What Is Culture?
Culture is a broad concept that encompasses many aspects of life, from the arts to beliefs and values. It’s also a key aspect of human social organization and provides meaning to people’s lives. It can be a force for oppression and domination, but it can also be a powerful tool for creativity, resistance, and liberation.
One of the main differences in views on what constitutes a culture is whether it should be seen as an objective, enduring reality that can be identified and studied or as a contested, dynamic entity that is negotiated and shared among members of a particular cultural group. The latter view tends to be more tolerant of disagreement and change, in the sense that central practices can shift substantially over time without a culture itself dissolving. It also assumes that it is legitimate to protect those forums in which a culture is negotiated and transmitted, so long as they remain open and free of unwanted interference by outside forces.
The former approach, on the other hand, takes a more critical line in that it assumes that the concept of culture is deeply problematic. It argues that there are several issues at play that undermine the validity of the idea that there is such a thing as a culture that can be identified and described objectively. These include the fact that it is a socially constructed idea, that it can be used to promote a variety of social interests, including power and control, and that it often reflects racial, ethnic, and religious categories in an exaggerated way.
In addition, it has been pointed out that some cultures become ingrown and stifle diversity by developing an intolerance of those who disagree with the dominant cultural mindset. This is often referred to as “groupthink” and can create an environment in which anyone who doesn’t follow the cultural line is seen negatively, and even ostracized, by other members of the community.
Both approaches have their merits, and it is important to acknowledge that not everyone sees culture the same way. This is partly why there is a need for an ongoing debate about how and why a culture should be defined and protected in legal and political arenas.
A number of writers have contributed to the debate, and most of them take a more eclectic view on what constitutes a culture. Some, like historian Edward Tylor, have advocated for a definition of culture that is rooted in the human experience of shared social institutions and thus can be applied to most any group of humans. Others have focused more on specific historical examples, such as the study of costume and etiquette in medieval Europe. Still others have embraced anthropological models of culture, and are particularly keen on studying the development of early modern European cultures. Nevertheless, these different views of culture all share the goal of responding to the essentialist challenge. They seek to generate a plausible account of what constitutes a culture that can be deployed to make sense of cultural controversies and ideally adjudicate between them.
Culture is a broad concept that encompasses many aspects of life, from the arts to beliefs and values. It’s also a key aspect of human social organization and provides meaning to people’s lives. It can be a force for oppression and domination, but it can also be a powerful tool for creativity, resistance, and liberation. One of the main differences in views on what constitutes a culture is whether it should be seen as an objective, enduring reality that can be identified and studied or as a contested, dynamic entity that is negotiated and shared among members of a particular cultural group. The latter view tends to be more tolerant of disagreement and change, in the sense that central practices can shift substantially over time without a culture itself dissolving. It also assumes that it is legitimate to protect those forums in which a culture is negotiated and transmitted, so long as they remain open and free of unwanted interference by outside forces. The former approach, on the other hand, takes a more critical line in that it assumes that the concept of culture is deeply problematic. It argues that there are several issues at play that undermine the validity of the idea that there is such a thing as a culture that can be identified and described objectively. These include the fact that it is a socially constructed idea, that it can be used to promote a variety of social interests, including power and control, and that it often reflects racial, ethnic, and religious categories in an exaggerated way. In addition, it has been pointed out that some cultures become ingrown and stifle diversity by developing an intolerance of those who disagree with the dominant cultural mindset. This is often referred to as “groupthink” and can create an environment in which anyone who doesn’t follow the cultural line is seen negatively, and even ostracized, by other members of the community. Both approaches have their merits, and it is important to acknowledge that not everyone sees culture the same way. This is partly why there is a need for an ongoing debate about how and why a culture should be defined and protected in legal and political arenas. A number of writers have contributed to the debate, and most of them take a more eclectic view on what constitutes a culture. Some, like historian Edward Tylor, have advocated for a definition of culture that is rooted in the human experience of shared social institutions and thus can be applied to most any group of humans. Others have focused more on specific historical examples, such as the study of costume and etiquette in medieval Europe. Still others have embraced anthropological models of culture, and are particularly keen on studying the development of early modern European cultures. Nevertheless, these different views of culture all share the goal of responding to the essentialist challenge. They seek to generate a plausible account of what constitutes a culture that can be deployed to make sense of cultural controversies and ideally adjudicate between them.