The article deals with the genesis and analysis of historical development of the notion of “innovation” from antiquity to the present. It is stressed that though the notion of “innovation” appears in economic theory as an established term, however, it includes not only the economic content. It is stated that the phenomenon of innovation needs to be considered also as a socio-cultural phenomenon. The developmental history of the term ascends to the ancient tradition, which emphasizes human’s artistic creative activity. It is spoken in detail about the issue of the socio-cultural conditionality of the scientific knowledge required for the formation of novation (the innovation activity process). The article gives a detailed analysis of externalist and internalist approaches in the history of science methodology, allowing to arrive at the conclusion that innovations and all the spheres of society mutually influence each other. The article also includes works of contemporary authors offering their vision of determining the place and the role of innovation in social processes. The main modern approaches to the definition of innovation are analyzed. Special attention is drawn to Russian researchers of the innovations phenomenon who set its socio-philosophical understanding as their task.
