System-Synergetic View on The Problem of Cultural Evolution

Abstract

The article develops the idea of cultural evolution and coevolution of cultures. The author applies an evolutionary-synergetic approach to substantiate his views. The notion of cultural attractor is used to justify the idea of coevolutionary unification of cultures. The patterns of cultural development are such that subsequent cultures are influenced by previous cultures. Humanity is in captivity of both ancient and new myths. The process of unification of cultures goes through a chaotic state, through periods of increasing entropy of social systems and national-ethnic cultures. The drama of cultural evolution lies in the fact that the mutual influence of cultures is not symmetrical. For the last two centuries, Western civilization has dominated in the socio-political, scientific and technical, and information technology fields. This has determined its dominance in the world. It is noted that different nations may dominate different areas of public life. It is also alleged that the acceleration of information processes and the formation of global information networks inevitably level the cultural differences of peoples. Three levels of coevolution of cultures are distinguished, each of which includes interactions between cultures simultaneous, one-space, different in time and different in space.