The Concept of Culture
Culture consists of learned behaviour peculiar to human beings, together with the material objects used as an integral part thereof. It is that which distinguishes man from subhuman animals and enables him to overcome death, hunger and other natural obstacles to the fulfilment of desires. It is powerful enough to hold the sex urge in check, for example, and achieve premarital chastity and even vows of perpetual celibacy; to keep him from eating food he considers unclean, even though his body may require nourishment; to make him feel awed by mighty mountain peaks, or depressed by the fact that such peaks have not been conquered.
The term “culture” owes its origin to Latin, where it is derived from the verb colere (“to cultivate”). Thus, it has come to refer not just to human behaviour but also to those things that man creates and maintains through his ability to symbolise: language, beliefs, ideas, customs, tools, techniques, institutions, artefacts, etc. The term “cultural history” refers to the study of this man-made environment, brought into existence by the use of symbols and passed on from one generation to the next.
A major distinction between the approach to cultural history taken by classical scholars like Huizinga and the later conceptions of the discipline is that the latter have moved away from a view of culture as mere behaviour and towards a notion of it as an integrated system of meanings encompassing both the “explicit” (i.e., traditional ideas) and the “implicit” (i.e., habits of perception and belief). This approach has been aided by developments in the social sciences, especially sociology and anthropology.
It is now commonplace to speak of the culture of a specific society, such as that of the Seneca, Eskimo or North American Plains tribes. However, in addition to this broad usage, it has become appropriate to speak of particular cultures as sociocultural systems, i.e. as the aggregate of the behaviour and ideas of a group of societies.
The concept of culture has been further elaborated by many thinkers, notably the Italian marxist Antonio Gramsci and his successors Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer, who have argued that the power of culture is such that it can neutralize dissent and ensure the dominance of class elites over the masses. This, they have claimed, is a form of “cultural hegemony.” A number of other theorists have suggested that such ideas as religion, morality and laws can be considered to be part of culture. In contrast to these theories, others have emphasized the importance of the arts as an expression of culture and the need to preserve and protect heritage. Still others have pointed out the potential for a “counter culture” which is free from the constraints of commercialised mass culture. This, they argue, could involve such activities as horticulture, poetry, folk music and the martial arts. This, they suggest, would allow for the exploration of new possibilities and a freshness of thought.
Culture consists of learned behaviour peculiar to human beings, together with the material objects used as an integral part thereof. It is that which distinguishes man from subhuman animals and enables him to overcome death, hunger and other natural obstacles to the fulfilment of desires. It is powerful enough to hold the sex urge in check, for example, and achieve premarital chastity and even vows of perpetual celibacy; to keep him from eating food he considers unclean, even though his body may require nourishment; to make him feel awed by mighty mountain peaks, or depressed by the fact that such peaks have not been conquered. The term “culture” owes its origin to Latin, where it is derived from the verb colere (“to cultivate”). Thus, it has come to refer not just to human behaviour but also to those things that man creates and maintains through his ability to symbolise: language, beliefs, ideas, customs, tools, techniques, institutions, artefacts, etc. The term “cultural history” refers to the study of this man-made environment, brought into existence by the use of symbols and passed on from one generation to the next. A major distinction between the approach to cultural history taken by classical scholars like Huizinga and the later conceptions of the discipline is that the latter have moved away from a view of culture as mere behaviour and towards a notion of it as an integrated system of meanings encompassing both the “explicit” (i.e., traditional ideas) and the “implicit” (i.e., habits of perception and belief). This approach has been aided by developments in the social sciences, especially sociology and anthropology. It is now commonplace to speak of the culture of a specific society, such as that of the Seneca, Eskimo or North American Plains tribes. However, in addition to this broad usage, it has become appropriate to speak of particular cultures as sociocultural systems, i.e. as the aggregate of the behaviour and ideas of a group of societies. The concept of culture has been further elaborated by many thinkers, notably the Italian marxist Antonio Gramsci and his successors Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer, who have argued that the power of culture is such that it can neutralize dissent and ensure the dominance of class elites over the masses. This, they have claimed, is a form of “cultural hegemony.” A number of other theorists have suggested that such ideas as religion, morality and laws can be considered to be part of culture. In contrast to these theories, others have emphasized the importance of the arts as an expression of culture and the need to preserve and protect heritage. Still others have pointed out the potential for a “counter culture” which is free from the constraints of commercialised mass culture. This, they argue, could involve such activities as horticulture, poetry, folk music and the martial arts. This, they suggest, would allow for the exploration of new possibilities and a freshness of thought.