REVISION OF IBN KHALDUN’S TEACHING AND CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF ASSABIA

Abstract

The Paper revises heritage of classical work “The Muqaddimah” of Ibn Khaldun, Arab historian from the 14-th Century - one of the fore-fathers of sociology, by placing it both in the context of era when it was written and contemporary pespecitive due to influence it has left. “The Muqaddimah” – or prologue, preface, has been the first part of comprehensive historical study “Kitābu l-ʻibar” that was written in year 1377, with the intention to serve as introduction for writing about the history of the world. However, it has not only founded the basis of historigraphic research, but has also opened problem of relations between history and sociology – of deeper and more complete study of social phenomenae in historical development – that has left tremendous influence of future generations of societies researchers.

By observing two basic historical forms of society in “The Muqaddimah” – nomadic and agrarian, or civilization, Ibn Khaldun formulated original theory of “assabia” – as a form of social bond, force of “communal feel” and “the spirit of community” which leads to the phenomenae of social solidarity. This work gives critical review of Ibn Khaldun’s “theory of assabia” and its heritage in modern sciencies: in sociology, economy (beginnings of “labor theory of value”), historiography, theory of conflict, history of civilization, military history and philosophy of history. Finally, this work examines influence of Ibn Khaldun on Peter Turchin’s contemporary “theory of cultural group selection”, which is based on the crossing of historical macro-sociology and the mathematical modeling of social processes, whose aim is to understand development, rise and fall of societies throughout their political history.