Having been inspired by Bulgarian peasants wearing fox-skin caps like the caps Herodotus and Xerxes’ troops wore, Arnold J. Toynbee began The Study of History in 1922. In his study Toynbee distinguishes 21 civilizations and these grow by responding successfully to challenges under the leadership of creative minorities and decline when leaders fail to act […]

The conclusion of our last article on this subject in the August-September issue of the Beacon Lights found us making a few preliminary evaluative comments about the theories and the philosophy of this highly imaginative and controversial thinker. Because of the immensity of his theories we are not finished with our consideration. We have made […]

As we continue the study of the dangerous and deceitful theories of Arnold J. Toynbee, we wish our reader to be thoroughly aware of the fact than an exceedingly important part of his theories is the growth and breakdowns of civilizations. Somervell in his authorized abridgement of Volumes I-VI of the Study of History devotes […]

In the previous article on this topic we began to discuss the rise and breakdown of civilizations. This is an exceedingly important aspect of the philosophy of history developed by Toynbee and it is my intention to develop this aspect of Toynbee’s philosophy more thoroughly before going on to other elements of the theory under […]

One of the greatest of the twentieth century philosophers and interpreters of history was Arnold J. Toynbee. Spengler (1880-1936), the German philosopher who taught in his book, The Decline of the West, that every culture passes through a life cycle similar to that of human life, never became as popular as Toynbee. Toynbee’s works did […]