The Evolution of Civilizations and Cultures - Research Paper Example

Introduction The evolution of civilizations and cultures have been studied to identify the progress and development of societies. Different theorieshave been used to explain how societies change and shift from one form to another. It is important to understand and to analyze evolution of societies as this allows people to understand the success and failure of each change and how it impacts the society of today. There is a certain direction that societies take to improve the way of living of people. It may be connected to social evolution, although, not all evolutionary theories can explain the entire evolutionary process. Civilization, society and culture are closely related to each and are used interchangeably. Society can be defined as a large group of individuals who share the same cultural values, norms and meanings, on which the members’ behaviours and actions are based upon.1 Social organizations and interactions describe the movement of these individuals. As the society faces sudden and rapid changes in its social, economic and political structure, it is important to understand how the past and the process of development from the past to the present influence the changes of today. This will also help in understanding how the society is moving towards, to become what kind of society in the future. The definition of civilization is more problematic but the most common is that a civilization is a large society, whether geographical or in terms of its population, that has a continuously growing and progressing culture2. The hallmarks of growth indicates the success and failure of a civilization. Growth does not necessarily mean geographical growth but it includes the growth of the spirits, mechanisms, ideas and social institutions that makes up a civilization3. This indicates that the growth of civilizations is associated with cultural evolution. Theories of Evolution The study of evolution of societies describes that there are certain phases that a civilization goes through. The cycle of events indicates that there is a growth phase and a disintegration phase. This depends on how the societies are able to adapt with the changing natural and social environment. As mankind goes through different challenges, they find ways on how to overcome these challenges, and with it creates new challenges and opportunities for change. It is evident that as the civilizations goes through one phase to another, they learn and adapt different techniques and strategies to improve their state, whether its social, political or economical. Projections of the future of civilizations are based on the concept of continuous change and transition from one phase to another. Blaha describes the contemporary civilizations, such as Chinese, Indian and Islamic civilizations, as still growing while the Western civilization is slowly declining, with the major technological advances cushioning and softening its decline.4 The Japanese civilization has just started its state of decline with the rapidly aging population supporting this claim. The Theory of Civilization develops an explanation of the evolution of civilizations based on quantitative and qualitative data gathered. It does not only focus on one aspect of the evolution of societies but instead it looks at the interactions of different events, like impact of major natural events on civilization, interaction of civilizations and barbarians, effect of technology and culture, and the effect of the increasing and decreasing life span of humans on civilization.5 With this, it can be deduced that civilizations can only evolve through the different interactions of the social, political and economical aspects of the society. Models of Change Models of change are developed to predict the movement and trends in the phases that civilizations undergo through their life cycle. There are several types of models of change that have been used to describe the cycle of evolution in civilizations. The most famous type of model is the unilinear model. It argues that the change that happens within civilizations are natural and constant, that evolution has a direction and is continuous, and that change is necessary and proceeds from uniform causes6. In this model, it shows that evolution creates progress. This model also indicates that there is a certain social order that happens alongside the social changes. This is needed to develop the society and not just remain in a stagnant situation. This is, predominantly, the model used for Western societies. Using this model in explaining the rise and fall of other civilizations may not be effective since this is modelled after the rise and fall of Western societies, which have different values, cultures and social norms than the rest of the world. The model that exhibits less ethnocentrism is the multilinear model. This emphasizes that in order to understand the evolutionary process of a society, the unique processes of the evolution of that certain society must be analyzed. This indicates that a civilization’s evolution does not necessarily apply to other societies as each one has its own unique process of changes and stages that it undergoes to evolve. This model is significant in understanding how a society can adapt to the modern world even as the society maintains a hold on its cultural norms. Both the unilinear and multilinear model does not indicate, though, how civilizations fall out of its progression. An attempt to explain this stage has been developed through the cyclical model. As it attempts to explain progress, it also looks into the declining stage of the civilizations. Cyclical theories indicate that a period of decline in the evolution of civilizations is inevitable and irreversible. Toynbee has primarily developed a positive view of the rise and fall of civilizations7. Toynbees’ theory of civilization describes the patterns and phases by which a civilization undergoes through its life cycle8. When a new civilization is born, it faces challenges that it needs to surpass to enter the stage of growth. Once the civilization is able find solutions and means to overcome the said challenges, it will be able grow and develop. This results to a shift in perspectives and structures within the society. This will create new challenges and opportunities for growth and development. Within this phase, the civilization will continue to establish its culture and social perspectives that fit the structure of the civilization. It will learn from their challenges, moving forward until it reaches progression. There comes a point wherein the civilization will face a major challenge that will weaken its social, political and economic structure. This is the breaking point of the civilization, which starts its disintegration phase. The civilization deteriorates because it cannot cope with the challenges of its society, and eventually, it disintegrates due to the internal and external pressures resulting from these major challenges. Toynbees’ theory of civilization focuses on how civilizations are created through the challenges that it faces from its birth to its disintegration. For White, evolution is a sequence of temporary events, it is not spontaneous but it grows and develops out from the stage before it.9 This is the universal evolution and it focuses on diffusion that allows technological changes that leads to the creation of patterns resulting to evolution and order10. This indicates that evolution is a continuous process. There is no start or end to it since the society is always moving towards progression and development. Whether it is a success or a failure, it does not disregard the fact that the movement, along with the different processes and changes within the society, is integral in its evolution. White’s basis of evolution is the amount of energy utilized by culture, thus, culture develops as the efficiency of capturing energy increase and as the amount of goods and services produced per labor increases.11 This shows that evolution is based on the economic structure of the society. As the economy of society improves, it shows evolution and development. This indicates that economic structure of the society is significant in the social development of societies. The technological and economic advancement of the society impact the social progress of the society and its individuals, maintaining the continuous flow of energy that is needed in the evolution of the society. Sorokin’s cyclical model of the social change explains that social changes originate from the opposing perspectives, norms and values within a culture. As the society deals with these changes, it comes into a phase of social order, creating a stable and established society. This model explains that there is a society reaches an ideational culture, an extreme form of society’s cultural system that stresses spiritual values, hardwork, self-denial and a strong moral code12. The sensate culture, on the other hand, focuses on sensory experiences, self-expression and gratification of individual desires13. These extremes will not be able to develop a stable and established society. Although, at one point in the history of the civilization, the society experiences one or both these extremes. When this happens, it will reach its idealistic point, though this does not last. Conflict models are also developed to explain the changes in social institutions or class structures. Marx have initially argued that class and power struggles are the sources of change within a society14. The conflict, tension and exploitation eventually leads to a social order led by a revolutionary class. This model indicates that change comes from conflict and order comes from the rise of the exploited class. This theory is effective in analyzing the conflicts within a society and how it influences change that can establish order and a state of progression in the society. Dahrendorf, on the other hand, departs from the Marxian perspective and explains social change as caused by the continuous and existing conflict within the society15. In contrast with Marx, he states that social change is not necessarily caused by revolutions but the existing conflict within societies. Revolutionary changes only happens when there is anger and deprivation felt and experienced by the majority of the population. Violent unrest is the cause of revolutionary change, in contrast with Marx that argues that conflicts causes revolutionary changes that re-establishes social order. The functionalist model, on the other hand, focuses on change as a result of increasing social differentiation, and the process by which societies produce more specialized structures that come to be related to each other in more complex ways16. This model, along with the conflict model, explains change in the micro and middle level. Conclusion The theories of evolution are seen to be more inclined to economics, politics and power. These are associated with a masculine perspective rather than a feminine perspective. This indicates that evolution is interpreted through the perspective that is focused on masculine characteristics of being able to stand, protect and rise above the challenges it faces. The phases of the theories of evolution does not vary much. Literature presents evolution of civilizations as undergoes three basic stages: birth, growth and disintegration. Depending on the strength of the civilization, it will lead to progression, development or even a breakdown of the civilization. This significantly argues that civilizations are like humans, they have a life cycle that they follow. It continues to grow and develop as a human being, and its success and failure is based upon how it adapts to the challenges that it faces in the course of its life. This indicates that the future of civilizations depends on its society and people, and how well it can create an established order of culture that will fight the challenges within and without. Also, it shows that civilizations can die and can be reborn, depending on the strength of its people. Works Cited Blaha, S. 2002. The Life Cycle of Civilizations. NH: Pingree-Hill Publishing. Burke, P. 2005. History and Social Theory, 2nd ed. NY: Cornell University Press. Dark, K. 2000. The Waves of Time: Long-term Change and International Relations. Continuum International Publishing Group. Harris, M. 2001. The Rise of Anthropological Theory. CA: Altamira Press. Kornblum, W. 2008. Sociology in a Changing World, 8th ed. CA:Thomson Wadsworth. Johnson, D. 2008. Contemporary Sociological Theory: An Integrated Multi-Level Approach. TX: Springer. Eds. Manners, R. and Kaplan, D. Theory in Anthropology. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. Sanderson, S. 2001. The Evolution of Human Sociality: A Darwinian Conflict Perspective. MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Steward, J. 2003. “Multilinear evolution.” Ed. Dugger, W. Evolutionary Theory in Social Sciences, vol.1. London: Routledge. Yoffee, N. 2005. Myths of the Archaic State: Evolution of the Earliest Cities, States and Civilizations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Read More