Abstract
This article is devoted to Shoqan Walikhanov and the elaboration of the idea of development and social progress of the Kazakh scientist orientalist, historian, ethnographer, geographer, folklorist of the XIX century. Many progressive, humanistic views of the famous scientist, developed on the basis of science of that time, under the influence of the Enlightenment is the revolutionary democracy, still find a response in today's society. Educator talked about the development and progress not only in the common traditional form, and tried to justify the basic criteria of the main features of the bearer of social and historical progress. According Sh. Walikhanov, the main bearer progress in the field of social phenomena is the development of social, economic and domestic aspects of life of the people. Therefore, he emphasized that in order to properly determine the value of a given reform, it is necessary to deeply know the people, their needs, social needs, i.e., it is necessary to study the production, economic and social life, consciousness and spiritual culture. Certainly are valuable those thoughts Sh. Walikhanov in which he pointed to the desire of the Kazakhs and other peoples of Central Asia to the development, construction of civilized life on the basis of economic, social, and spiritual analysis. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n5p102