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The cyclic theory of social change views change from a historical perspective/Societies are seen as rising and then falling,-or as continuously moving back and forth between stages of development. Social events and conditions are considered to be beyond human control. Social change is seen as resulting from a natural tendency by societies to pass through stages of development. In some cyclic theories, societies are seen as passing through stages of development that mirror the human life cycle. Societies are born, grow to maturity, decline in old age and eventually die. From the ruins of dead societies emerge new societies that repeat the development process. Other cyclic theories hold that societies develop to a certain point and then reverse their development, only to reverse it again in future. Among the most notable of cyclic theories are those developed by Oswald Spengler find Piritim Sorokin.
Spengler, a German Historian, suggested that societies do not continuously progress towards higher levels of complexity or achievement. Rather, each society develops to a certain level and then declines to the point of death.
The Russian-American sociologist, Piritim Sorokin, pointed out that all societies fluctuate between two extreme forms of culture. At one extreme are ideational cultures; at the other are sensative cultures. In the former, truth and knowledge are sought through faith or religion while in sensate cultures, people seek knowledge through science. Ideational cultures tend to be 'otherworldly' while sensate cultures are practical and materialistic. During the period in which a society is shifting from one extreme to the other, its culture can be classified as idealistic. An idealistic culture contains both ideational and sensate characteristics. Sorokin pointed out that external factors such as war or contact with .other societies can hasten a society's shift from one form of culture to the other.
Critics of cyclic theories point out that these theories tend to concentrate on describing what is rather than attempting to explain why change occurs. The real question should be why some societies decline or disappear while others grow and adapt to changing conditions.
Thus, the weakness of this theory is its failure to realize that life is more complex than it is depicted.
francis1897 answered the question on August 22, 2022 at 12:09
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