TOYNBEE, Arnold

  • Era: 1889 - 1975
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Categories: LITERATURE, POLITICS

 

Arnold Toynbee was a British historian who for 30 years was Director of the Royal Institute of International Affairs. He wrote extensively on the history of world civilisations. Alongside his concern for historical detail he developed a readiness to pass judgements on belief systems.  Thus he thought that the ‘pantheism’ of Eastern religious traditions holds a better prospect for human survival than Western monotheism. For him, there is an evident moral ingredient in the rise and fall of civilisations.