scale time scales are used when considering such important factors of sociocultural dynamics as economic ups and downs (48 - 55 years), the process of generational change (25 - 30 years);

3. Macroscale time scales (100 years or more) are used in the study of traditions, processes of changing dynasties, social formations, language changes, etc. It is these scales that are used when analyzing the origins, flourishing, decline and death of a particular type of culture.

Since changes in culture occur both in the form of activation and in the form of slowing down processes, the most important characteristics of time for cultural scientists are its rhythm and tempo.

“Modern culturologist Yu.M. Lotman in his book “Culture and Explosion” presents the nature of sociodynamic processes in the form of continuous movement - “meaningful predictability” and, as opposed to this, unpredictability, that is, changes “realized in the order of an explosion.” Speaking about “unpredictability,” Y. Lotman means that each “moment of explosion” has a certain set of equally probable possibilities for a culture to transition to another state, of which only one is realized. According to Yu. Lotman, the process of the emergence of great scientific ideas and discoveries is like an explosion, and their technical implementation obeys the laws of gradual dynamics. “Thus, dynamic processes in culture are constructed as peculiar oscillations of a pendulum between the state of an explosion and the state of an organization realizing itself in gradual processes.”

“In the process of functioning of such a system as culture, contradictions are formed and accumulated in its various elements and subsystems. The system turns out to be unbalanced and malfunctions, disintegration tendencies are intensifying. A crisis situation may arise, so the renewal process is necessary. If deformation occurs simultaneously in several subsystems of culture (for example, politics, economics, etc.), then the crisis becomes all-encompassing and acquires a systemic character.”

Periods of crisis are inevitable for any culture and can play not only a negative, but also a positive role in sociocultural dynamics.

It must be emphasized that in real practice, the processes of ascension and crisis processes are often closely intertwined with each other so that the dominant tendencies do not appear. The process of the withering away of old norms and the process of introducing new ones are carried out in parallel, sometimes rapidly, sometimes gradually, and therefore imperceptibly.

There are centers for the generation of culture and the periphery to which it spreads. All of us and each of us are both consumers and creators of cultural values, although personal contributions to consumption and creation are far from the same.”

There are many ways to spread culture. Prominent Russian philosopher-culturologist P.S. Gurevich highlighted the following aspects of the cultural innovation movement:

1) Replication.

2) Sublimation (switching spiritual energy from one state to another).

3) Projection, that is, transference value guidelines from one cultural subject to another.

4) Identification - likening to images, idols, ideals.

All this points to the socio-psychological mechanisms of culture transfer, its perception, assimilation, and dissemination.

However, in addition to these socio-psychological aspects, it is necessary to take into account both social institutions and technical means of disseminating culture. Science, education, the media (mass media), art taken as a social institution, family, various public associations, the state and much more act as channels for the dissemination of culture.

Festivals and celebrations, ritual traditional acts (from weddings to funerals), market mechanisms and much more - all this also acts as a means and way of disseminating and perceiving cultural values.

A necessary element in cultural dynamics is the process of sociocultural communication - the process of interaction between subjects of sociocultural activity (individuals, groups, organizations, etc.) for the purpose of transmitting or exchanging information through sign systems (languages), techniques and means adopted in a given culture use. Sociocultural communication acts as one of the basic mechanisms and an integral component of the sociocultural process, providing the very possibility of forming social connections, managing the joint life activities of people and regulating its individual areas, accumulating and transmitting social experience.

The term “communication” appears in scientific literature at the beginning of the twentieth century. and very quickly, along with its general scientific significance (as a means of communication of any objects), it acquires a sociocultural meaning associated with the specifics of information exchange in society. Necessary conditions and structural components of sociocultural communication are the presence of a common language among the subjects of communication, channels for transmitting information, as well as rules for communication (semiotic, ethical).

In a certain sense, every social action can be considered as communicative, as containing and expressing certain information. However, only actions carried out with the special purpose of communication are actually communicative, i.e. having a motivational basis, orientation towards the transfer of information and carried out using a sign system adequate to this goal. An analysis of these types of social actions is given in the works of A. Schutz.

A specific sphere of sociocultural communication is mass communication, which can be defined as a cultural area consisting of open, ordered processes of broadcasting socially significant information that can be purposefully generated and regulated.

The transmitted information acquires cultural specificity insofar as it regulates people’s ideas about the level of social acceptability of certain methods of carrying out any type of activity, intellectual assessments and positions, which ultimately determines the functional load of this knowledge and ideas as tools for ensuring social interaction of people.

“Thus, the problem of choosing a development path takes on the character of a volitional act of a person, because his brain is a mechanism developed in the course of evolution to receive, process, store and use information, choosing either death and desolation, or creativity and progress.”

Cultural processes are changes over time in the state of cultural systems and objects, as well as typical patterns of interaction between people and their social groups. Although cultural processes are empirically manifested in the totality of cultural events, these concepts are not identical. By cultural processes we mean functional procedures that are typical, universal in scope in different cultures and stable in their repeatability, and can be classified on the basis of common characteristics. Cultural events are concrete historical particular cases of the implementation of cultural processes that have unique features, the variability of which is determined by the sum of the conditions and circumstances of their occurrence.

The main groups of cultural processes include the following:

1. The generation of cultural phenomena (the genesis of adaptive and creative innovations in the form of technologies and tools of activity, knowledge, ideas, works, symbolic designations, forms of organization and regulation of joint actions, methods of information exchange, etc.) and their partial institutionalization; transformation of generated cultural forms into samples, norms, standards and rules for the implementation of relevant activities and the results achieved; the formation of sociocultural and ethnocultural systems and configurations, their structure and organization, systems of social institutions and functional roles, lifestyles and pictures of the world; formation of cultural and historical types of social organization of communities).

2. Dissemination of cultural phenomena (social integration of cultural forms into societies, practice as preferred and recommended examples of technologies and products of activity; expansion or contraction of the number of subjects involved in the practice of using these forms; spatial diffusion of these forms, expansion of the territory of their use, borrowing them other cultural systems, etc.).

3. The functioning of cultural phenomena (actions and interactions of people to satisfy their individual and group interests, needs and necessities, carried out individually and collectively, conventionally and in the system of social institutions in the form of objectifying cultural patterns in specific artifacts of the use of technology and obtaining products of activity - life-sustaining , nature-transforming, infrastructural, technical, social-organizational, regulatory, communicative, cognitive, worldview, artistic, evaluative, etc.; self-regulation by people of the forms of their social practice based on accepted cultural patterns).

4. Sociocultural communication between people (symbolic coding of observed and represented natural and social phenomena and processes in semantic signs - concepts, designations, names, etc.; exchange of information between people about observed and represented phenomena and processes through its translation in the form of semantic signs and verbal and non-verbal texts compiled from them, regulating the order of people’s life activities, the transfer of knowledge, etc.).

5. Accumulation of socially significant knowledge and experience (accumulation and generalization of information about the surrounding world and social experience of the collective life of people, contributing to increasing the level of their social integration and consolidation, improving mutual understanding and interaction, as well as reducing the severity and resolving emerging contradictions and tensions; selection of these knowledge and experience based on the practice of their use; formation on the basis of selected samples of systems value orientations, criteria for assessing phenomena and events according to the levels of their usefulness and significance for people and the social acceptability of certain forms of activity and their results; consolidation of this kind of value systems in the system of traditions).

6. Perception and interpretation of cultural phenomena by cultural subjects (processes of individual and collective understanding - identification, “decoding” of symbolism, understanding of the essential features and functions of cultural phenomena; their conceptual and evaluative interpretation, symbolic “appropriation” of cultural forms by people and their self-identification and self-marking through these forms; symbolization and marking of the community’s habitat; development of normative options for interpreting one’s own and alien cultural forms, turning these stereotypes of perception and interpretation into a significant element of cultural tradition).

7. Social and historical self-reproduction of cultural systems and forms (intergenerational transmission of sociocultural experience, selected norms, standards and rules for performing any socially significant action, acts of cognition, orientation, interpretation, etc., carried out in the course of socialization and inculturation of community members in the process their upbringing, education, corrective regulation and other forms of social communication; transmission of a system of images of collective identity in the form of a complex of traditions, rites, rituals, normative parameters of lifestyles and pictures of the world that support the necessary level of social consolidation of the community; reproduction of forms of social organization and regulation in the form social institutions and conventional norms of collective life and interaction, languages ​​for exchanging information, etc.).

8. Variability of cultural phenomena (gradual transformation of utilitarian and social-regulatory functions, level of social relevance, formal features and semantic meanings of cultural forms as the time of their functioning in social practice, and in the process of their spaces. distribution; development and modernization of cultural forms in the direction of increasing their utilitarian and social efficiency, deepening functional specialization; the evolution of cultural systems along the path of increasing the complexity of their organization and structure, increasing stability and functional universality, social integrative capabilities and adaptive plasticity, and also, on the contrary, the degradation of cultural phenomena in the form of a lower level of functional specialization of forms, structural and organizational complexity, stability and universality of systems and so on. up to their elimination).