The Creed of Love by Pitirim Sorokin: From the Sociology of Crisis to the Ethics of Altruism Introduction: A Shift from the Analysis of Catastrophes to the Creative Power In the late period of his career (1950-1960s), Pitirim Sorokin, the founder of the sociology department at Harvard and the author of the foundational "Social and Cultural Dynamics," underwent a radical intellectual turn. From a diagnostician of global crises and shifting types of culture, he transformed into a propagandist and researcher of the "salvational power of altruistic love." This "creed of love" was not an emotional outburst but a scientifically and philosophically grounded project for humanity to escape the deadlock of the sensuous (materialist) culture, which, in his view, leads to self-destruction. Theoretical Foundations: The Crisis of Sensuous Culture and the "Furnace of Trials" Sorokin believed that Western civilization (and the Soviet bloc in its materialist component) had reached the limit of development of the sensuous suprasystem. Its signs were the dominance of empiricism, utilitarianism, hedonism, and moral relativism. According to his cyclical theory, the way out of the crisis could be a transition to an idealistic (spiritual) or, preferably, an integral culture, synthesizing the best qualities of both. Love, in his understanding, was the key agent of this transition. Sorokin's personal experience (imprisonment under the tsarist regime, a death sentence from the Bolsheviks, emigration) convinced him that history moves not only through conflicts but also through acts of solidarity and self-sacrifice, which he called "creative forces of altruistic love." Definition and Classification of Love: A Scientific Approach to the Transcendent Sorokin provided a strict sociological and phenomenological definition. Altruistic love is: “A conscious or unconscious desire to increase the well-being of others, without expecting any reward, and a readiness to sacrifice for this purpose one's ... Read more