The concept of cultural. What is culture? In Europe in the 17th-18th centuries

The word “culture” has Latin roots and means “to cultivate the soil.” What is the connection between agriculture and human behavior, because the phrases widely used in the Russian language refer to it: speeches, cultured person, spiritual culture of the individual, Physical Culture. Let's try to understand this issue.

What is culture as a social phenomenon?

Indeed, the “man-nature” connection underlies both a complex and diverse phenomenon. Man in nature has found an opportunity for creative realization your abilities. Human activity of transformation natural world, the reflection of nature in the products of activity, the influence of nature and the surrounding world on the inside of a person is interpreted as culture.

Culture has some distinctive properties - continuity, tradition, innovation.

Each generation brings with it experience cultural development peace previous generations, builds its transformative activities on established principles, styles, directions, and, as a result of assimilation of previous achievements, rushes forward, developing, updating and improving the world around us.

Components of culture- material and spiritual.

Includes everything related to objects and phenomena of the material world, their production and development.

Spiritual culture is a set of spiritual values ​​and human activities for their production, development and application.

In addition, they talk about the types of crops. These include:

Created by professionals, a privileged part of society; is not always clear to the general public.

Folk culture - folklore - is created by unknown authors, amateurs; collective creativity.

Mass culture - refers to concert and pop art, influencing through the media.

Subculture is a system of values ​​of a certain group or community.

What is culture behavior?

This concept defines the totality of formed personality qualities, socially significant, allowing the foundation everyday actions on the standards of morality and ethics. The assimilation of universal human values ​​allows you to regulate your own activities in accordance with the requirements of society.

However, we can state the fact that the concept of “culture of behavior” and its norms change depending on the state of morality in a specific historical period in the development of society.

For example, just twenty years ago, civil marriage and extramarital sexual relations were strictly condemned in Russian society, and today in some circles it is already considered the norm.

What is culture speeches?

Speech culture is compliance of speech with norms literary language. How necessary is it? to modern man, one can judge the growing popularity of training courses. High professional level assumes a high level of proficiency in speech norms.

In addition, the individual level of a person’s spiritual culture corresponds to his speech culture. Beautiful, fashionable, arouses the admiring glances of others. However, as soon as she opens her mouth, a flood obscene language falls on the listeners. The spiritual culture of man is evident.

What is culture communication?

Communication is a phenomenon social society. They distinguish between the ability to communicate productively, to interact through communication with other people, partners, and colleagues - a socially significant quality of a modern successful person.

Communication culture involves the connection of three components.

Firstly, communication is associated with the skills of perceiving another person, perceiving verbal and nonverbal information (perception).

Secondly, great importance has the ability to convey information and feelings to a communication partner (communication).

Thirdly, interaction in the communication process (interaction) is decisive in assessing the effectiveness of communication.

Culture is a multifaceted, complex concept that characterizes a certain level of development of both society as a whole and each individual person.

American anthropologists A. Kroeber and K. Kluckhohn in their book “Culture. A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions” gave about three hundred definitions of culture, which they divided into six main types. Let us first present the definitions from this book as presented by L. Ionin.

Descriptive definitions. According to Taylor, "culture, or civilization, in the broad ethnographic sense, is composed as a whole of knowledge, beliefs, art, morality, laws, customs and some other abilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society." .

Historical definitions. An example here is the definition given by the famous linguist E. Sapir: culture is “a socially inherited complex of modes of activity and beliefs that make up the fabric of our lives.” The lack of definitions of this type is associated with the assumption of stability and immutability, as a result of which human activity in the development and change of culture is lost sight of.

Regulatory definitions. These definitions are divided into two groups. The first of them is definitions that focus on the idea of ​​a way of life. According to the definition given by anthropologist K. Whisler, "the way of life followed by a community or tribe is considered culture;. Tribal culture is a set of standardized beliefs and practices followed by the tribe." The second group is definitions that focus on ideas about ideals and values. Here we can quote two definitions: given by the philosopher T. Carver - “culture is the outlet of excess human energy in constant implementation higher abilities", and proposed by sociologist W. Thomas, - "culture is material and social values any group of people (institutions, customs, attitudes, behavioral reactions), regardless of whether we are talking about savages or civilized people" .

Psychological definitions. “Culture is a sociological designation for unscientific behavior, that is, behavior that is not given to a person from birth, is not predetermined in his embryonic cells as in wasps or social ants, but must be acquired anew by each new generation through learning from adults” ( anthropologist R. Benedict). “Culture is “forms of habitual behavior common to a group, community or society. It consists of material and intangible elements" (sociologist K. Young).

Structural definitions. Characteristic here are the definitions given by the anthropologist R. Linton: “a) Cultures are ultimately nothing more than organized repeated reactions of members of society, b) Culture is a combination of learned behavior and behavioral results, the components of which are shared and inherited by members of this society."

Genetic definitions. “Culture is the name for a special order or class of phenomena, namely, those things and phenomena which depend on the exercise of a mental faculty peculiar to the human race, which we call “symbolization.” More precisely, culture consists of material objects - - tools, devices, ornaments, amulets, etc., as well as actions, beliefs and attitudes that function in contexts of symbolization. This is a subtle mechanism, the organization of exosomatic paths and means used by a special kind of animal, that is, man, to fight for existence or survival" (sociologist L. White).

L. Ionin ends his presentation of the definitions of culture with his own understanding. “However,” he writes, “one can roughly imagine what the authors of literally all the above definitions would agree on. Without a doubt, they would agree that culture is what distinguishes man from animals, culture is a characteristic human society. In addition, they would probably agree that culture is not inherited biologically, but involves learning. Further, they would certainly recognize that culture is directly related to ideas that exist and are transmitted in symbolic form (through language)."

E. Orlova characterizes culture as follows: “Culture is defined as everything that is created by people; as a value formation; as a set of norms; as a symbolic aspect modern life and human activities; as technologies of human adaptation to the environment; as ways of broadcasting socially significant information; like communication systems in society, etc. Everywhere there is a desire to emphasize the specificity of the aspect of consideration public life; differentiate the objects under study according to anthropogenes (and not metaphysically) or natural foundations; build an integral picture of the studied area of ​​phenomena as generated and supported by people, and not just a conceptual integrity, identify it as a certain “type of culture”; use the principle of synchronous or diachronic comparison of objects to build it. In other words, it can be stated that despite all the differences in approaches, cultural researchers work within approximately the same conceptual boundaries."

Although B. Erasov defines culture as a sphere of spiritual production, nevertheless we're talking about not about Marxism, but about sociological approach. "In its most general and condensed form, culture is the process and product of spiritual production as a system for the creation, storage, dissemination and development of spiritual values, norms, knowledge, ideas, meanings and symbols. It forms spiritual world society and man, provides society as a whole with a differentiated system of knowledge and orientation necessary for the implementation of all types of activities existing in society. It develops those ideas, norms, meanings and goals that guide society in regulating the diversity of its activities. At the same time, it contributes to the spiritual integration of society and its various groups. The products of this production exist not only in the sphere of consciousness - in the intellectual or artistic form. They are designated, i.e. acquire the properties of a sign or an entire sign system (language, religion, morality, ideology, styles of art and literature). It takes significant effort from each generation to preserve, reproduce, maintain and select, update or give values, knowledge and orientations new interpretation and bring them into line with the changing conditions of life. To do this, we need appropriate tools, personnel - everything that is embodied by the education system, religious institutions and secular culture" .

G. Drach in " Training course in cultural studies" (Rostov n/d, 1995. P. 53) characterizes culture as follows:

"Consequently, when defining the essence of culture, we can distinguish three main spheres. Firstly, in the form of completed ones, which have found their materialization in the objects of material and spiritual human activity. Here in the results human activity the peculiarities of human activity have found their embodiment in various types culture, types of human society, at certain stages of it historical development. Secondly, in the form of subjects, creators and bearers of culture. Here, cultural studies relies on ethnographic descriptions, ethnology (the study of people - ethnicity), and on sociological dimensions of society. However, in contrast to the socio-philosophical consideration of society, the cultural scientist brings his research to the socio-psychological level, highlighting national character people, mentality (features of thinking), manifestations of morality. Thirdly, in the form of institutional connections, institutions that translate the subjective reality of individuals into an objective plane. Here we are talking not only about “what” the ethnic group produces, and not only “who” produces, what the cultural face (customs, morals and traditions) of the ethnic group is, and most importantly, “how it is produced.” And this “how” characterizes, first of all, the way of mastering reality, technological experience, techniques and methods of obtaining information and transmitting them from generation to generation.”

The prerequisites on the basis of which the first theoretical ideas about culture emerged arose in the early stages of the existence of civilization and became entrenched in the mythological picture of the world. Already in antiquity, people realized that they were somehow different from animals, that there was a clear line separating the natural world from human world. Homer and Hesiod - famous historians and systematizers ancient myths- saw this line in morality. It was morality that was initially understood as the main thing human quality, which distinguishes people from animals. This difference would later be called “culture.”

The word “culture” itself is of Latin origin; it appeared in the era of Roman antiquity. This word comes from the verb “colere”, which meant “cultivation”, “processing”, “care”. In this meaning it was used by the Roman politician Marcus Porcius Cato (234-149 BC), who wrote the treatise “De agri cultura”. And these days we talk about cultivating plant varieties, for example, we use the term “potato culture,” and among the farmer’s assistants there are machines called “cultivators.”

However, the starting point in the formation scientific ideas The treatise of the Roman orator and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) “Tusculan Conversations” is considered to be about culture. In this work, written in 45 BC. e., Cicero used the agronomic term “culture” metaphorically, i.e. in another, figuratively. Highlighting the difference human life from biological forms of life, he proposed to denote with this word everything created by man, in contrast to the world created by nature. Thus, the concept of “culture” began to be contrasted with another Latin concept - “nature” (nature). They began to name all objects of human activity and the qualities of a person capable of creating them. Since then, the world of culture has been perceived not as a consequence of the action of natural forces, but as a result of the activities of people themselves, aimed at processing and transforming what was created directly by nature.

The concept of “culture” is interpreted in domestic and foreign scientific literature ambiguous. Knowledge of the possible uses of this concept in history will help us understand its many shades of meaning and definitions, as well as understand what culture really is.

• 1. More than 2 thousand years have passed since Latin word"colere" was used to refer to cultivation of the soil. But the memory of this is still preserved in the language in numerous agricultural terms - agriculture, potato culture, cultivated pastures, etc.
• 2. Already in the 1st century. BC e. Cicero applied this concept to man, after which culture began to be understood as the upbringing and education of a person, an ideal citizen. At the same time, it was believed that the signs of a cultured person are a voluntary limitation of one’s desires, spontaneous actions and bad inclinations. Therefore, the term “culture” then meant the intellectual, spiritual, aesthetic development man and society, emphasizing its specificity, highlighting the world created by man from the natural world.
• 3. B Everyday life We usually put approval into the word “culture”, understanding this word as a certain ideal or ideal state with which we compare the facts or phenomena being evaluated. That's why we often talk about professional culture, about the culture of performing a certain thing. From the same positions we evaluate people's behavior. Therefore, it has become customary to hear about a cultured or uncultured person, although in fact most often we mean educated or poorly educated, from our point of view, people. Entire societies are sometimes assessed in the same way if they are based on law, order, and gentleness of morals, as opposed to a state of barbarism.
• 4. Do not forget also that in ordinary consciousness the concept of “culture” is mainly associated with works of literature and art. Therefore, this term denotes the forms and products of intellectual and, above all, artistic activity.
• 5. Finally, we use the word "culture" when we talk about different peoples in one way or another historical eras, we point out the specifics of the way of existence or way of life of a society, group of people or a certain historical period. Therefore, very often you can find the phrase - culture Ancient Egypt, Renaissance culture, Russian culture, etc.

The ambiguity of the concept of “culture”, as well as its various interpretations in various cultural theories and concepts, greatly limit the ability to give its only and clear definition. This has led to the multiplicity of definitions of culture, the number of which continues to grow steadily. Thus, in 1952, American cultural scientists A. Kroeber and K. Kluckhohn first systematized the definitions of culture known to them, counting 164 of them. In the 1970s. the number of definitions reached 300, in the 1990s - more than 500. Currently, the number of definitions of culture has probably exceeded 1000. And this is not surprising, because culture is called everything created by man, the entire human world.

Of course, list everything known definitions cultures is impossible, and not necessary, but they can be classified by highlighting several important groups.

In modern domestic cultural studies, it is customary to distinguish three approaches to defining culture - anthropological, sociological and philosophical.

The essence of the anthropological approach is the recognition of the intrinsic value of the culture of each people, which underlies the way of life of both individuals and entire societies. This means that culture is the way of existence of humanity in the form of numerous local cultures. This approach equates the culture and history of the entire society.

The sociological approach considers culture as a factor in the formation and organization of social life. The organizing principle is the value system of each society. Cultural values ​​are created by society itself, but then they also determine the development of this society. What begins to dominate a person is what he himself created.

The philosophical approach seeks to identify patterns in the life of society, to establish the causes of the origin and features of the development of culture. In line with this approach, not just a description or enumeration of cultural phenomena is given, but an attempt is made to penetrate into their essence. As a rule, the essence of culture is seen in the conscious activity of transforming the surrounding world to satisfy human needs.

However, it is clear that each of these approaches in turn offers the most different variants definitions of the concept “culture”. Therefore, a more detailed classification was developed, which is based on the very first analysis of definitions of culture carried out by A. Kroeber and K. Kluckhohn. They divided all definitions of culture into six main types, some of which were in turn divided into subgroups.

In the first group they included descriptive definitions that focused on listing everything that the concept of culture covers. The founder of this type of definition, E. Tylor, argues that culture is a set of knowledge, beliefs, art, morality, laws, customs and some other abilities and habits acquired by a person as a member of society.

The second group consisted of historical definitions, emphasizing processes of social inheritance and tradition. They emphasize that culture is a product of the history of society and develops through the transfer of acquired experience from generation to generation. These definitions are based on ideas about the stability and immutability of social experience, losing sight of the constant emergence of innovations. An example of such definitions is the definition given by the linguist E. Sapir, for whom culture is a socially inherited complex of modes of activity and beliefs that make up the fabric of our life.

The third group combines normative definitions that assert that the content of culture consists of norms and rules governing the life of society. These definitions can be divided into two subgroups. In the first subgroup, definitions focus on the idea of ​​lifestyle. A similar definition was given by the anthropologist K. Whisler, who viewed culture as a way of life followed by a community or tribe. Definitions of the second subgroup pay attention to the ideals and values ​​of society; these are value definitions. An example is the definition of sociologist W. Thomas, for whom culture is the material and social values ​​of any group of people (institutions, customs, attitudes, behavioral reactions).

The fourth group included psychological definitions, emphasizing the connection between culture and the psychology of human behavior and seeing in it the socially determined features of the human psyche. The emphasis is on the process of human adaptation to the environment, to his living conditions. This definition was given by sociologists W. Sumner and A. Keller, for whom culture is a set of ways of adapting a person to living conditions, which is achieved through a combination of techniques such as variation, selection and inheritance.

Attention is drawn to the process of human learning, i.e. receipt by a person necessary knowledge and skills that he acquires in the process of life, and is not inherited genetically. As an example, we can cite the definition of the anthropologist R. Benedict. For her, culture is a sociological designation for learned behavior, i.e. behavior that is not given to a person from birth, is not predetermined in his embryonic cells, like in wasps or social ants, but must be acquired anew by each new generation through learning.

A number of researchers talk about the formation of habits in humans. Thus, for sociologist K. Young, culture is forms of habitual behavior common to a group, community or society and consisting of material and intangible elements.

The fifth group consisted of structural definitions of culture, placing emphasis on the structural organization of culture. This is the definition of anthropologist R. Linton: culture is the organized repeated reactions of members of society; a combination of learned behavior and behavioral outcomes, the components of which are shared and inherited by members of a given society.

The last, sixth, group includes genetic definitions that consider culture from the point of view of its origin. These definitions can also be divided into four subgroups.

The first subgroup of definitions proceeds from the fact that culture is the products of human activity, the world of artificial things and phenomena, opposed to the natural world of nature. Such definitions can be called anthropological. An example is the definition of P. Sorokin: culture is the totality of everything that is created or modified by the conscious or unconscious activity of two or more individuals interacting with each other or influencing each other’s behavior.

The definitions of the second subgroup reduce culture to the totality and production of ideas and other products of the spiritual life of society, which accumulate in social memory. They can be called ideational definitions. As an example, we can cite the definition of the sociologist G. Becker, for whom culture is a relatively permanent intangible content transmitted in society through the processes of socialization.

The third subset of genetic definitions places emphasis on symbolic human activity. In this case, culture is considered either a system of signs used by society (semiotic definitions), or a collection of symbols (symbolic definitions), or a set of texts that are interpreted and made sense of by people (hermeneutic definitions). Thus, culturologist L. White called culture a name for a special class of phenomena, namely: such things and phenomena that depend on the implementation of a mental ability specific to the human race, which we call symbolization.

The last, fourth, subgroup consists of a kind of negative definitions that represent culture as something originating from non-culture. An example is the definition of the philosopher and scientist W. Ostwald, for whom culture is what distinguishes humans from animals.

Almost half a century has passed since the work of Kroeber and Kluckhohn. Since then, cultural studies has come a long way. But the work done by these scientists has still not lost its significance. Therefore, modern authors who classify definitions of culture, as a rule, only expand the given list. Considering modern research, you can add two more groups of definitions to it.

Sociological definitions understand culture as a factor in the organization of social life, as a set of ideas, principles and social institutions providing collective activity of people. This type of definition focuses not on the results of culture, but on the process during which a person and society satisfy their needs. Such definitions are very popular in our country. They are given in line with the activity approach. These definitions can be divided into two groups: the first focuses on social activities people, and the second - on the development and self-improvement of a person.

An example of the first approach is the definitions of E.S. Markaryan, M.S. Kagan, V.E. Davidovich, Yu.A. Zhdanova: culture is a system of extra-biologically developed (i.e., not inherited and not embedded in the genetic mechanism of heredity) means of carrying out human activity, thanks to which the functioning and development of people’s social life occurs. This definition captures the need for a person’s upbringing and education, as well as his life in a society within which he can only exist and satisfy his needs as part of social needs.

The second approach is related to VM names. Mezhueva and N.S. Zlobina. They define culture as historically active creative activity man, the development of man himself as a subject of activity, the transformation of wealth human history in inner wealth man, the production of man himself in all the diversity and versatility of his social connections.

Thus, in all the considered definitions there is a rational grain, each pointing to some more or less significant features of culture. At the same time, one can point out the shortcomings of each definition, its fundamental incompleteness. As a rule, these definitions cannot be called mutually exclusive, but simply summing them up will not give any positive result.

Nevertheless, it is possible to highlight a number the most important characteristics cultures with which all authors would obviously agree. Without a doubt,

culture is essential characteristic man, what distinguishes him from animals that adapt to the environment, and do not purposefully change it, like humans.

There is also no doubt that as a result of this transformation an artificial world is formed, an essential part of which are ideas, values ​​and symbols. He is opposed to the natural world.

And finally, culture is not inherited biologically, but is acquired only as a result of upbringing and education taking place in society, among other people.

These are the most general ideas about culture, although any of the listed definitions can be used to answer certain questions that arise when studying some aspect or sphere of culture.

Culture(lat. culture, from colo, colere - cultivation, later - upbringing, education, development, veneration) - a concept that has great amount meanings in various areas of human life. Culture is the subject of study of philosophy, cultural studies, history, linguistics (ethnolinguistics), political science, ethnology, psychology, economics, pedagogy, etc.

Basically, culture refers to human activity at its most different manifestations, including all forms and methods of human self-expression and self-knowledge, the accumulation of skills and abilities by man and society as a whole. Culture also appears as a manifestation of human subjectivity and objectivity (character, competencies, skills, abilities and knowledge).

Culture represents a set of sustainable forms of human activity, without which it cannot be reproduced, and therefore cannot exist.

Culture- this is a set of codes that prescribe to a person certain behavior with his inherent experiences and thoughts, thereby exerting a managerial influence on him. Therefore, for every researcher the question cannot but arise about starting point research in this regard.

Different definitions of culture

The diversity of philosophical and scientific definitions culture does not allow us to refer to this concept as the most obvious designation of an object and subject of culture and requires a clearer and narrower specification: Culture is understood as...

Culture and civilization

The modern concept was mainly formed in the 18th - early XIX centuries in Western Europe. Subsequently, this concept, on the one hand, began to include differences between different groups people in Europe itself, and on the other hand, the differences between the metropolises and their colonies around the world. Hence the fact that in in this case the concept of “culture” is the equivalent of “,” that is, the antipode of the concept of “nature”. Using this definition, one can easily classify individual people and even entire countries according to their level of civilization. Some authors even define culture simply as “all the best things in the world that have been created and said” (Matthew Arnold), and everything that does not fall into this definition is chaos and anarchy. From this point of view, culture is closely related to social development and progress in society. Arnold consistently uses his definition: “...culture is the result of constant improvement arising from the processes of acquiring knowledge about everything that concerns us, it consists of all the best that has been said and thought” (Arnold, 1882).

In practice, the concept of culture refers to all the best products and actions, including in the field of classical music. From this point of view, the concept of “cultural” includes people who are in some way connected with these areas. At the same time, people involved in classical music are, by definition, at a higher high level than rap fans from working-class neighborhoods or Australian aborigines.

However, within the framework of this worldview, there is a current - where less “cultured” people are seen, in many ways, as more “natural”, and suppression is attributed to “high” culture “ human nature" This point of view is found in the works of many authors since the 18th century. For example, they emphasize that folk music(as created by ordinary people) more honestly expresses the natural way of life, while classical music looks superficial and decadent. Following this view, people outside of “Western civilization” are “noble savages”, uncorrupted by Western capitalism.

Today, most researchers reject both extremes. They do not accept either the concept of the “only correct” culture or its complete opposition to nature. In this case, it is recognized that the “non-elite” can have the same high culture, as “elite”, and “non-Western” people can be just as cultured, it’s just that their culture is expressed in different ways. However, this concept makes a distinction between “high” culture as the culture of elites and “mass” culture, implying goods and works aimed at the needs of ordinary people. It should also be noted that in some works both types of culture, “high” and “low”, simply refer to different subcultures.

The German representative of the philosophy of life, Oswald Spengler, presented a view of culture as a multitude of independent organisms (different peoples), which go through their own evolutionary cycle, lasting several hundred years, and, dying, are reborn into their opposite - civilization. Civilization is opposed to culture as a stage of development that replaces it, where it is not in demand creative potential individual personality and the dominant one is dead, inhuman technicalism.

Culture as a worldview

During the Romantic era, scholars in Germany, especially interested in national movements aimed at unifying the country from separate principalities, as well as movements of national minorities against the Austro-Hungarian Empire, formed the concept of culture as a “worldview.” In such a belief system, different and incomparable worldviews are the main differences ethnic groups. Although progressive compared to earlier views, this approach still maintained the distinction between "civilized" culture and "primitive" or "tribal" culture.

TO end of the 19th century Over the centuries, anthropologists have expanded the concept of culture to include a greater variety of societies. Based on evolutionary theory, they assumed that people should develop in the same way, and the very fact that people have culture follows from the very definition of the process human development. At the same time, however, they showed a reluctance to take biological evolution into account to illustrate the differences between certain cultures - an approach that later resulted in various shapes racism. They believed that biological evolution most fully reflected the very concept of culture, a concept that anthropologists could apply to societies without and with literacy, nomadic and sedentary peoples. They argued this by saying that in the course of his evolution man developed unified system obtaining and applying knowledge, as well as the ability to transmit it to other people in the form of abstract symbols. Once human individuals recognized and learned such symbolic systems, these systems began to evolve independently of biological evolution(in other words, one person can gain another person's knowledge even if the two are not biologically related in any way). This ability to manipulate symbols and acquire social skills confuses the old arguments in the "human nature" versus "nurture" debate. Thus, Clifford Geertz and others have argued that human physiology and thinking developed as a result of the first cultural actions, and Middleton concluded that human "instincts were shaped by culture."

Groups of people living separately from each other create various cultures, between which, however, partial exchange can occur. Culture is constantly changing, and people can study it, making this process the simplest form of adaptation to changing external conditions. Today, anthropologists view culture not simply as a product of biological evolution, but as its integral element, the main mechanism of human adaptation to the outside world.

According to these views, culture is conceived as a system of symbols with an adaptive function that can vary from one place to another, allowing anthropologists to study differences expressed in specific forms of myths and rituals, tools, forms of housing, and principles of village organization. Thus, anthropologists distinguish between " material culture" and "symbolic culture", not only because these concepts reflect various areas human activity, but also because they contain various initial data that require different approaches during analysis.

This view of culture, which became dominant between the two world wars, suggests that each culture has its own boundaries and should be considered as a whole using its own provisions. As a result of this, the concept of "cultural relativism" emerged, the view that one person can accept the actions of another person by using the concepts of his culture, and the elements of his culture (rites, etc.) by understanding the system of symbols of which they are part.

Thus, the view that culture contains symbolic codes and the way they are transmitted from one person to another means that culture, although limited, is constantly changing. Cultural changes can be either the result of the creation of new things or occur at the time of contact with another culture. Remaining within a peaceful framework, contact between cultures leads to the borrowing (through study) of various elements, that is, the interpenetration of cultures. In conditions of confrontation or political inequality, people of the same culture, of course, can take over cultural values another community or impose your values ​​(“cultivation”).

During the existence of civilization, all communities took part in the processes of dissemination, interpenetration and imposition of their culture, so today few anthropologists consider each culture only within its own framework. Modern scientists believe that the element of culture cannot be considered only within its own framework; this can only be done in a broad context of relationships between different cultures.

In addition to these processes, the elements of culture are strongly influenced by human migration. Such a phenomenon as colonial expansion, as well as mass migration, including in the form of the slave trade, became a significant factor influencing different cultures. As a result, some communities have acquired significant heterogeneity. Some anthropologists argue that such groups unite common culture, the advantage of which is the ability to study heterogeneous elements as subcultures. Others claim that unified culture cannot exist, and heterogeneous elements form a multicultural community. The spread of the doctrine of multiculturalism coincided with a surge in self-identification movements that demand recognition of the cultural uniqueness of social subgroups.

Sociobiologists also argue that culture can be viewed in terms of the elementary elements through which cultural exchange occurs. Such elements, or "memes" as they were called by Richard Dawkins in his book The Selfish Gene, published in 1976, are analogous to the concept of genes in biology. Although this view has gained some popularity, it is completely rejected by most academic scientists.

Generalized definition of culture

Culture is the positive experience and knowledge of a person or group of people, assimilated into one of the spheres of life (in man, in politics, in art, etc.).

Culture - artificial environment (V.P. Komarov, Faculty of Management Systems, Informatics, Electric Power Engineering, Moscow Aviation Institute). The word “culture” refers to absolutely everything created by man. Any object created by man is part of culture.

Positive experience and knowledge are experiences and knowledge that are beneficial for their bearer and, as a result, are used by them.

Assimilation refers to the process of transformation of an entity in which the entity becomes an active part of another sphere of life. Assimilation involves changing the form of an entity.

The active part of the sphere of life is the part that influences a person.

Academician V.S. Stepin defined culture as a system of historically developing supra-biological programs of human life, ensuring reproduction and change social life in all its main manifestations.