Crisis And Resolution Of Western Civilization

In this article, we lay emphasis on analyzing and estimating morphology of history of TOYNBEE. TOYNBEE has inherited precessors especially SPENGLER's morphology of history in his work A TSUDY OF HISTORY. On the basis of this, TOYNBEE thinks that history is equals to civilization, human being history is a overflowed multi-civilization history, and all the civilizations are the same times from viewpoint of philosophy and the same level in value. One civilization must undergo a processing including emergence, developing, decline and disintegration; Facing and accepting challenge is a key way to understand this processing. TOYNBEE regards the integrated civilization as a unit of history study, this has interpreted the theory of general and comprehensive historical study. Although the multi-civilization viewpoint advancced by TOYNBEE may has some extendence of historic relativism and cultural relativism, it breaks the viewpiont that European is the centre of civilization and history development is a straight line, which occupies a dominant position for a long time; Facing and accepting challenge pattern may has some subjectivity, but it describes a lasting striving history of human being, embodies praising and approving to the subjectivity of human being, and reflects the fact that TOYNBEE has supassed the circulatism and fatalism of civilization.Civilization is a integrated organism consists of politics, economics and culture, and culture regarding religon as its core is soul andquintessence of civilization. People's inflating self-centre and creedy spirit default caused by worldly religon has led to the using of high technology and produced a serious malpractice. So western civilization falls into crisis. TOYNBEE thinks it can casts off these crisis of western civilization by a way improving people's spirit realm and ethics level. From this point, we can find that TOYNBEE has a keen insight to reality. At present day with higher degree of science and technology development, people must improve their cultural quality and ethical level further, in order to cut down the nagative effect brought to people by science and technology.TOYNBEE's work A STUDY OF HISTORY has some overstep and enlighten effect to theoria historical philosophy, analytic historical philosophy, Ranke school of thought and historical materialism not only in its content but also in its method. Surely, As a monumentall work, it may has some unaviodable limitation.