Arnold J. Toynbee explained the rise, growth, and decline of civilizations through the concepts of environmental challenges, human groups’ responses to them, and the imitation of creative minorities and masses, analyzing the process by which civilizations successfully respond to external challenges.
Arnold J. Toynbee, a British historian, published A Study of History and established the basic unit of historical study as a civilization rather than a nation-state. He argued that the history of England, for example, cannot be properly understood in isolation, but must be viewed within the framework of Western European civilization, as England, despite its separation from the continent, has developed by influencing and interacting with other countries in Europe. He developed several hypotheses for understanding civilization-centered history and tested them based on a vast amount of data to identify the factors that caused the rise, growth, and decline of civilizations.
Arnold J. Toynbee’s theories are centered on the concepts of challenge and response and creative minority and mass imitation. According to him, civilizations arise and grow when human groups successfully respond to the challenges of their environment. The key here is that the environment is adversity, because human creative behavior arises from the struggle to overcome adversity.
To prevent this hypothesis from being interpreted as a simple statement that the stronger the challenge, the greater the stimulus it provides, and the more effective the response, Arnold J. Toynbee complements it with a so-called “comparison of three interrelationships”: if the challenge is too great, the response will not be successful; if it is too small, there will be no response at all; and only an optimal challenge will produce a successful response.
In order for the civilization that emerges from such a successful challenge to grow, it must solve the problems that persist afterwards, i.e., the harmful challenges. According to Arnold J. Toynbee, the creative individuals of the society are the ones who are capable of solving them. However, since they are in the minority, it is necessary to mobilize the masses to make the challenge successful. The masses play their role through a kind of social training called imitation.
Of course, imitation is a common feature of all societies, and can be found even in primitive societies that never gave rise to civilization. Arnold J. Toynbee explains that it’s not the presence or absence of imitation that matters, but the direction in which it works. In primitive societies that never gave rise to civilization, imitation is directed toward the ancestors and older generations, and the dead reinforce their authority invisibly behind the backs of the living elders. As a result, the society becomes dominated by custom, and no developmental change occurs. In contrast, in societies where imitation is directed toward the creative minority, the authority of custom is not recognized, and civilization continues to grow.
Arnold J. Toynbee also attempted an in-depth analysis of the causes of civilization’s decline. He cited internal divisions and social tensions as one of the main reasons for civilization’s decline. Even if a civilization is successful in responding to external challenges, various problems can arise internally. These problems often manifest themselves in social and economic inequality, political corruption, and cultural regression. If these internal problems are not addressed, the civilization will eventually decline.
Arnold J. Toynbee also talked about the possibility of civilization’s regeneration. He believed that even if a civilization declines, it may not disappear completely, and that it has the potential to rise again through a process of new challenges and responses. He argued that this regeneration largely depends on the role of creative minorities and the introduction of new ideas.
In conclusion, Arnold J. Toynbee’s historical research was an attempt to gain a broader and deeper understanding of human history through a civilization-centric rather than state-centric perspective. His hypotheses and theories have had a major impact on modern historiography and provide important insights into understanding the development and decline of civilizations. Studies like this can teach us important lessons about how we should respond to current and future challenges.
