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Alexander N. Chumakov |
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Metaphysics
of globalization: |
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Monograph. – 2nd
ed., rev. and extra. – Moscow: “Prospect”,
2017. – 496 p. ISBN:
978-5-392-19573-2 |
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SUMMARY The monograph is an important part of the general globalization theory
that continues a fundamental study initiated by the author in his book
«Globalization: outline of the holistic world»[1]. While in the first book globalization is represented as a self-
sufficient and objective historical process, progressing in accordance with
its own patterns and the logic of local, regional and global social changes,
now it appears to be one of the most important characteristics the world
sociosystem allowing to understand this system in its dynamics taking into consideration transformation of its inner contents culture) and changes of its forms (civilization). Culture,
civilization and globalization analyzed as
tightly connected id fundamental characteristics of various social systems
and world immunity as a whole are in the center of the study. The book, written
in exciting and understandable manner clearly demonstrates how thank s to objective reasons global
problems of modernity have penetrated economic, political and spiritual life
of various nations and how their cultural-cum-civilizational
development is become part of the spiraling multiaspect globalization. Step by step the reader may see
the logic and certain consequence of historic events when civilizational ties
that engender separated focuses civilization emerge and enhance as a result of
progressive development and perfection of culture. Finally, civilizational development
had led to globalization that, in its turn, gave birth to the global problems of modernity in the second half of the 20,h
century. Using systemic approach to
understanding social processes and leaning upon the newest scientific and
philosophical achievements in this sphere, the author concludes that a linear
and plane world in the 20th century has been finally replaced with
a multi-dimensional world. The world understood this way is
represented as a complex fractal, consisting of separated
cultural-cum-civilizational systems where relations between culture and
civilization are defined by such principles as subsidiarity and uncertainty.
From this viewpoint culture and civilization are thought to be an inseparable
unity when something related to culture can be at the same time analyzed as
related to civilization, and vice versa. At the same time, attempts to define
culture more precisely make the definition of civilization less clear;
clearer definition of civilization makes the definition of civilization less
precise. The approach to understanding
cultural-cum-civilizational systems suggested in the book allows to study
separated societies and humanity as a whole not only in one or two
dimensions, as within contemporary cultural or civilizational approach, but
«multi-dimensionally» - in three planes at the same time: from the viewpoint
of culture, civilization and globalization. The author demonstrates that the
tightest connection of mutually defining terms «culture», «civilization» and
«globalization» (and, what is more important, of those phenomena that exist
behind them) is still not enough recognized and researched. In this volume
the issues in question are focused on while interdependence and mutual
support of culture, civilization and globalization are being formulated as a
research problem to be resolved. The author stresses that not only
at the level of everyday thinking, but among professionals more and more
people regret that globalization has destructive impact on culture, rums its
traditional forms, «levels», «depersonalizes» or even «wipes out» its
originality and specific features. At the same time, «civilization»
understood mostly as «Western», «technogenic» civilization is often
proclaimed to be the one to blame for globalization and it-engendered
problems. It is blamed for excessive dynamism and aggression, soulless
mechanism and expansionist aspirations, environmental degradation and, last
but not least, unification of values and destruction of «human nature». In
the other words, civilization is thought to have destructive and demonic
nature and to be the engine of destructive forces of globalization. Culture,
in its turn, is seen as something passive, a phenomenon, threatened by
globalization and forcefully changed by it through destruction of cultural
basics. Culture, civilization and
globalization are usually analyzed as separated, self-sufficient phenomena,
being mostly in a situation of serious contradiction and confrontation, which
need to be removed through building obstacles in the way of «soulless
technogenic civilization» and fighting globalization mercilessly. The volume emphasizes that such,
according to the author’s opinion, mistaken positions ground many popular and
non-constructive neo-Russoist claims, such as «to protect nature», «to
preserve culture», «to change the type of civilizational development», «to
restrain globalization», «to resolve global problems finally», etc. This
philosophical platform becomes the basis for isolationism and noncosmopolitism,
for straight-out struggle to protect «national interests», for mass protest
movements, such as «antiglobalists», «alterglobalists» and so on. The author suggests that one of
the reasons for this is the fact that absolute majority of people consider
modern world to be linear and plain. But by the end of the last century it
has finally become non-linear and multi-dimensional. Nevertheless, we try to
understand, to explain, to describe this new, changed world using customary
but old-fashioned terms and ideas. The author specially stresses that
the volume is not a special study in cultural or civilizational history. It
does not aim at building a new system of periodization or a scheme of
historical process in the context of globalization, as it may look like. Its
central purpose is to combine in the framework of a single approach towards
history and modernity three components or, in the other words, three
dimensions: culture,
civilization and globalization. These terms have emerged long ago and are
actively used by social sciences but separately; they still are not taken as
a whole in one context, inseparably, holistically, according to subsidiarity
principle. The time for such approach has come because
cultural-cum-civilizational approaches have nearly lost their heuristic value
and are now in a vicious circle of finding new ways of being applied to
understanding social processes. The thought that people will
sooner or later have to change their vision of the world if they want to cope
with global problems they encounter is the leitmotif of the book. Our idea of
the world should change in accordance with the changes of the world itself.
For example, as a result of the «Copernican turn» our ideas regarding the
position of our planet in outer space have changed. Now global studies face a
necessity to have a new look at the apparently unshakable prepositions and to
rethink some established concepts typical for both everyday and research
language but being already backward and non-adequate to the rapidly changing
modern world. The book tackles many
philosophical, humanitarian, historic problems and will be useful for
researchers and specialists, providing valuable and topical information for
teachers and students. It will also attract attention of the general reader
interested in world problems of modernity and the future of globalization. www.globalistika.ru AUTHOR’S PREFACE INTRODUCTION METHODOLOGICAL PREAMBLE 1. On specifying terms 2. On methods and principles
of research Chapter
I. HISTORICAL PROCESS CATEGORIZED AS «CULTURE», «CIVILIZATION» AND
«GLOBALIZATION» 1.1. Social development as a
subject matter of a theoretical study 1.2. The holism of historical
process: philosophical aspect 1.3. Systemic approach to
understanding social processes 1.4. Global evolutionism 1 5. Unity and interdependence of
«culture», «civilization» and «globalization» 1.6. Synthetic vision of history Chapter
II. CULTURE AS A PHENOMENON AND METHOD OF DESCRIBING SOCIAL REALITY 2.1. Culture as a general
characteristics of society 2.2. Etymology of the term
«culture» 2.3. The idea of culture: in
search of meaning 2.4. The universal and unique features of
culture 2.5. The basic functions of culture 2.6. Statics and dynamics of the
cultural complex 2.7. Bearers and fundamental
components of culture 2.8. The nature of cultural
diversity 2.9. Spiritual and material
aspects of culture 2.10. Mass and elite cultures as
products of globalization 2.11. Dialog and conflict of
cultures in the global world 2.12 Globalization of culture 2.13. The phenomenon of universal
culture 2.14 Value and ethical components
of the global world 2.15. Historical process in the
context of culture 2.16. Culture as a method of
reflecting and understanding social reality Chapter III. CIVILIZATION AS A PHENOMENON AND
METHOD OF DESCRIBING SOCIAL TIES 3.1. Civilization as a general
characteristics of society 3.2. Etymology of the term 3.3. 3.3. Meaning and evolution of
the term «civilization» 3.4. Civilizations systematized 3.5. Civilization as a form or
external frame of culture 3 6. Civilizational unity of
countries and peoples of the world 3.7. Historical types of
civilizational development 3.8. Local and regional
civilizations 3.9. From local and regional
civilizations to the global one 3.10. The emergence of the global
civilization 3.11. The global civilization as
reality 3.12. Historical process in the
context of civilizational development Chapter IV. CULTURAL-CUM-CIV1LIZATIONAL
SYSTEMS 4.1. Culture and
civilization in their unity and diversity 4.2. Genesis of
cultural-cum-civilizational ties 4.3.
Cultural-cum-civilizational systems as way of describing of the social
reality 4.4. Ecumenes as regional
manifestation of the unity of culture and civilization 4.5. Cultural-cum-civilizational
conglomerates 4.6. Historical types of
cultural-cum-civizational systems. 4.7. Universal unity of the world
community 4.8. Cultural-cum-civilizational
dimension of the modern world Chapter V. GLOBALIZATION OF
CULTURAL-CUM-CIVILIZATIONAL SYSTEMS 5.1.
Globalization as the third dimension of the world sociosystem. 5.2. Dynamics of globalization' 5.3. Fundamental principles of
natural sciences applied to society. 5.4. The formation of a new reality 5.5. Cultural-cum-civilizational
systems in the context of globalization 5.6. Metasystem «culture -
civilization - globalization» 5 7. On the way to a global society
(instead of the Conclusion) INDEX SOURCES SUMMARY |
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[1] Alexander N. Chumakov. Globalization: outline of the holistic world. M.: Prospect, 2005. (2th eds., 2009; 3th
eds., 2016).