From Sociological to Geographical Thoughts of Lev Ilyich Mechnikov: Society and the Law of Cooperation
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F61989592%3A15210%2F25%3A73632952" target="_blank" >RIV/61989592:15210/25:73632952 - isvavai.cz</a>
Result on the web
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781003541004-2" target="_blank" >http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781003541004-2</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781003541004-2" target="_blank" >10.4324/9781003541004-2</a>
Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
From Sociological to Geographical Thoughts of Lev Ilyich Mechnikov: Society and the Law of Cooperation
Original language description
Lev Ilyich Mechnikov demonstrated his natural aptitude in both his personal experiences and scholarly works. His significant contributions include the sociological theory of “revolution and evolution” and the geographical theory of “the law of cooperation.” For Mechnikov, the law of cooperation serves as the principal driving force behind the development and progress of human society, fostering solidarity and alliances based on voluntary and conscious cooperation. He believed that unfavourable conditions are essential catalysts for individual and societal advancement and for strengthening social bonds through collective responses to challenges. According to Mechnikov, three scientific laws govern the world: inorganic phenomena (governed by gravitational laws), biological phenomena (governed by struggle for existence and natural selection), and sociological phenomena (governed by the law of cooperation). This chapter examines Mechnikov's anarchist philosophy and explores how Japan's cooperative culture of “mutual aid” during the Meiji Restoration influenced his vision of global cooperative civilizational development. The analysis traces Mechnikov's intellectual evolution from revolutionary anarchism to geographical sociology, demonstrating how his experience in Japan transformed his understanding of social change from violent revolution to evolutionary cooperation. Additionally, the chapter examines Mechnikov's critique of both racial determinism and simple environmental determinism, showing how he developed a more nuanced theory that emphasises human agency and cooperation as crucial factors in civilisational development. The study reveals how Mechnikov's integration of sociological and geographical perspectives offers an alternative framework to social Darwinism, positioning cooperation rather than competition as the fundamental law of social progress and the growth of society.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
C - Chapter in a specialist book
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
50902 - Social sciences, interdisciplinary
Result continuities
Project
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Continuities
V - Vyzkumna aktivita podporovana z jinych verejnych zdroju
Others
Publication year
2025
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Book/collection name
Russian Social Thought in the 19th Century
ISBN
978-1-00-354100-4
Number of pages of the result
17
Pages from-to
9-25
Number of pages of the book
127
Publisher name
Routledge
Place of publication
London
UT code for WoS chapter
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