scholarly journals Cyclical theories of social change: Spengler and Toynbee

Sociologija ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 289-312
Author(s):  
Dragoljub Kaurin

This paper is centrally concerned with discussing critically and rethinking the theoretical concepts put forward by Oswald Spengler in Decline of the West and Arnold Toynbee in A Study of History. It focuses on the theoretical, heuristic and epistemological value of these theories in the era of renaissance of philosophic history in some quarters (see for example Graham, 2002) and cooperation between social sciences. Spengler is credited with the idea of historical cycles, rethinking of the progressivist view and discovering a radically different approach to the study of the human past, which is embodied in his idea of culture as the proper unit for historical and sociological study. However, some of his views proved to be intrinsically intellectually dubious, but on the whole, his was a major contribution to the study of social change. Arnold Toynbee on the other hand was more empirically and sociologically oriented, while Spengler?s views are more heavily philosophical. Toynbee partly developed his ideas rather consistently, but at the same time included many unclear and inaccurate points in his theory. Both authors can be rightfully considered to be classical authors in this field and both provided incentive for studies that cross-cut social sciences (philosophy, history, sociology). Moreover, Decline of the West and A Study of History are truly post-disciplinary works.

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 201
Author(s):  
Ratna Istriyani

<p>A stereotype appears and describes that Islam is the cause of a series of terror. Therefore, some states are worried and suspicious toward Muslims (Islamophobia) up to the present. <em>Islamophobia </em>associated with negative prejudices against Muslims and Islam, and lead to construction of anti-Islam. Prejudice is based on a claim that Islam is an inferior religion and can threat the dominant values in society. The phenomenon of <em>Islamophobia</em> can be assessed by two perspectives: sociological and psychological. In the case of <em>Islamophobia, </em>media became the object of analysis because it has the dichotomy function. They become the cause for the outbreak of <em>Islamophobia</em> symptoms<em> </em>(latent functions). On the other hand, the media is an information agent which has role to provide education and social change effects (manifest functions). Thus, the media can be an instrument or strategy to overcome the turmoil of <em>Islamophobia</em> by involving a synergy of government, Islamic organizations, and institutions of higher education.</p>


1906 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 206-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. B. Hill

The author, who has long been engaged on the Palæozoics of West Cornwall, divided the killas extending westward from Gerrans Bay into four groups that formed a natural sequence. Moreover, as they included definite Lower Silurian horizons, as characterized by the fossiliferous quartzite of Carne, these divisions were linked with the Lower Palæozoics. They consist of the Veryan, Portscatho, Falmouth, and Mylor groups. On the latest issues of the old Survey maps the area occupied by the first of these divisions is coloured as Silurian, and the region occupied by the remainder as Devonian. That colouring, however, was not adopted by De la Beche, who surveyed the region, nor was it the result of any subsequent survey of the area. In the original Geological Survey map of Cornwall the killas was separated by De la Beche into two divisions, viz., a grauwacke group and a carbonaceous series. Thus, the former lying below the Culm-measures was undifferentiated for the reason, as explained in his Report, that the progress of geology at that time only warranted the broadest generalizations. He moreover expressed the opinion that the terms Cambrian and Silurian should be restricted to the areas that gave rise to the prolonged researches of Murchison and Sedgwick, and deprecated the extension of that nomenclature to districts that had not received the same detailed investigations. In a later and undated issue of the map the grauwacke group is divided into Devonian and Silurian, presumably by the authority Sir Roderick Murchison. The Devonian colour was not only applied to fossiliferous strata in East and Mid Cornwall, but was extended over the unfossiliferous strata in the west. The Silurian tint, on the other hand, was restricted to a zone that had yielded organic remains. Murchison, however, was of opinion that the older zone extended far beyond those limits into the barren strata coloured as Devonian, and it is evident that the latter tint was adopted as a matter of convenience, as no re-examination of the area seems to have been undertaken. The known Silurian region was confined to the coastal belt between Chapel Point and Gerrans Bay, a boundary connecting those localities admitting of the ready isolation of that zone from the rest of the country. That such a broad generalization, however, was only regarded as provisional may be inferred from the absence of a line on the map between the two divisions. It will be seen, therefore, that the subdivision of the killas, as the result of the recent survey, neither invalidates the map published by De la Beche nor the subsequent conclusions of Murcliison. It has, on the other hand, not only brought their generalizations within more definite limits, but has carried the investigation a step farther by demonstrating the relations between the older and newer Palæozoics of Cornwall.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-24
Author(s):  
Akmal Hawi

The 19th century to the 20th century is a moment in which Muslims enter a new gate, the gate of renewal. This phase is often referred to as the century of modernism, a century where people are confronted with the fact that the West is far ahead of them. This situation made various responses emerging, various Islamic groups responded in different ways based on their Islamic nature. Some respond with accommodative stance and recognize that the people are indeed doomed and must follow the West in order to rise from the downturn. Others respond by rejecting anything coming from the West because they think it is outside of Islam. These circles believe Islam is the best and the people must return to the foundations of revelation, this circle is often called the revivalists. One of the figures who is an important figure in Islamic reform, Jamaluddin Al-Afghani, a reformer who has its own uniqueness, uniqueness, and mystery. Departing from the division of Islamic features above, Afghani occupies a unique position in responding to Western domination of Islam. On the one hand, Afghani is very moderate by accommodating ideas coming from the West, this is done to improve the decline of the ummah. On the other hand, however, Afghani appeared so loudly when it came to the question of nationality or on matters relating to Islam. As a result, Afghani traces his legs on two different sides, he is a modernist but also a fundamentalist. 


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3-4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Khairul Firdhaus Abdullah ◽  
Mohamad Marzuqi Abdul Rahim ◽  
Wahyu Hidayat Abdullah

This study aims to evaluate the role of Maahad Tahfiz ADDIN to produce huffaz in the State of Perak Darul Ridzuan based on the implementation of the Tahfiz Al-Quran curriculum with important instruments of collecting quantitative data (questionnaires). A survey method which was used involved 366 students from the Maahad Tahfiz Al-Quran ADDIN in the state of Perak who are randomly selected. The subjects of the study were students aged 13 years to 17 years old. A questionnaire was developed to collect the required data. The findings were analyzed descriptively by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 22.0. The results show that the implementation of the goals and objectives of the Quranic Tahfiz curriculum at Maahad Tahfiz ADDIN was the highest mean of 3.60. The conclusions from this study show that the goal and objectives of tahfiz are at a good level and can be further enhanced. On the other hand, the content of the curriculum and time allocation for the Quranic memorization should be given due attention and improvements so that Maahad Tahfiz ADDIN can actually filling the gap in producing more quality huffaz in the state of Perak Darul Ridzuan.


Author(s):  
Neziha Musaoğlu

Many important changes occurred in the Russian Federation's foreign policy since 2000s with Putin's coming to power. Although the foreign policy is defined as pragmatic during this period, it is in fact ideologically constructed on the basis of the concept of “sovereign democracy.” The concept constitutes in the same time the source of loyalty of the Russian reelpolitik towards the West, especially the USA and of the Russian anti-globalist policies. The aim of this chapter is to analyze the intellectual, normative, and conceptual dimensions of the “sovereign democracy” concept that could serve to conceive the foreign policy practice of the Russian Federation, on the one hand, and on the other hand its dialectical relationships with the West in the era of globalization.


Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 261
Author(s):  
Chenxing Han

This paper engages the perspectives of thirty young adult Asian American Buddhists (YAAABs) raised in non-Buddhist households. Grounded in semi-structured, one-on-one in-person and email interviews, my research reveals the family tensions and challenges of belonging faced by a group straddling multiple religious and cultural worlds. These young adults articulate their alienation from both predominantly white and predominantly Asian Buddhist communities in America. On the one hand, they express ambivalence over adopting the label of “convert” because of its Christian connotations as well as its associations with whiteness in the American Buddhist context. On the other hand, they lack the familiarity with Asian Buddhist cultures experienced by second- or multi-generation YAAABs who grew up in Buddhist families. In their nuanced responses to arguments that (1) American convert Buddhism is a non-Asian phenomenon, and (2) Asians in the West can only “revert” to Buddhism, these young adults assert the plurality and hybridity of their lived experiences as representative of all American Buddhists, rather than incidental characteristics of a fringe group within a white-dominated category.


2004 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 481-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Pym

Abstract Since the 1970s the notion of “translation competence” has been viewed as at least 1) a mode of bilingualism, open to linguistic analysis, 2) a question of market demands, given to extreme historical and social change, 3) a multicomponent competence, involving sets of skills that are linguistic, cultural, technological and professional, and 4) a “supercompetence” that would somehow stand above the rest. The general trend among theorists has been to expand the multicomponent model so as to bring new skills and proficiencies into the field of translator training. This trend may be expected to continue with the increasing use of electronic tools. Here it is argued, however, that the multicomponential expansions of competence are partly grounded in institutional interests and are conceptually flawed in that they will always be one or two steps behind market demands. On the other hand, a simple minimalist concept of translation competence, based on the production then elimination of alternatives, can help orient translator training in times of rapid technological and professional change.


1995 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Minogue

LIKE MANY PEOPLE, I FIND KARL POPPER BOTH FASCINATING and irritating. His vigour and lucidity are irresistible, and no one could complain that he fails to engage with the big questions. The problems begin when we consider his political thought. Some think him one of the great liberal philosophers of the century. I on the other hand, while being fascinated by The Open Society and its Enemies, am repelled by the grossness of its caricaturing of most of the thinkers it touches. The Poverty of Historicism is a marvellous text in the philosophy of the social sciences, but the idea of historicism is a straw man. The paradox seems to be that while there is a lot that refers to the political questions of the day, there is virtually nothing which takes up issues of political philosophy directly. The result is that he seems to me always to be on the wrong foot, and my problem is to discover why.


2008 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
ELISABETH MÉGIER

This article examines the role, in patristic and medieval commentaries on Isaiah in the west up until 1150, of the theme of the ‘remnant’ (Isaiah i.9; x.22), which is related to Jewish Christians by St Paul. Assumed to signify the small number of Jewish converts in Apostolic times, it could also be used on the one hand to minimise the Jewish contribution to the early Church (St Jerome and Rupert of Deutz) and on the other hand to emphasise it (Haimo of Auxerre, Bruno of Segni and Herveus of Bourg-Dieu). Some authors, however, simply ignore the question (Arnold of Bonneval and Rainald of St Eloi).


Sociobiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. e7261
Author(s):  
Enrico Schifani ◽  
Antonio Scupola ◽  
Mattia Menchetti ◽  
Erika Bazzato ◽  
Xavier Espadaler

Hypoponera abeillei is the sole member of the otherwise exclusively Afrotropical abeillei group to occur in the West-Palearctic and since its first description on the basis of two Corsican workers in 1881, it remained little-known. Workers of this species are thought to entirely lack eyes, a rare trait among ants of the region, yet their lifestyle remains undocumented. On the other hand, the male caste has been described from 4 Tunisian specimens in 1921, and queens remained so far undescribed. We present an updated description of the male caste based on 45 specimens and a first description of the queen caste based on 14 specimens. The H. abeillei material we examined comes from Italy, Spain and Malta (mostly originating from coastal localities), and comprises 11 inedit distribution records, including the first findings in the islands of Mallorca, Malta and Sardinia. Moreover, we provide a first phenological overview of the species’ nuptial flights. Our data show that H. abeillei sexuals flight during the summer, mostly in August, and demonstrate that they can easily be distinguished from all the other Hypoponera species inhabiting the Mediterranean region based on their morphology. The remarkable diversity of Mediterranean Hypoponera males and queens suggest that sexuals may have a role in future attempts to understand relationships within this genus, yet the number of species in which sexual castes are documented is still extremely reduced.


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