Stages, factors, features and driving forces of historical development. Theories of historical development

World history is very rich and full of all sorts of facts. Even with the consideration of modern technologies and the unprecedented development of historical sciences, scientists have not fully answered all the questions of interest to humanity. Most of the events, personalities, locations, historical documents remain a mystery to this day. However, such white spots are not a problem for the creation of a kind of "historical tree", which would allow in general terms to know the whole historical process of mankind. It should be noted that modern scientists still managed to create a classical model of what happened in the past. But was everything the way it is described in school textbooks?

Formation of history

The development of history as a science began long ago from the time of ancient Greece. The process of gradual accumulation of knowledge led to the fact that this science has become a key one. With its help you can know the real world through the prism of time. When we learn more and more facts from a distant past, we can explain some of the events of the present and anticipate the future. But this peculiar function is not a fundamental factor, which makes it necessary to study history. At present, scientists are increasingly interested in the driving forces of historical development. After all, evolution, wherever it goes, can not appear just like that. For this there must be a certain factor that will give a push. If you look at all the stages of historical development, which will be discussed later, it becomes clear that throughout the history of mankind there were certain events, people, facts or other elements that stimulated subsequent development.

The essence of theories of historical development

The whole process of human development can be divided into certain stages. However, it is unknown how it began, and also what contributes to its dynamics and decline. When scientists began to search for an answer to this question, they began to invent various theories of historical development that would give answers to existing questions. By itself, the term theory means a certain hypothesis, overgrown with facts and scientific evidence. It allows you to find out and prove the correctness or falsity of any factor. In our case, the entire process of historical development is proved, and theories, in turn, allow one to understand its diversity, form, cause and dynamics. It is theories that confirm the fact that the driving forces of historical development exist and can be explained.

Types of theories of historical development

Events can be considered, based on two main approaches: pluralistic and monistic. Each of them determines the appearance of one or another type of historical theory. The pluralistic approach talks about the existence of numerous nations and cultures, the development of which took place independently of each other. The monistic concept is the complete opposite and proves the fact of the interconnection of cultures and nations. Thus, we see that in each concept there can be their driving forces of historical development, and they are strikingly different from each other. As for theories, their authors have always been adherents of some concept. Thus, it is possible to single out the main theories of historical development, namely:

• Theological. All living things develop according to the will of God, and man is his best creation. Any processes must occur in the name and glory of it.
• Pagan. This theory is interesting, since its adherents totally reject the process of historical development as a whole.
• Linear theory explains any development as a specific point in time. Any development must ever come to an end.
• Toynbee's theory. It tells about the cyclical nature of all historical processes. All civilizations are experiencing the rise, development, the peak of evolution and decline. At the same time, all processes are interrelated.
• Marxist theory is universal. She explains the origin of law, society, and the whole process of historical development. Simply put, Karl Marx explains the origin of any social phenomenon, as a consequence of the class struggle. The theory became widespread in the middle of the 20th century, when the world was bipolar: the communist east and the capitalist west.

The historical process and its factors

Theories in themselves represent only the framework by which society developed. In each of them exceptional factors are presented, which at different times influenced the evolution of society. It should be noted that society and history should be viewed as one indestructible whole, because it is people who influence the process of their evolution. Thus, the factors of historical development emanate from people and influence them, thereby coordinating the behavior of the society on a separate territory of the planet. In this case it is necessary to take into account geographical data, since all peoples are at different levels of their historical development. This can be clearly seen at the present time. Compare at least the European states and the countries of Africa. People are the same, with the exception of skin color, and the gap in development between them is colossal. It follows that the factors of historical development depend not only on the age. They will also be conditioned by the territorial and other characteristics of the population, for example: religion, mentality, the state system, etc.

Stages of historical development

So, we have established that the factors depend on geographical location and a certain historical stage. The systematization of modern science has led to the fact that scientists have divided the entire world history into temporary segments. Each of them has a certain time frame. Thanks to them, we can study and highlight the main driving forces of historical development.

In all countries the following stages are distinguished:

1. Primitive world. The beginning of this stage is characterized by two main dates: 1.2 million years BC, when the first man appeared, and 40 thousand years before our era. The last date refers to the emergence of consciousness in a reasonable person and the emergence of his survival skills among other species.
2. The ancient world (IV-III millennium BC - V century of our era).
3. The Middle Ages (V - XV century AD).
4. New time (XVI - 60th years of XX century of our era).
5. The newest time (60th years of XX century - now).

Different factors at all stages

Each historical stage reflects the process of human life. Throughout history, people have used the accumulated knowledge to move to a new level of development. But for the accumulation of knowledge - this is a long process, so the stages are not uniform in their time frames.
Each of them ended in a certain event. For example, primitive society began to disappear with the emergence of civilizations and huge empires, such as the Roman, Mesopotamian, Persian. The ancient world ceased to exist when Jesus presented Christianity to the world.

At the turn of the Middle Ages and Modern times, there were great geographical discoveries that conditioned human development. The historical legacy remaining after each stage helped people achieve new frontiers, using the mistakes of past generations.

Conclusion

In general, the features of historical development depend on many factors. But the main one is ourselves - the people who inhabit the planet Earth. Any of our actions create the history of this world, and who knows, perhaps, the next stage is just around the corner.