What does the concept of culture refer to? Concept of culture

It is extremely diverse and includes everything that has been created by humanity throughout its historical spiritual development. The study of this cultural diversity is carried out on the basis of identifying cultural elements, which include signs, symbols, language, values, norms, manners, etiquette, rituals, customs, and traditions.

Signs - materially, sensually perceived objects (phenomena, actions, relationships) that serve to designate other objects, phenomena, actions, as well as the transfer and processing of information (knowledge).

Symbols- these are also signs, but those that cause an unambiguous social reaction and serve as a means of social interaction.

Signs And symbols presented mainly in language. Thanks to them, it becomes possible to streamline human experience and behavior. Language is an objective form of accumulation, preservation and transmission of human experience. The term "language" has at least two interrelated meanings:

language in general, i.e. language as a certain class of sign systems;
a specific, so-called ethnic language is a specific really existing sign system used in a specific society, in a specific time and in a specific space.

Language - an objective form of accumulation, preservation and transmission of human experience. The concept of “language” has two interrelated meanings: 1) language in general, language as a certain class of sign systems; 2) a specific, so-called ethnic language - a specific really existing sign system used in a specific society, in a specific time and in a specific space.

Language appears at a certain stage of development of society to satisfy many needs and is therefore a multifunctional system. Its main functions are the creation, storage and transmission of information. Acting as a means of human communication (communicative function), language ensures human social behavior.

Values - This is a set of those socially significant preferences that are given priority by various social groups in society. Values demonstrate, first of all, the significance that certain objects, relationships, phenomena, norms, ideals, and rules have for people. Values can be moral, political, religious, economic, aesthetic, etc.

Values - generally accepted beliefs about the goals to which a person should strive. They form the basis moral principles. For example, in Christian morality, the Ten Commandments indicate that the values, in particular, are the preservation human life(“thou shalt not kill”), marital fidelity (“thou shalt not commit adultery”), respect for parents (“honor thy father and thy mother”).

Different cultures may prioritize different values (heroism on the battlefield, artistic creativity, asceticism), and each social order establishes what is a value and what is not.

Rules regulate people's behavior in accordance with the values of a particular culture. Standards of behavior are defined social norms. Compliance with norms is promoted by social punishments or rewards called sanctions. Punishments that deter people from doing certain things are called negative sanctions. These include reprimand, fine, imprisonment, etc. Positive sanctions (monetary reward, empowerment, high prestige) are called incentives for compliance with norms. Sanctions derive their legitimacy from norms.

Habits arise from skills and are reinforced through repeated repetition. A habit is an established pattern of behavior, or, in other words, a stereotype of behavior in certain situations.

Manners- external forms of human behavior that receive positive or negative feedback from others and are based on habits. They distinguish the educated from the ill-mannered, aristocrats and secular people from commoners. If habits are acquired spontaneously, then good manners are acquired through education. Manners are extremely varied: some are secular, others are everyday. Individually, manners constitute elements, or traits, of culture, and a special cultural complex called etiquette.

Etiquette - a system of rules of behavior adopted in special social circles that form a single whole. Etiquette includes special manners, norms, ceremonies and rituals, characterizes the highest strata of society and belongs to the field of elite culture.

Customs - a traditionally established order of behavior, in contrast to the manners inherent in the broad masses of people. It is also based on habit, but not on individual habit, but on collective habit. Custom is a form of social regulation of people’s activities and relationships adopted from the past, which is reproduced in certain society or social group and is familiar to its members. Custom consists of strict adherence to the instructions received from the past. Rituals, holidays, production skills, etc. can act as customs. Customs are unwritten rules of behavior.

Traditions - elements of social and cultural heritage that are passed on from generation to generation and preserved in a particular community or social group for a long time. In other words, if habits and customs are passed from one generation to another, they turn into traditions. Traditions function in all social systems and are a necessary condition their life activities. Disdainful attitude to traditions leads to a disruption of continuity in the development of society and culture, to the loss of valuable achievements of mankind. At the same time, blind admiration for tradition gives rise to conservatism and stagnation in public life.

Closely related to the concept of “tradition” is the concept traditional society, which is usually understood as all types of society that differ from the social models of the New Age (societies of antiquity, the Middle Ages, as well as most civilizations of the East). The main distinguishing feature of such a society is that the central place in it belongs to religious and mythological systems that underlie all socio-cultural and political institutions. Traditional society occupies the longest period of time in human history. It includes three historical eras— primitiveness (hunting-gatherer, pastoral and agricultural stages of development), slave-owning antiquity and medieval feudalism.

A distinctive property of a traditional society is that the past dominates the present, determining its course and development, and tradition acts as a method or mechanism of transmission historical experience, ensuring continuity and sustainability in the individual and social development of people. Tradition is a certain pattern in society, following which implies the denial of innovation and creativity, giving them a clearly negative assessment, especially if they threaten the old traditional foundations of society.

In a traditional society there is no choice as such, since the experience of each new generation is based on the social experience of the older generation. Tradition is something like a social instinct, i.e. the historically inherited ability to perform actions (whether appropriate or not) following an unconscious impulse. This is a kind of automatically working mechanism that enjoys honor and respect, as a rule, religiously sanctified. Tradition permeates everything social sphere people’s life activities, limiting the possibilities of personal development and free self-expression.

Tradition determines status positions in society, sets its guidelines and principles, and this means that it is not the personality that determines the status, but, on the contrary, the status determines the personality and the functions or roles performed by a person depend on such ascriptive (prescribed) things as age, gender, belonging to a particular community - clan, family, clan, territorial, etc. At the same time, members of a traditional society take the existing social order for granted and rarely try to change it. As a result, a person’s social status predetermination leaves virtually no opportunity for individual self-determination. When tradition interferes with the progressive development of a society that cannot function within the framework of the existing traditional system, the death of such a society occurs if changes adequate to the situation are not made. This convincingly confirms the disappearance of many ancient peoples, once flourishing states and civilizations.

Note that until the 1960s. The scientific view of the concept of “tradition” and its functionality was determined by the approach developed by M. Weber and which came down to a strict opposition between the categories of traditional and rational. Within the framework of the modernization approach, the traditional, which impedes the development of society, was viewed primarily in a negative light, since tradition was considered a dying phenomenon, unable to really resist modern forms life, nor coexist with them. But from the middle of the 20th century. the view on the nature of tradition has changed and the idea began to be expressed that tradition and innovation, tradition and modernity are interconnected and interdependent.

This proves modern Russian society, in which the traditional and the modern are closely intertwined. Now in sociological theory the term “transitional society” has been adopted, which is used to designate societies of a transformational type. During this "transitional" period traditional societies and institutions, reorganizing, adapt to changing conditions, and traditional values in some cases can serve as a source of legitimation of new values to achieve new goals.

Ritual (rite) - a set of symbolic stereotypical collective actions that embody certain social ideas, perceptions, norms and values and evoke certain collective feelings. They express religious ideas or household traditions. Rituals are not limited to one social group, but apply to all segments of the population. Rituals accompany important points human life. The power of ritual lies in its emotional and psychological impact on people. In ritual, not only the rational assimilation of certain norms, values and ideals occurs, but also empathy for them by the participants in the ritual action.

The performance of rituals, or ceremonial acts prescribed by religious tradition, constitutes a specific type of behavior that can be traced in any known to science society. Therefore, ritual can be considered as information that allows us to describe human reality.

Cultural universals

Cultural universals arise because all people, no matter what part of the world they live in, are physically built the same, have the same biological needs and face common problems challenges that the environment poses to humanity. People are born and die, therefore all nations have customs associated with birth and death; they live a life together, they have dances, games, greetings, division of labor, etc.

A specific community (civilization, state, nationality, etc.) creates over many centuries own culture, which accompanies an individual throughout his life and is passed on from generation to generation. As a result, many cultures arise.

In sociology, culture is considered as a complex dynamic formation that has a social nature and is expressed in social relations aimed at the creation, assimilation, preservation and dissemination of objects, ideas, and value concepts that ensure mutual understanding of people in various social situations.

The objects of sociological research are the specific distribution of forms and methods of development, creation and transmission of cultural objects existing in a given society, stable and changeable processes in cultural life, as well as those that determine them social factors and mechanisms. In this context, we can say that sociology studies widespread, stable and repeated over time diverse forms of relations between members social communities, groups and society as a whole with the natural and social environment, the dynamics of cultural development, which allows us to determine the level of cultural development of communities and, therefore, talk about their cultural progress or regression.

The American sociologist and ethnographer D. Murdock in 1959 identified more than 70 universals - elements common to all cultures: age gradation, sports, body jewelry, calendar, cleanliness, community organization, cooking, labor cooperation, cosmology, courtship, dancing, decorative arts, fortune telling, dream interpretation, division of labor, education, etc.

Cultural universals arise because all people, no matter where they live in the world, are physically built the same, have the same biological needs and face common problems that the environment poses to humanity. People are born and die, so all nations have customs associated with birth and death. People live together, they have dances, games, greetings, division of labor, etc.

How often in life do we hear and use the word “culture” in relation to the most different phenomena. Have you ever thought about where it came from and what it means? Of course, concepts such as art, good manners, politeness, education, etc. immediately come to mind. Further in the article we will try to reveal the meaning of this word, as well as describe what types of culture exist.

Etymology and definition

Since this concept is multifaceted, it also has many definitions. Well, first of all, let's find out in what language it originated and what it originally meant. And it arose in ancient Rome, where the word “culture” (cultura) was used to describe several concepts at once:

1) cultivation;

2) education;

3) reverence;

4) education and development.

As you can see, almost all of them today fit the general definition of this term. IN Ancient Greece it also meant education, upbringing and love of agriculture.

As for modern definitions, then in a broad sense, culture is understood as the totality of spiritual and material assets, which express one or another level, that is, an era, of the historical development of mankind. According to another definition, culture is the area of spiritual life human society, which includes a system of upbringing, education and spiritual creativity. IN in the narrow sense culture is the degree of mastery of a certain area of knowledge or skills of a particular activity, thanks to which a person gets the opportunity to express himself. His character, style of behavior, etc. are formed. Well, the most commonly used definition is the consideration of culture as a form of social behavior of an individual in accordance with the level of his education and upbringing.

Concept and types of culture

Exist various classifications this concept. For example, cultural scientists distinguish several types of culture. Here are some of them:

mass and individual;
western and eastern;
industrial and post-industrial;
urban and rural;
high (elite) and mass, etc.

As you can see, they are presented in pairs, each of which is an opposition. According to another classification, there are the following main types of culture:

material;
spiritual;
informational;
physical.

Each of them can have its own varieties. Some culturologists believe that the above are forms rather than types of culture. Let's look at each of them separately.

Material culture

The subordination of natural energy and materials to human purposes and the creation of new habitats by artificial means is called material culture. This also includes various technologies that are necessary for conservation and further development of this environment. Thanks to material culture, the standard of living of society is set, the material needs of people are formed, and ways to satisfy them are proposed.

Spiritual culture

Beliefs, concepts, feelings, experiences, emotions and ideas that help establish a spiritual connection between individuals are considered spiritual culture. It also includes all products of non-material human activity that exist in an ideal form. This culture contributes to the creation of a special world of values, as well as the formation and satisfaction of intellectual and emotional needs. It is also a product of social development, and its main purpose is the production of consciousness.

Part of this type of culture is artistic. It, in turn, includes the entire set of artistic values, as well as the system of their functioning, creation and reproduction that has developed over the course of history. For the entire civilization as a whole, as well as for an individual individual, the role of artistic culture, which is otherwise called art, is simply enormous. It affects the inner spiritual world of a person, his mind, emotional condition and feelings. Types of artistic culture are nothing more than different types of art. Let us list them: painting, sculpture, theater, literature, music, etc.

Art culture can be both mass (popular) and high (elite). The first includes all works (most often single ones) by unknown authors. Folk culture includes folklore creations: myths, epics, legends, songs and dances - which are accessible to the general public. But elite, high culture consists of a collection of individual works by professional creators, which are known only to a privileged part of society. The varieties listed above are also types of culture. They simply relate not to the material, but to the spiritual side.

Information culture

The basis of this type is knowledge about the information environment: the laws of functioning and methods of effective and fruitful activity in society, as well as the ability to correctly navigate in endless flows of information. Since speech is one of the forms of information transmission, we would like to dwell on it in more detail.

A culture of speech

In order for people to communicate with each other, they need to have a culture of speech. Without this, there will never be mutual understanding between them, and therefore no interaction. From the first grade of school, children begin to study the subject “Native Speech”. Of course, before they come to first grade, they already know how to speak and use words to express their childhood thoughts, ask and demand from adults to satisfy their needs, etc. However, the culture of speech is completely different.

At school, children are taught to correctly formulate their thoughts through words. This promotes their mental development and self-expression as individuals. Every year the child acquires a new vocabulary, and he begins to think differently: wider and deeper. Of course, in addition to school, a child’s speech culture can also be influenced by factors such as family, yard, and group. From his peers, for example, he can learn words called profanity. Some people have a very meager vocabulary until the end of their lives, and, naturally, they have low culture speech. With such baggage, a person is unlikely to achieve anything big in life.

Physical Culture

Another form of culture is physical. It includes everything that is connected with the human body, with the work of its muscles. This includes the development of a person's physical abilities from birth to the end of life. This is a set of exercises and skills that contribute to the physical development of the body, leading to its beauty.

Culture and society

Man is a social being. He constantly interacts with people. You can understand a person better if you consider him from the point of view of relationships with others. In view of this, there are the following types of culture:

personality culture;
team culture;
culture of society.

The first type relates to the person himself. It includes his subjective qualities, character traits, habits, actions, etc. The culture of a team develops as a result of the formation of traditions and the accumulation of experience by people united by common activities. But the culture of society is the objective integrity of cultural creativity. Its structure does not depend on individuals or groups. Culture and society, being very close systems, nevertheless do not coincide in meaning and exist, although next to each other, but on their own, developing according to separate laws inherent only to them.

How often in life we hear and use the word “culture” in relation to a variety of phenomena. Have you ever thought about where it came from and what it means? Of course, concepts such as art, good manners, politeness, education, etc. immediately come to mind. Further in the article we will try to reveal the meaning of this word, as well as describe what types of culture exist.

Etymology and definition

1) cultivation;

2) education;

3) reverence;

4) education and development.

As you can see, almost all of them today fit the general definition of this term. In Ancient Greece, it also meant education, upbringing and love of agriculture.

As for modern definitions, in a broad sense, culture is understood as a set of spiritual and material values that express one or another level, that is, an era, of the historical development of mankind. According to another definition, culture is the area of spiritual life of human society, which includes a system of upbringing, education and spiritual creativity. In a narrow sense, culture is the degree of mastery of a certain area of knowledge or skills of a particular activity, thanks to which a person gains the opportunity to express himself. His character, style of behavior, etc. are formed. Well, the most commonly used definition is the consideration of culture as a form of social behavior of an individual in accordance with the level of his education and upbringing.

Concept and types of culture

There are various classifications of this concept. For example, cultural scientists distinguish several types of culture. Here are some of them:

mass and individual;
western and eastern;
industrial and post-industrial;
urban and rural;
high (elite) and mass, etc.

As you can see, they are presented in pairs, each of which is an opposition. According to another classification, there are the following main types of culture:

material;
spiritual;
informational;
physical.

Each of them can have its own varieties. Some culturologists believe that the above are forms rather than types of culture. Let's look at each of them separately.

Material culture

The subordination of natural energy and materials to human purposes and the creation of new habitats by artificial means is called material culture. This also includes various technologies that are necessary for the preservation and further development of this environment. Thanks to material culture, the standard of living of society is set, the material needs of people are formed, and ways to satisfy them are proposed.

Spiritual culture

Part of this type of culture is artistic. It, in turn, includes the entire set of artistic values, as well as the system of their functioning, creation and reproduction that has developed over the course of history. For the entire civilization as a whole, as well as for an individual individual, the role of artistic culture, which is otherwise called art, is simply enormous. It affects the inner spiritual world of a person, his mind, emotional state and feelings. Types of artistic culture are nothing more than different types of art. Let us list them: painting, sculpture, theater, literature, music, etc.

Artistic culture can be both mass (folk) and high (elite). The first includes all works (most often single ones) by unknown authors. Folk culture includes folklore creations: myths, epics, legends, songs and dances - which are accessible to the general public. But elite, high culture consists of a collection of individual works by professional creators, which are known only to a privileged part of society. The varieties listed above are also types of culture. They simply relate not to the material, but to the spiritual side.

Information culture

A culture of speech

At school, children are taught to correctly formulate their thoughts through words. This promotes their mental development and self-expression as individuals. Every year the child acquires a new vocabulary, and he begins to think differently: wider and deeper. Of course, in addition to school, a child’s speech culture can also be influenced by factors such as family, yard, and group. From his peers, for example, he can learn words called profanity. Some people, until the end of their lives, have a very meager vocabulary, and, naturally, have a low speech culture. With such baggage, a person is unlikely to achieve anything big in life.

Physical Culture

Culture and society

personality culture;
team culture;
culture of society.

Culture (from Latin - agriculture, education) is a term that denotes many concepts from various spheres. Most often, culture refers to an area human activity, which is associated with human self-expression. Culture reveals a person’s subjectivity, his characteristics, character, abilities, knowledge and skills.

Even in Ancient Greece, the term “paideia” was widespread, which denoted internal culture, culture of the soul, upbringing and education. In Ancient Greece, the concept of “culture” was directly related to education, good manners and love of agriculture. But over time, the term “culture” has significantly expanded and changed, acquiring many shades and areas (including legal, corporate, organizational culture). So what is culture in all the diversity of this word?

What is physical culture

Physical culture is an area of culture aimed at strengthening and maintaining health, developing a person’s abilities and improving his activity. At the same time, physical culture is a set of knowledge, norms and values that have been created by society over many centuries for the comprehensive development and improvement of man, for his physical training and the formation of a healthy lifestyle.

Physical culture is a part of society, which includes centuries-old experience of physiological, moral, psychological and mental development person. In modern society, this area of culture includes concern for:

degree of widespread use physical culture: in everyday life, in the sphere of production, education and upbringing;
level of human health and development.

What is spiritual culture

Spiritual culture is a system of knowledge and ideas that relates to all of humanity or to any cultural and historical unity: a people (Russian culture), a nation, a religious movement. The origins of spiritual culture lie in man. It arises because a person in life does not limit himself only to what he learns every day, but absorbs spiritual experience from which he evaluates everything around him, from which he loves and believes in something.

Spiritual culture, in contrast to material culture, arose and exists due to the fact that a person is not limited to some everyday needs, but recognizes spiritual experience as the main thing. Because of this experience, he lives, loves, appreciates all the things around him.

Spiritual culture is an area of human activity that covers various areas spiritual life of man and society. Spiritual culture unites forms of social consciousness (art, science, morality, legal consciousness, religion, ideology) and their embodiment in architectural, literary, and artistic monuments.

What is the culture of society

Culture in terms of social expression usually means the following:

the totality of human achievements in different areas public life (personal culture);
way and method of organizing social relations using the example of social institutions;
the degree of development of the individual in society, his involvement in the achievements of art, law, morality and other forms of social consciousness.

Culture and society are very close systems, which, however, do not coincide in meaning; they develop and exist according to their own separate laws.

What is artistic culture

Artistic culture includes all artistic values, as well as the historically established system of their reproduction, creation and functioning in society. The role of artistic culture both for civilization and for individual person huge. Art, which represents artistic culture, influences inner world a person, on his mind, feelings and emotions. Thanks to this, a person recognizes in the images some fragment of reality embedded by the artist in his work. Artistic culture involves both preservation best elements the old and the creation of the new, enhancing the cultural heritage of mankind.

What is mass culture

Mass culture, also called “pop culture” or majority culture, is a culture that has become widespread among segments of the population in a particular society. Mass culture is subordinate to the life and needs of the majority of the population (or the mainstream); it includes entertainment, music, literature, sports, cinema, fine arts and other manifestations of culture. Mass culture is contrasted with elitist, “high culture”. Also Mass culture is included in the concept of folk culture and is its component.

Types and types of culture

Taking the dominant values as a basis, both material and spiritual culture, in turn, can be divided into the following kinds.

Artistic culture, its essence lies in the aesthetic exploration of the world, the core is art, the dominant value is beauty .

Economic culture, this includes human activity in the economic sector, production culture, management culture, economic law, etc. The main value is work .

Legal culture is manifested in activities aimed at protecting human rights, relations between the individual and society, and the state. Dominant value - law .

Political culture is associated with the active position of a person in the organization of government, individual social groups, and the functioning of individual political institutions. The main value is power .

Physical culture, i.e. the sphere of culture aimed at improving the physical basis of a person. This includes sports, medicine, relevant traditions, norms, and actions that create a healthy lifestyle. The main value is human health .

Religious culture is associated with the directed human activity of creating a picture of the world based on irrational dogmas. It is accompanied by the performance of religious services, adherence to the norms set out in sacred texts, certain symbolism, etc. The dominant value is faith in God and on this basis moral improvement .

Ecological culture lies in the reasonable and careful attitude to nature, maintaining harmony between humans and the environment. The main value is nature .

Moral culture is manifested in the adherence to special ethical standards arising from traditions and social attitudes that dominate in human society. The main value is morality .

This is not a complete list of types of culture. In general, the complexity and versatility of the definition of the concept of “culture” also determines the complexity of its classification. There is an economic approach (agriculture, culture of livestock breeders, etc.), a social-class approach (proletarian, bourgeois, territorial-ethnic), (the culture of certain nationalities, the culture of Europe), spiritual and religious (Muslim, Christian), technocratic (pre-industrial, industrial) , civilizational (the culture of Roman civilization, the culture of the East), social (urban, peasant), etc. However, based on these numerous characteristics, several important ones can be identified: directions, which formed the basis typologies of culture .

This is, first of all, ethnoterritorial typology. The culture of socio-ethnic communities includes ethnic , national, folk, regional culture. Their carriers are peoples and ethnic groups. Currently, there are about 200 states uniting over 4,000 ethnic groups. The development of their ethnic and national cultures is influenced by geographical, climatic, historical, religious and other factors. In other words, the development of cultures depends on the terrain, lifestyle, entry into a particular state, and belonging to a particular religion.

Concepts ethnic And folk cultures are similar in content. Their authors, as a rule, are unknown; the subject is the entire people. But these are highly artistic works that remain in the memory of the people for a long time. Myths, legends, epics, fairy tales belong to the best works of art. Their most important feature is traditionalism.

Folk culture consists of two types - popular And folklore. Popular widespread among the people, but its object is mainly modernity, life, way of life, morals, folklore however, it is more focused on the past. Ethnic culture is closer to folklore. But ethnic culture is primarily everyday culture. It includes not only art, but also tools, clothing, and household items. Folk and ethnic cultures can merge with professional, that is, with the culture of specialists, when, for example, a work was created by a professional, but gradually the author is forgotten, and a monument of art becomes essentially folk. There may also be a reverse process, when, for example, in the Soviet Union, through cultural and educational institutions, they tried to cultivate ethnic culture by creating ethnographic ensembles, performing folk songs. Under certain conditions folk culture can be considered a link between ethnic and national cultures.

Structure national cultures are more complex. It differs from the ethnic one in more distinct ways national characteristics and a wide range. It may include a number of ethnic groups. For example, the American national culture includes English, German, Mexican and many others. National culture arises when representatives of ethnic groups realize their belonging to one nation. It is built on the basis of writing, while ethnic and folk may be unwritten.

Ethnic and national cultures may have their own common features that are different from others, expressed in the concept “ mentality "(Latin: way of thinking). It is customary, for example, to single out English as a reserved type of mentality, French as playful, Japanese as aesthetic, etc. But national culture Along with traditional everyday folklore, it also includes specialized areas. A nation is characterized not only by ethnographic, but also by social characteristics: territory, statehood, economic ties etc. Accordingly, national culture, in addition to ethnic culture, includes elements of economic, legal and other types of culture.

Co. second group can be attributed social types . These are, first of all, mass, elite, marginal cultures, subcultures and countercultures.

Mass culture is commercial culture. This is a type of cultural production produced in large volumes, designed for a wide audience of low and medium levels of development. It is intended for mass, i.e., an undifferentiated set. The masses are inclined towards consumer information.

Mass culture appeared in modern times with the invention of the printing press, the spread of low-quality pulp literature, and developed in the 20th century under the conditions of a capitalist society with its orientation towards a market economy, the creation of mass secondary school and the transition to universal literacy, the development of the media. It acts as a commodity, uses advertising, overly simplified language, and is available to everyone. An industrial and commercial approach was applied in the cultural sphere; it became a form of business. Mass culture focuses on artificially created images and stereotypes, “simplified versions of life,” beautiful illusions.

The philosophical basis of mass culture is Freudianism, which brings everything together social phenomena to biological, putting instincts in the foreground, pragmatism, putting benefit as the main goal.

The term "mass culture""first used in 1941 by a German philosopher M. Horkheimer . The Spanish thinker José Ortega y Gasset (1883 - 1955) tried to more broadly analyze the phenomenon of mass and elite cultures. In his work “The Revolt of the Masses,” he came to the conclusion that European culture is in a state of crisis and the reason for this is the “revolt of the masses.” Mass is average person. Ortega y Gasset opened preconditions mass culture. This is, firstly, economic: growth in material well-being and relative availability of material goods. This changed the vision of the world; he began to be perceived, figuratively speaking, as serving the masses. Secondly, legal: the division into classes disappeared, liberal legislation appeared, declaring equality before the law. This created certain prospects for the rise of the average person. Thirdly, it is observed rapid population growth. As a result, according to Ortega y Gasset, a new human type has matured - mediocrity incarnate. Fourthly, cultural background. A person satisfied with himself ceased to be critical of himself and reality, to engage in self-improvement, and limited himself to a craving for pleasure and entertainment.

The American scientist D. MacDonald, following Ortega y Gasset, defined mass culture as created for the market and “not quite culture.”

At the same time, mass culture also has a certain positive significance, since it carries a compensatory function, helps to adapt, maintain social stability in difficult socio-economic conditions, and ensures the general availability of spiritual values, achievements of science and technology. At certain conditions and quality individual works mass culture stand the test of time, rise to the level of highly artistic, gain recognition and ultimately become, in a certain sense, popular.

Many culturologists consider the antipode of mass elitist culture (French favorites, best). This is the culture of a special, privileged layer of society with its specific spiritual abilities, characterized by creativity, experimentalism, and closedness. Elite culture is characterized by an intellectual avant-garde orientation, complexity and originality, which makes it understandable mainly for the elite and inaccessible to the masses.

Elite (high) culture created by a privileged part of society, or at its request by professional creators. It includes fine art, classical music and literature. High culture (for example, the painting of Picasso or the music of Schoenberg) is difficult for an unprepared person to understand. As a rule, it is decades ahead of the level of perception of an averagely educated person. The circle of its consumers is a highly educated part of society: critics, literary scholars, regulars of museums and exhibitions, theatergoers, artists, writers, musicians. When the level of education of the population increases, the circle of consumers of high culture expands. Its variety includes secular art and salon music. The formula of elite culture is “art for art’s sake.”

It has been known since ancient times, when priests and tribal leaders became the owners of special knowledge inaccessible to others. During feudalism similar relationships were reproduced in various denominations, knightly or monastic orders, capitalism- V intellectual circles, learned communities, aristocratic salons, etc. True, in the new and modern times elitist culture was no longer always associated with strict caste isolation. There are cases in history when gifted individuals, people from the common people, for example Zh.Zh. Russo, M.V. Lomonosov, went through a difficult path of formation and joined the elite.

Elite culture is based on philosophy A. Schopenhauer and F. Nietzsche who divided humanity into “people of geniuses” and “people of utility,” or into “supermen” and the masses. Later thoughts about elitist culture developed in the works of Ortega y Gasset. He considered it the art of a gifted minority, a group of initiates capable of reading the symbols embedded in work of art. The distinctive features of such a culture, Ortega y Gasset believes, are, firstly, the desire for “pure art,” that is, the creation of works of art only for the sake of art, and secondly, the understanding of art as a game, and not a documentary reflection of reality.

Subculture(lat. subculture) is the culture of certain social groups, different or even partially opposed to the whole, but in its main features consistent with the dominant culture. Most often it is a factor of self-expression, but in some cases it is a factor of unconscious protest against the dominant culture. In this regard, it can be divided into positive and negative. Elements of subculture appeared, for example, in the Middle Ages in the form of urban, knightly cultures. In Russia, a subculture of the Cossacks and various religious sects has developed.

Forms of subculture different - the culture of professional groups (theatrical, medical culture, etc.), territorial (urban, rural), ethnic (Gypsy culture), religious (culture of sects different from world religions), criminal (thieves, drug addicts), teenage youth The latter most often serves as a means of unconscious protest against the rules established in society. Young people are prone to nihilism and are more easily influenced by external effects and paraphernalia. Culturologists call the first youth subcultural groups “ teddy boys ", which appeared in the mid-50s of the 20th century in England.

Almost simultaneously with them, “modernists” or “fashions” arose.

By the end of the 50s, “rockers” began to appear, for whom the motorcycle was a symbol of freedom and at the same time a means of intimidation.

By the end of the 60s, “skinheads” or “skinheads”, aggressive football fans, separated from the “mods”. At the same time, in the 60-70s, the subcultures of “hippies” and “punks” emerged in England.

All these groups are distinguished by aggressiveness and a negative attitude towards the traditions that dominate society. They are characterized by their own symbolism, sign system. They create their own image, first of all their appearance: clothes, hairstyles, metal jewelry. They have their own manner of behavior: gait, facial expressions, peculiarities of communication, their own special slang. Their own traditions and folklore appeared. Each generation internalizes the norms of behavior that are ingrained in certain subgroups, moral values, folklore forms (sayings, legends) and after a short time no longer differs from its predecessors.

Under certain circumstances, particularly aggressive subgroups, for example, hippies, can become in opposition to society, and their subculture develop into counterculture. This term was first used in 1968 by the American sociologist T. Roszak to assess the liberal behavior of the so-called “broken generation.”

Counterculture- these are socio-cultural attitudes that oppose the dominant culture. It is characterized by a rejection of established social values, moral norms and ideals, the cult of the unconscious manifestation of natural passions and the mystical ecstasy of the soul. Counterculture aims to overthrow the dominant culture, which is represented by organized violence against the individual. This protest takes various forms: from passive to extremist, which manifested themselves in anarchism, “leftist” radicalism, religious mysticism, etc. A number of culturologists identify it with the movements of “hippies,” “punks,” and “beatniks,” which emerged both as subcultures and as cultures of protest against the technocracy of industrial society. Youth counterculture of the 70s in the West they called it a culture of protest, since it was during these years that young people especially sharply opposed the value system of the older generation. But it was at this time that the Canadian scientist E. Tiryakan considered it a powerful catalyst for the cultural and historical process. Any new culture arises as a result of awareness of the crisis of the previous culture.

It should be distinguished from counterculture marginal culture (lat. region). This is a concept that characterizes the value systems of individual groups or individuals who, due to circumstances, find themselves on the verge of different cultures, but not integrated into any of them.

The concept " marginal personality "was introduced in the 20s of the 20th century by R. Park to indicate the cultural status of immigrants. Marginal culture is located on the “outskirts” of the corresponding cultural systems. An example would be, for example, migrants, villagers in the city, forced to adapt to a new urban lifestyle for them. A culture can also acquire a marginal character as a result of conscious attitudes towards rejection of socially approved goals or methods of achieving them.

3. A special place in the classification of culture occupies historical typology. Can be called whole line different approaches to solving this problem.

The most common ones in science are the following.

This is stone, bronze, iron age, By archaeological periodization; pagan, Christian periods, according to periodization, gravitating towards the biblical scheme, such as, for example, G. Hezhel or S. Solovyov. Proponents of evolutionary theories of the 19th century distinguished three stages of social development: savagery, barbarism, and civilization. K. Marx's formation theory proceeded from the division of the world cultural and historical process into eras: primitive communal system, slaveholding, feudalism, capitalism. According to "Eurocentric" concepts, the history of human society is divided into Ancient world, Antiquity, Middle Ages, Modern times, Contemporary times.

The presence of a variety of approaches to defining the historical typology of culture allows us to conclude that there is no universal concept that explains the entire history of mankind and its culture. However, in last years The attention of researchers was especially attracted by the concept of the German philosopher Karl Jaspers(1883 - 1969). In the book “The Origins of History and Its Purpose” in the cultural-historical process he highlights four main periods . First is the period of archaic culture or the “Promethean era”. The main thing at this time is the emergence of languages, the invention and use of tools and fire, the beginning of sociocultural regulation of life. Second The period is characterized as the pre-Axial culture of ancient local civilizations. High cultures arose in Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, and later in China, writing appeared. Third stage is, according to Jaspers, a kind of “ world time axis"and refers to VIII - II centuries BC e. This was an era of undoubted success not only in material, but, above all, in spiritual culture - in philosophy, literature, science, art, etc., the life and work of such great personalities as Homer, Buddha, Confucius. At this time, the foundations of world religions were laid, and a transition from local civilizations to a unified history of mankind was outlined. During this period, modern man is formed, the basic categories with which we think are developed.

Fourth stage covers the time from the beginning of our era, when the era began scientific and technological progress, there is a rapprochement of nations and cultures, two main directions of cultural development are emerging: “eastern” with its spirituality, irrationalism and “western” dynamic, pragmatic. This time is designated as the universal culture of the West and the East in the post-Axial period.

The typology of civilizations and cultures of the German scientist of the early 20th century also seems interesting. Max Weber. He distinguished between two types of societies and, accordingly, cultures. These are traditional societies where the principle of rationalization does not apply. Those that are based on rationality, Weber called industrial. Rationalization, according to Weber, manifests itself when a person is driven not by feelings and natural needs, but by benefit, the possibility of receiving material or moral dividends. In contrast, the Russian-American philosopher P. Sorokin based the periodization of culture on spiritual values. He identified three types of cultures: ideational (religious-mystical), idealistic (philosophical) and sensual (scientific). In addition, Sorokin distinguished cultures according to the principle of organization (heterogeneous clusters, formations with similar sociocultural characteristics, organic systems).

Received quite wide popularity at the beginning of the 20th century Social-historical school, which has the longest, “classical” traditions and goes back to Kant, Hegel and Humboldt, grouping around itself mainly historians and philosophers, including religious ones. Its prominent representatives in Russia were N.Ya. Danilevsky, and in Western Europe- Spengler and Toynbee, who adhered to the concept of local civilizations.

Nikolai Yakovlevich Danilevsky(1822-1885) - publicist, sociologist and natural scientist, one of many Russian minds who anticipated the original ideas that later arose in the West. In particular, his views on culture are surprisingly consonant with the concepts of two of the most prominent thinkers of the twentieth century. - German O. Spengler and Englishman A. Toynbee.

The son of an honored general, Danilevsky, however, from a young age devoted himself to the natural sciences, and was also keen on the ideas of utopian socialism.

After receiving his Ph.D. degree, he was arrested for participating in the revolutionary-democratic circle of Petrashevites (F.M. Dostoevsky also belonged to it) and spent three months in prison. Peter and Paul Fortress, but managed to avoid trial and ended up expelled from St. Petersburg. Later, as a professional naturalist, botanist and fish conservation specialist, he served in the department Agriculture; On scientific trips and expeditions he traveled throughout a significant part of Russia, being inspired to do a lot of cultural work. Being an ideologist of Pan-Slavism - a movement that proclaimed the unity of the Slavic peoples - Danilevsky, long before O. Spengler, in his main work “Russia and Europe” (1869), substantiated the idea of the existence of so-called cultural-historical types (civilizations), which, like living organisms, are in constant struggle with each other and with the environment. Just like biological individuals, they undergo stages of origin, flourishing and death. The beginnings of civilization historical type are not transmitted to peoples of other types, although they are subject to certain cultural influences. Each “cultural-historical type” manifests itself in four spheres : religious, cultural, political and socio-economic. Their harmony speaks of the perfection of a particular civilization. The course of history is expressed in a change of cultural and historical types that displace each other, moving from the “ethnographic” state through statehood to the civilized level. Cycle of life the cultural-historical type consists of four periods and lasts about 1500 years, of which 1000 years is the preparatory, “ethnographic” period; approximately 400 years - the formation of statehood, and 50-100 years - the flowering of all creative possibilities of this or that people. The cycle ends with a long period of decline and decay.

In our time, Danilevsky’s idea that a necessary condition for the flourishing of culture is political independence is especially relevant. Without it, the originality of culture is impossible, i.e. culture itself is impossible, “which does not even deserve the name if it is not original.” On the other hand, independence is needed so that like-minded cultures, say Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian, can freely and fruitfully develop and interact, while at the same time preserving pan-Slavic cultural wealth. Denying the existence of a single world culture, Danilevsky identified 10 cultural and historical types that have partially or completely exhausted the possibilities of their development:

1) Egyptian,

2) Chinese,

3) Assyro-Babylonian, Phoenician, Ancient Semitic

4) Indian,

5) Iranian

6) Jewish

7) Greek

8) Roman

9) Arabian

10) Germano-Roman, European

One of the later, as we see, was the European Romano-Germanic cultural community.

Danilevsky proclaims a Slavic cultural-historical type that is qualitatively new and has a great historical perspective, designed to unite all Slavic peoples, led by Russia, as opposed to Europe, which has allegedly entered a period of decline.

No matter how you feel about Danilevsky’s views, they still, as in their time, feed and fed the imperial ideology and prepared the emergence of such a modern social science, as geopolitics, closely related to the civilizational approach to history.

Oswald Spengler (1880-1936) - German philosopher and cultural historian, author of the sensational work “The Decline of Europe” (1921-1923). Unusual creative biography German thinker. The son of a minor postal worker, Spengler did not have a university education and was able to graduate only from high school, where he studied mathematics and natural sciences; As for history, philosophy and art history, in the mastery of which he surpassed many of his outstanding contemporaries, Spengler studied them independently, becoming an example of a self-taught genius. And Spengler’s career was limited to the position of a gymnasium teacher, which he voluntarily left in 1911. For several years he imprisoned himself in a small apartment in Munich and began to realize his cherished dream: he wrote a book about the fate of European culture in the context of world history - “The Decline of Europe ”, which went through 32 editions in many languages only in the 20s and brought him the sensational fame of “the prophet of the death of Western civilization.”

Spengler repeated N.Ya. Danilevsky and, like him, was one of the most consistent critics of Eurocentrism and the theory of continuous progress of mankind, considering Europe already a doomed and dying link. Spengler denies the existence of universal human continuity in culture. In the history of mankind, he identifies 8 cultures:

1) Egyptian,

2) Indian,

3) Babylonian,

4) Chinese,

5) Greco-Roman,

6) Byzantine-Islamic,

7) Western European

8) Mayan culture in Central America.

According to Spengler, Russian-Siberian culture is coming as a new culture. Each cultural “organism” has a lifespan of approximately 1000 years. Dying, every culture degenerates into civilization, moves from creative impulse to sterility, from development to stagnation, from “soul” to “intellect,” from heroic “deeds” to utilitarian work. Such a transition for Greco-Roman culture occurred, according to Spengler, in the Hellenistic era (III-I centuries BC), and for Western European culture - in the 19th century. With the advent of civilization, mass culture, artistic and literary creativity loses its meaning, giving way to soulless technicalism and sports. In the 20s, “The Decline of Europe,” by analogy with the death of the Roman Empire, was perceived as a prediction of the apocalypse, the death of Western European society under the onslaught of new “barbarians” - revolutionary forces advancing from the East. History, as we know, has not confirmed Spengler’s prophecies, and the new “Russian-Siberian” culture, which meant the so-called socialist society, has not yet come to fruition. It is significant that some of Spengler’s conservative nationalist ideas were widely used by ideologists of Nazi Germany.

Arnold Joseph Toynbee(1889-1975) - English historian and sociologist, author of the 12-volume “Study of History” (1934-1961) - a work in which he (at the first stage, not without the influence of O. Spengler) also sought to comprehend the development of mankind in the spirit of the cycle "civilizations", using this term as a synonym for "culture". A.J. Toynbee came from a middle-class English family; Following the example of his mother, a history teacher, he graduated from Oxford University and the British School of Archaeology in Athens (Greece). At first he was interested in antiquity and the works of Spengler, whom he later surpassed as a cultural historian. From 1919 to 1955, Toynbee was professor of Greek, Byzantine and later world history at the University of London. During the First and Second World Wars, he simultaneously collaborated with the Foreign Office, was a member of the British government delegations to the Paris Peace Conferences in 1919 and 1946, and also headed the Royal Institute of International Affairs. The scientist devoted a significant part of his life to writing his famous work - an encyclopedic panorama of the development of world culture.

Initially, Toynbee viewed history as a set of parallel and sequentially developing “civilizations”, genetically little related to one another, each of which goes through the same stages from rise to breakdown, collapse and death. He later revised these views, concluding that all famous cultures, fed by world religions (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, etc.), are branches of one human “tree of history.” They all tend towards unity, and each of them is a particle of it. World historical development appears as a movement from local cultural communities to a single universal human culture. Unlike O. Spengler, who identified only 8 “civilizations,” Toynbee, who relied on broader and modern research, numbered them from 14 to 21., later stopping at thirteen , which have received the most complete development. Toynbee considered the driving forces of history, in addition to divine “providence,” to be individual outstanding personalities and the “creative minority.” It responds to the “challenges” posed to a given culture by the outside world and spiritual needs, as a result of which the progressive development of a particular society is ensured. At the same time, the “creative minority” leads the passive majority, relying on its support and replenished by its best representatives. When the “creative minority” turns out to be unable to realize its mystical “life impulse” and respond to the “challenges” of history, it turns into a “dominant elite”, imposing its power by force of arms, and not by authority; the alienated mass of the population becomes the “internal proletariat,” which, together with external enemies, ultimately destroys a given civilization, if it does not first die from natural disasters.

According to Toynbee's law of the golden mean, the challenge should be neither too weak nor too severe. In the first case, there will be no active response, and in the second, insurmountable difficulties can completely stop the emergence of civilization. Specific examples“challenges” known from history are associated with drying out or waterlogging of soils, the advance of hostile tribes, and a forced change of place of residence. The most common answers: transition to a new type of management, creation of irrigation systems, formation of powerful power structures capable of mobilizing the energy of society, creating new religion, science, technology.

This variety of approaches makes it possible to study this phenomenon more deeply.