Abstract
The main purpose of the material is in a polemical tone to consider the question
of the role and place of such factors as "civilization" and "culture" in the course of human
development from the point of view of sociology. Thus, the opinions of leading sociologists
of the world are analyzed. On this basis, a conclusion is made about the possibility and
expediency of distinguishing between these approaches. The author notes that the civilizational
approach is wider than the culturological one. The article contains an analysis of the ways
of the hypothesis of the unification of mankind, including on the basis of the model of
Eastern civilization. We can talk about the presence of factors for this kind of integration
processes already on a planetary scale.
