Moral and Valuable World of Iran of the Late 20th – Early 21st Centuries in the Context of “Cultural Heritage” and “Dialogue of Civilizations” Concepts

Abstract

Introduction. The article deals with the problem of studying the ethics and values of Iran in the period from the late 20th to the early 21st centuries in the context of “cultural heritage” and “dialogue of civilizations” concepts. Methods. The historical-typological and historical-systematic methods, the civilization approach used in the article have allowed to analyze the typology and transformation of the Iranian culture in the period from the late 20th to the early 21st centuries. Analysis. The specific historical characteristics of the Iranian civilization are the continuity of development and the civilization openness, which can be explained not only by invasions of other civilizations, but also by the active perception of the intellectual culture achievements of other peoples. The Iranian civilization came into contact with other civilizations, its origin and functioning were caused by the dialogue of cultures in a broad sense of this word. The psychological reorganization of the Iranians arose as a reaction to the introduction of western values in the life of the country during the shah modernization of the 1960s – 1970s, which led to forming new features in the national consciousness of the Iranians: the aspiration to revive national cultural traditions, desire not so much “to catch up with the West”, as to approve the priority of its culture in peoples consciousness. Those years the Iranian social thought was devoted to the intensive development of the concept of historical and cultural identity of the country, problems of the relationship between the West and the East. In the Iranian social thought the certain independent area of knowledge, namely “cultural heritage”, was formed, which gave the way to the national consciousness and encouraged the scientific search of a rational model of countrys development, looking for the reliance in the traditional experience. Results. The author draws the conclusion that the interpenetration and mutual enrichment of people, cultures, civilizations are important, especially in the era of globalization. But this process is the most valuable in the context of the development of national cultures, respect for the cultural heritage of every nation i.e. maintaining cultural diversity of the modern world. Today modernization of Iran is connected with the civilization principles of development (“dialogue of civilizations”) in combination with preservation of cultural heritage.