The picture of the world in the history of culture has characteristic features. Definition of the cultural picture of the world

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Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation

State Academic University of Humanities

Essay

in the discipline "cultural studies"

" Cultural picture of the world"

Completed by: Krapivina Ekaterina Igorevna

Head: Saiko E.A.

Moscow, 2016

Introduction

Culture in its most general form is a product of the joint life activity of people, a system of ways of their collective existence, ordered norms and rules for satisfying group and individual needs. Its emergence is due to the fact that when people live together for a long time in the same territory, their collective economic activity forms in them a common worldview, a common way of life, a manner of communication, etc. All together, these signs determine the national culture of the community.

Each national culture, formed in certain conditions of its existence (climatic, historical, social), develops its own vision of the world. The vision of the world recorded in culture is the cultural picture of the world.

If the world is the environment and a person in interaction, then the cultural picture of the world is the result of the processing of information about the environment by the human consciousness. Every phenomenon of the world exists in the human mind in the form of an image, knowledge about it and attitude towards it.

The cultural picture of the world influences many factors: natural and climatic, historical, social, public. It changes under the influence of processes that occur in society, in science and education.

The primary picture of the world represents intuitive ideas, meanings and meanings as an expression of the characteristics of a particular culture. Moreover, each meaning always reflects the universality of the world in which people live.

Each period of historical time has its own picture of the world. For example, the picture of the world of the ancient Indians is not similar to the picture of the world of medieval knights, and the picture of the world of knights is not similar to the picture of the world of their contemporaries, monks.

At the same time, it is possible to identify a universal picture of the world that is characteristic of all humanity, although it will be too abstract. Thus, all people are characterized by the opposition of white and black, but for some groups white will correspond to the positive principle - life, and black - to the negative principle - death, and for others (for example, the Chinese) it is the other way around. Any nation will have its own idea of good and evil, norms and values.

An individual's picture of the world will be determined, first of all, by his character: for a sanguine extrovert and a realist, the picture of the world will be clearly opposite to the picture of the world of an autistic person. The picture of the world will change with altered states of consciousness.

A person immersed in virtual reality will also see the world in a completely different way.

Thus, the picture of the world is mediated by the cultural language spoken by a given group.

History of cultural understanding.

The cultural picture of the world is revealed as a concrete historical system of worldviews and attitudes, including a set of both rational-conceptual and sensory-figurative ways of perceiving and comprehending the world.

The cultural picture of the world is a set of ideas inherent in a people or historical community about time and space, the origin of the world and man, the meaning human life and death, relationships between people, good and evil, justice, beauty, freedom, happiness, etc.

In the history of European and Russian culture, three basic cultural pictures of the world were consistently formed - mythological, religious and scientific. With all the originality of mythologies and religions different nations their ideas about the world had something in common, determined by the common knowledge of the universe, the laws that give rise to the world and operate in it.

For mythological picture of the world Characteristic is the idea of a close, inextricable connection between man and nature, of uniform laws governing the life of the world and man. The forces of nature in the mythological picture of the world have the same properties as people - they act consciously, purposefully, any natural event is addressed to man. The world in mythology is a living organism in which everything - people, animals, birds, mountains, rivers, and gods - are subordinate elements of a single system, a single supreme law. The mythological picture of the world is the most ancient. All the peoples of the earth had their own mythology and unique cultures different countries and peoples is largely determined by it.

Religious picture of the world based on mythological. The first religious beliefs are almost indistinguishable from myths. Its originality becomes obvious with the emergence of monotheistic religions - religions of a single god. The God of a monotheistic religion (Jehovah, Buddha, Christ, Allah) is a personified supreme power, absolute, all-encompassing and united. The world was created by His will; He establishes all the laws of existence, nature and man. At the same time, God creates man different from other living beings, endowing him with mind and soul. He carries within himself part of the divine power and is free to subjugate nature. The special position of man in the world, determined by his divine soul, is the most important difference in the religious picture of the world. Religion has a strong influence on mentality, and it should also be noted that even an unbeliever who grew up in a certain cultural tradition perceives the world through the prism of national religion. It is fixed in language, customs, art, morality, and at the same time it forms an important part of the life of society, even being formally prohibited, as it was in Soviet times.

Scientific picture of the world formed in Europe in the modern era - in the 17-18 centuries. This does not mean that scientific knowledge did not exist before this time - it developed in the most ancient cultures. Scientific culture world differs from others, first of all, in independence and objectivity. It is devoid of value and is universal, since it constructs a certain ideal model of reality, created on the basis of scientific ideas, concepts, and theories. The scientific picture of the world is a set of ideas based on knowledge, and not on faith. If mythology and religion provide an unchanging foundation, a stable basis for ideas, then the scientific picture of the world is changeable. Its constant feature remains rationality and objectivity. For many modern people faith in the power of science, reason, and objective knowledge determines ideas about the world. Only what is claimed to be “scientific knowledge” is true, even if it is not.

In addition to those mentioned, there are other pictures of the world: artistic, philosophical. Along with the religious and scientific taken in " pure form", regardless of the general cultural idea, they are important factors in the formation of the image of the world for every person, people, historical community. But for every era, every culture, there is a certain community of ideas, a predominant focus on one or another image of the world, which creates the whole concept "cultural picture of the world".

In the 20s In the 20th century, the concept of " mentality "It was developed by representatives of historical-psychological and cultural-anthropological directions: L. Lévy-Bruhl, L. Febvre, M. Blok. In the original context, “mentality” meant the presence of representatives of a particular society, interpreted as a national-ethnic or a socio-cultural community of people, a certain “mental toolkit”, a kind of “psychological equipment”, which makes it possible to perceive and understand their natural and social environment in their own way. Currently, two main trends are being discovered in understanding the essence of mentality: on the one hand , mentality includes a way of life, features of folk realities, rituals, style of behavior, moral precepts of the people, self-identification of a person in the social world. in the narrow sense mentality is what allows you to uniformly perceive the surrounding reality, evaluate it and act in it in accordance with certain established norms and patterns of behavior in society, while adequately perceiving and understanding each other. Mentality is a certain set of symbols formed within the framework of each historical and cultural era and nationality. This set of symbols is fixed in people's minds during dialogue with other people. These symbols (concepts, images, ideas) serve as explanations in everyday life, by expressing knowledge about the world and man’s place in it. Mentality is a mindset, attitude, worldview, spiritual identity of world feeling, world experiences and world relations of a community and an individual representing a particular culture. Mentality contains unconscious, natural of a given people value orientations, archetypes that underlie collective ideas about the world and man’s place in it. The concept of “mentality”, which is close in meaning, can be found among representatives of the psychological concepts of E. Fromm, K.G. Jung, Z. Freud and others. Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist K.G. Jung, trying to comprehend the deep foundations of collective psychology, used the concept of “archetype”.

Archetype represents the mental structures of the collective unconscious, which is not a personal acquisition of a person, but inherited from our distant ancestors. Archetypes are different shapes comprehension of the world, in accordance with which people’s thoughts and feelings are formed, determine all mental processes associated with their behavior. cultural unconscious mental

The French ethnographer and psychologist L. Lévy-Bruhl thus designates a number of symbolic forms that exist in primitive thinking. The concept of “archetype” was most developed in analytical psychology by K.G. Jung, who, exploring, under the influence of S. Freud, the “individual unconscious,” gradually came to the conclusion that there is a deeper layer in the human psyche - the “collective unconscious,” which is a reflection of the experience of previous generations, “imprinted” in the structures of the brain.

Unlike the mentality , limited by spatiotemporal and sociocultural frameworks, the archetype is universal regardless of time and place. If mentality depends on the sociocultural context, with its inherent axiological ideas, then the archetype is axiologically neutral. It represents the basis of cultural and historical processes, to which mentality gives a certain form. Thus, the archetype is a deeply abstract category, and the mentality is historical. It is the archetype of the collective unconscious that, according to Jung, forms a certain image of the world, which is then reflected in mentalities various types society

Thus, cultural archetypes are the basic elements of culture that form constant models of spiritual life. The content of cultural archetypes is typical in culture, and in this regard, archetypes are objective and transpersonal. The formation of cultural archetypes occurs at the level of the culture of all humanity and the culture of large historical communities in the process of systematization and schematization of cultural experience. Because of this, the individual is not clearly aware of his involvement in cultural archetypes, and the reproduction of the archetype by a specific person is a rationally unintentional act.

Norms and values of the worldview.

The most important components of the picture of the world are cultural norms and values. Cultural norms are certain patterns, rules of behavior, action, and knowledge. Norms are regulators that are generally recognized and approved by society. These are “must” instructions, “don’ts” prohibitions, “do” permissions and recommendations. These are sociocultural mechanisms for controlling human behavior. They develop in the everyday life of society and are passed on from generation to generation. In a revised form, cultural norms are embodied in ideology, ethical teachings, and religious concepts.

Growing up in a certain cultural environment, each person internalizes the regulations adopted in it. He implements in his actions the behavioral programs prescribed to him by culture, often without even realizing it. Thus, moral norms arise in the very practice of mass mutual communication between people. A huge role in the formation of cultural norms characteristic of a given society is played by the approval and condemnation expressed by others, the power of personal and collective example, and visual patterns of behavior (both described in verbal form and in the form of real norms of behavior). The normativity of culture is maintained in the course of interpersonal, mass relationships between people and as a result of the functioning of various social institutions. Norms are expressed explicitly or implicitly in various cultural “texts”: in language (norms and rules of speech); in the forms of morality, law, political life; in customs, rituals, ceremonies, the implementation of which is required by tradition. Standards of behavior are reflected in the concepts of morality and ethics. They show how people should behave in different situations.

Moral in a broad sense - a special form of social consciousness and type of social relations, in a narrow sense - a set of principles and norms of behavior of people in relation to each other and society. Morality is a value structure of consciousness, a way of regulating human actions in all spheres of life, including work, life and attitude towards the environment.

Morality - one of the main ways of normative regulation of human actions. Morality covers moral views and feelings, life orientations and principles, goals and motives of actions and relationships, rules of human behavior, interpretations of various cultural phenomena, drawing the line between good and evil, conscientiousness and dishonesty, honor and dishonor, justice and injustice, normality and abnormality. , mercy and cruelty, etc.

The cultural picture of the world also includes values. Values arise as a result of a person’s understanding of the significance for him of certain objects - material or spiritual. An object has value if a person sees in it a means of satisfying some of his needs. Value is not an object, but special kind the meaning that a person sees in it. Of decisive importance in this case are the culturally established ideas about objects and how and by what means people should satisfy their desires and needs. Value must be distinguished from usefulness and from truth. Thus, a valuable thing can be completely useless, and a useful thing can have no value. The closer it gets to the ideal, the higher the value.

Each sphere cultural activities person acquires a value dimension: there are values of material life, economics, social order, politics, morality, art, science, religion. Each type of culture has its own hierarchy of values. Thus, in antiquity, of all value dimensions, the aesthetic approach to the world took first place, in the Middle Ages - the religious and moral one, in modern times - the scientific and value approach. The process of cultural development is always accompanied by a revaluation of values.

Values are divided into final, instrumental and derivative.

1. Final - the highest values and ideals, more important and significant than which there is nothing. These are values that are valuable in themselves (human life, freedom, justice, beauty, happiness, love).

2. Instrumental - the means and conditions necessary, ultimately, to achieve and preserve final values. They are valuable because they are useful for achieving some goal.

3. Derivatives - consequences or expressions of other values that have significance only as signs and symbols of the latter (medal, diploma, gift from a loved one as a sign of his love).

Each person develops a hierarchy of value orientations, but it varies from person to person. The whole variety of values can be conditionally ordered and classified according to spheres of human life:

· vital values: life, health, safety, quality of life, level of consumption, environmental safety;

social values: social status, hard work, family, prosperity, gender equality, personal independence, ability to achieve, tolerance;

· political values: patriotism, civic engagement, civil liberties;

· moral values: goodness, goodness, love, friendship, duty, honor, honesty, fidelity;

· religious values: God, faith, salvation, grace, Holy Scripture;

· aesthetic values: beauty, harmony, style, etc.

Methodology for studying pictures of the world.

The difficulty in identifying the formation of a picture of the world is that this process does not directly correlate with the simple accumulation of knowledge and increasing the amount of knowledge does not lead to the formation of a corresponding picture of the world. The formation and integrity of a particular picture of the world can be revealed through worldview and its categorical structure. Structures of worldview are dynamic. Categories of worldview and the dominant way of perceiving reality, closely related to it, are subject to changes in the process of individual development. Therefore, research methods should reflect as much as possible the totality of values, attitudes, knowledge and other psychological phenomena presented in the prevailing way of perceiving the world, on the one hand, as well as universal and age-specific archetypes of the unconscious, on the other.

These requirements, in our opinion, are met by the method of studying the components of worldview by identifying semantic units (categories) of information developed by S.V. Tarasov and directly aimed at obtaining information about the socio-psychological components of consciousness that form the picture of the world. S.V. Tarasov, summarizing the results of domestic and foreign studies of age and sociocultural characteristics of worldview conducted by M. Mead, J. Piaget, L.S. Vygotsky, D.B. Elkonin, I.S. Conom, B.C. Shubinsky et al., defines worldview “as the integrity of relatively stable patterns, ways of behaving, feeling, thinking, seeing the world around us, inherent in an individual or ethnocultural and sociocultural groups.” The methodology developed by S.V. Tarasov, lies in the study of the process of a person’s use of categories when describing (evaluating) himself and the world around him.

In human language there are words-symbols that can be a kind of “keys” to various structures of consciousness. Words-symbols can interact with codes of consciousness that contain universal (universal), sociocultural and personal content.

As a result of the interaction of words-symbols with the structures of human consciousness, a text is born (written or oral), in which the researcher can identify semantic units (categories of worldview).

Categories can reflect the language of science (philosophy, psychology, physics, etc.) and the language of ordinary ideas about the world. In the interests of studying the categorical structure of consciousness specifically of schoolchildren, who only master scientific categories with age, S.V. Tarasov chose as stimulus material words denoting the elements of nature, the fundamental principles of the world, both in mythological ideas and in some philosophical teachings: sky, earth, fire, air, water, stars. Such word-symbols contain content associated with individual biographical and cultural-historical experience.

The conceptual structure of the methodology is formed by six classes of features: the motivating feature of the word; figurative features (revealed through the combinability properties of the word); conceptual features; objectified in the form of semantic components of the word, synonyms; value characteristics (actualized both in the form of connotations and in combination with a word); functional features (displaying the functional significance of the referent); symbolic features - expressing complex mythological, religious or other cultural concepts attached to the word. The author is of the opinion that a concept is part of a concept; conceptual features are included in its structure. It is possible to recreate the structure of the concept by turning to the fund of oral folk art. The processes of conceptualization and categorization help us to isolate a certain object - really or virtually existing - from the general background of similar objects, to endow it with characteristics common to others and inherent only to it alone. As an example, a description of the stars is given. A whole system of interdependent “primary” ideas about the sky and stars and their expression in ritual, text, word, sign, image, symbol is highlighted. As the author notes, we find echoes of past beliefs and myths in the features of the analyzed concept that are incomprehensible to a modern native speaker. These echoes of ancient world views point to existing mythological ideas and a non-scientific picture of the world.

Cultural method.

Culturology, most authors call it an integrative field of knowledge, incorporating the results of research in a number of disciplinary areas (social and cultural anthropology, ethnography, sociology, psychology, linguistics, history, etc.). Of course, not only research results are used, but also methods. In progress cultural analysis specific methods of different disciplines, as a rule, are used selectively, taking into account their ability to resolve analytical problems of a cultural nature. Often they are used not as formal operations and procedures, but as approaches in social or humanistic research. This gives grounds to talk about a certain transformation of disciplinary methods into something more than just a method, and about their special integration within the framework of cultural studies. The following can be cited as examples of such a transformation: the historical approach in cultural studies, which was based on the historical method; in the second half of the 19th century, the structural-functional method became the basis of the approach of the same name in the study of social and cultural reality. And it must be said that a number of approaches retain the original methodological basis and are used by other cultural studies as a general scientific methodology. For example, the historical method is used not only within this approach, but also in any other, be it philosophical-analytical, sociological, axiological, semiotic, etc. It should also be noted that not every cultural approach is also a method. Often, for example, a mistake is made in the literature when the phrase “axiological method” is used in relation to the axiological approach. What is the difference between an approach and a method?

The cultural approach is a broader concept than a method. A method is only a certain set of actions, operations, procedures carried out by a researcher. Method is a means of knowledge. This is the answer to the question: how to know? And the cultural approach rather answers first the question: what should be known? - That is, one or another cultural approach identifies in such a complex object of study as culture a certain subject area on which attention is focused. Although, of course, the approach, its very name, as a rule, contains the nature of the methods that it primarily uses to study a given subject area.

Conclusion

As a result of the study, it was revealed that the cultural picture of the world is the most important foundation in assessing life and understanding the world, and retains its uniqueness in the processes of universalization of culture. The differences between the archetype and mentality, their role and significance in the cultural picture of the world were identified. It turned out that without cultural norms, the existence and further development of human society is impossible, since with their help the actions of individuals and human groups are coordinated, the best ways to resolve conflict situations are determined, and answers are given to many life questions. This study suggests that people should respect different national paintings worlds, to honor the memory and laws of social groups to preserve the historical meaning of the picture of the world.

Bibliography

1. Bruner J. Psychology of cognition. M., 1977

2. Grushevitskaya T.G., Popkov V.D., Sadokhin A.P. Basics between cultural communication: Textbook for universities, ed. A.P. Sadokhina. - M.: UNITY-DANA, 2002.

3. V.S. Danilova, N.N. Kozhevnikov. Pictures of the world and methods of their research

4. Davidovich V.E., Zhdanov Yu.A. The essence of culture. - Rostov-on-Don, 1979.

5. M.A. Dedyulina, E.V. Papchenko, E.A. Pomigueva, Tutorial, Taganrog, 2009

6. S.A. Ivanov, textbook, Veliky Novgorod, 2002

7. Ilyenkov E.V. Philosophy and culture (Thinkers of the 20th century). - M., 1991.

8. Sadokhin A.P. Intercultural communication: Textbook. - M.: Alfa-M, INFRA, 2004.

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14.1. The concept of “cultural picture of the world, its content and form

In modern Russia, a number of cultural revolutions are simultaneously taking place: radical changes in cultural material, technology, and technology lead to a change in the role and place of certain industries in society. There is a transformation of the sphere of property, employment of the population, its introduction to those forms of culture that were traditionally outside the field of attention of society, for example, service, trade, information Services, and therefore did not represent significant value until recently. The development of cultural diversity and its pluralism lead to changes in the motivational sphere of human development and the emergence of new incentives for work and leisure. These and a number of other factors pose a new and traditional problem for the cultural system: what and how to teach the younger generation. What cultural picture of the world should be formed among students.

People's actions, as a rule, occur on the basis of some conscious motives, intentions, interests. In different situations, people's actions are different. But sometimes they can differ in the same situations. This means that we can argue that the awareness of actions is different.

Since the actions of people, their actions practically cover a very wide range of areas of culture, and, moreover, this circle is expanding, we assume that the whole world falls into the field of human consciousness, which means that a certain image of this world, its picture, is formed in the human mind.

The cultural picture of the world is the result, the product of reflection of the real world through human consciousness in ideas, concepts, categories of thinking given by culture.

This picture of the world generalizes a person’s experience and knowledge, gives it certainty and structure, and acts as a mental, conceivable map of this world. With this mental map of the world, its picture, a person checks his actions, with its help he navigates among things and social phenomena, establishes a hierarchy of values and meanings.

The cultural picture of the world is a conventional term within which the entire system of a person’s ideas about the world and his place in it, set by his culture and, in turn, forming the culture of man and society, is united. The cultural picture of the world includes both theoretical and everyday knowledge and ideas of people, both science and religious beliefs, mythological and ideological attitudes, value orientations, moral, aesthetic, economic, political views. Those. The cultural picture of the world is the image of reality that takes shape in a person’s mind and characterizes his mentality.

The cultural picture of the world has a certain universalism, features common to many peoples. At the same time, it is specific to each ethnic group, each person and differs in its characteristics.

The reason for differences in the cultural picture of the world is a number of factors: geography, climate, natural conditions, history, social structure, beliefs, traditions, lifestyle, etc.

The cultural picture of the world differs from the scientific picture of the natural sciences in a number of ways. The scientific picture of the world is formed by science, scientific knowledge. Its object is nature. The perception of the social world serves as the basis for the formation of a social picture of the world. It is reflected in those images, ideas and concepts that are formed social knowledge and practice.

The cultural picture of the world is part of the social picture insofar as culture differs from society. The cultural picture of the world is determined by the culture of society and is a condition for the formation of its culture. It develops under the influence of both objective and subjective factors, both material and ideal, spiritual, i.e. is set by the entire culture of society and man. It is formed as scientific knowledge, and everyday ideas of people.

In its composition and content, the cultural picture of the world includes all the ideas about the world and man’s place in it that have developed in society throughout its history and given by its culture.

In it, ideas that have developed within different forms of consciousness - mythological and ideological, religious, philosophical, economic, ethical, aesthetic, political and many others intricately interact, ensuring correspondence.

At the same time, old and new, initial (primary) and secondary, derivative and subsequent ideas, judgments, concepts, concepts coexist with each other, ensuring compliance, and sometimes complementing one another, imparting integrity to the cultural picture of the world. As it develops, the cultural picture of the world, being updated, retains many of its old components in those areas in which they retain their effectiveness.

The cultural picture of the world does not remain something given and unchangeable once and for all. It changes and develops, just like culture as a whole. Each cultural era creates its own cultural picture of the world. Thus, antiquity was characterized by the dominance of cosmocentrism, the Middle Ages - theocentrism, the Renaissance asserts anthropocentrism, and the Enlightenment period was dominated by rationalism (rationocentrism) with its desire for renewal and modernism. The modern cultural era is increasingly associated with post-industrial culture, where postmodernism is established.

In the cultural, mental picture of the world, its different components play different roles. For example, the human imagination, when constructing an image of reality, does so in such a way that events in it do not occur in some neutral and irrelevant connection and sequence, but are saturated with meaning and obey the laws of this meaning.

In the cultural picture of the world, it is necessary to distinguish between its spiritual, mental, content, composition, and corresponding form.

From the point of view of content, the cultural picture of the world is formed by various kinds of representations, ideas, images, concepts, ideals, given by the culture of society and man and which, in turn, are the condition for the formation of his culture.

From the point of view of form, the cultural picture of the world reflects its most stable, unnamed, structured formations, giving it spatial and temporal certainty. In the future, we will pay more attention not to the content of the cultural picture of the world, but to the forms that it takes in the history of mankind and its culture.

The most important feature The picture of the world is represented by its holistic character, which is not a mechanical image of the world around a person, natural and social, material and spiritual, but is set indirectly, through the cultural norms, attitudes, values, and ideals that have developed in society. Society is always located between man and nature, which means that society, or rather its culture, plays a more important role in shaping the picture of the world. This means that before mastering the picture of the world, a person has to master the cultural picture of the world. Thus, in the picture of the world we distinguish two parts, the first is formed as a picture of the natural world, as something opposing society, different from it, and the second acts as a picture of the social, cultural world, or a cultural picture of the world. It should be noted that the picture of the natural world is largely determined by the cultural picture of the world, by those images of the center and periphery, space and time, statics and dynamics, which are set by culture.

Cultural picture of the world

Introduction

1.Definition of the cultural picture of the world

2. The essence of the concepts of “mentality” and “archetype”, their influence on the cultural picture of the world

3. Norms and values of culture

Introduction

Archetype is a prototype, primary form, sample. The term became widespread thanks to the work of the Swiss psychologist K.G. Cabin boy. An archetype is an innate mental structure that results from historical development humanity, representing the “collective unconscious”. It is embodied in dreams and myths, fairy tales, and acts as the source material for fiction and art.

The cultural picture of the world is the world presented in semantic meaning for a certain social community. Its substantive basis is the system of value orientations of a given social community (its understanding of good and evil, happiness, justice, etc.), its idea of time and space, the universe, etc. The core of the cultural picture of the world is mentality.

Mentality is a set of specific thinking and feelings, value orientations and attitudes, ideas about the world and oneself, beliefs, opinions, prejudices inherent in an individual or a certain social community. Mentality forms the appropriate cultural picture of the world and largely determines the way of life, human behavior and the form of relationships between people.

Morals are moral assessments of the possibility of certain forms of both one’s own behavior and the behavior of other people that exist in a given society.

Custom is a historically established and widespread form of action in a society or group, repeated in certain situations.

Law is a system of generally binding norms and relations established by the state. The rules of law, like the principles of morality, have socially universal significance, fixing that general and original thing that makes up the culture of interpersonal relations. Law intersects with morality, but at the same time differs significantly from it, primarily in that legal regulations are formulated and enforced by special institutions.

Tradition is elements of cultural heritage passed on from generation to generation and preserved in a particular society for a long time.

Value is the positive or negative significance of objects in the surrounding world for a person, class, group, society as a whole, determined not by their properties, but by their involvement in the sphere of human life, interests and needs, social relations; criterion and methods for assessing this significance, expressed in moral principles and norms, ideals, attitudes, goals. There are material and spiritual values, positive and negative. There are also universal human values (truth, goodness, beauty, cultural heritage, etc.).

Language is a system of signs that serves as a means of human communication, the development of culture and is capable of expressing the entire body of knowledge, ideas and beliefs of a person about the world and about himself. As a fact of spiritual culture, language in its development and functioning is determined by the entire set of processes of material and spiritual production, social relations of people. It is a means of understanding the world, creating, storing, processing and transmitting information. The essence of language is that it assigns certain meanings to individual elements of the world and classifies them in a special way.

1. Definition of the cultural picture of the world

mentality cultural conflict archetype

Culture is a product of the joint life activity of people, it is a system of agreed upon ways of their collective coexistence, ordered norms and rules. This system is formed as a result of long-term joint residence of people in a certain territory, their economic activity, defense against external enemies. All this forms in people a common understanding of the world, a common way of life, a manner of communication, the specifics of clothing, the peculiarities of cooking, etc.

But each ethnic culture is not a mechanical sum of all acts of life of people of the corresponding ethnic group. Its core is a “set of rules” that developed in the process of their collective coexistence. Unlike human biological properties, these “rules of the game” are not inherited genetically, but are learned only through learning. For this reason, a single universal culture that unites all people on Earth is impossible.

Already ancient thinkers (Herodotus, Thucydides), who were engaged in historical descriptions, noticed that every culture has specific features that distinguish it from the cultures of other peoples. Growing up in specific living conditions (geographical, historical, technological, everyday, etc.), a culture unfolds its history, develops its own language, and forms its own worldview. The entire richness of the existence of a culture, the entire integrity of the existence of a people determines the way of understanding the world and being in it. The result of this specific vision of the world in which man lives is the cultural picture of the world.

The cultural picture of the world is a set of rational knowledge and ideas about the values, norms, morals, mentality of one’s own culture and the cultures of other peoples, a system of images, ideas, knowledge about the structure of the world and man’s place in it.

The cultural picture of the world is expressed in different attitudes to cultural phenomena, includes ideas about the individual, his relationship to society, freedom, equality, honor, good and evil, law and labor, family and sexual relations, the course of life. history and the value of time, about the relationship between new and old, about death and the soul. The cultural picture of the world is passed on from generation to generation, transformed during the development of society, it is inexhaustible in content and serves as the basis for human behavior.

The cultural characteristics of a particular people may manifest themselves in various aspects human life: in the satisfaction of biological, material or spiritual needs, in natural habits of behavior, types of clothing and housing, types of tools, methods of labor operations, etc.

The cultural picture is formed depending on the meaning of the world for the person living in it. And a person satisfies even the most primitive needs and impulses in life in a strictly defined way.

Serious cultural differences among different nations are observed in the processes of eating food, its quantity, behavior at the table, forms of showing attention to the guest, etc. When satisfying hunger or thirst, a person follows established traditions characteristic of his culture: he uses certain utensils, certain cooking procedures and eating rituals. The meal thus acquires a special ritual and symbolic meaning for a person.

Thus, Russians, according to tradition, immediately lead the invited guest to the table, which surprises Americans, since their dinner is usually preceded by socialite talk with a glass of wine and light snacks. At the table, Russians place each guest on a plate with a variety of appetizers and main dishes, while in the United States, dishes are passed around so that each guest can put the right amount of food on their plate. Russian housewives are trying hard to feed the guest, which is unusual for Americans, since this is not accepted in their culture.

All life manifestations of a person as a subject of a certain culture are fixed by certain rites, rituals, norms, rules, which are significant components of culture that regulate the temporal and spatial processes of human life.

Often peoples living in similar geographical conditions and in close proximity to each other build houses differently. Russian northerners traditionally place their houses facing the street, while Russian southerners place their homes along the street. Balkars, Ossetians, and Karachais have lived in the Caucasus as neighbors for many centuries. However, the first build one-story stone houses, the second two-story, and the third - wooden houses.

Human life is inexhaustibly rich, diverse and multi-layered. Some of its moments, especially those associated with primary sensations, the first attempts of the emerging humanity to realize themselves in this world, are not subject to rational control and arise unconsciously. Therefore, the concept of “cultural picture of the world” is used in the broad and narrow sense of the word.

In a narrow sense, the cultural picture of the world usually includes primary intuitions, national archetypes, figurative structures, ways of perceiving time and space, “self-evident” but unproven statements, and extra-scientific knowledge. In a broad sense, along with the listed elements, scientific knowledge is also included in the cultural picture of the world.

The cultural picture of the world is specific and differs among different peoples. This is due to a number of factors: geography, climate, natural conditions, history, social structure, beliefs, traditions, lifestyle, etc. In addition, each historical era has its own picture of the world, and they are all different from one another.

At the same time, it is possible to identify a universal picture of the world, characteristic of all humanity, although it will be too abstract. So, for all people, apparently, a binary opposition of white and black is characteristic, but for some groups white will correspond to the positive principle - life, and black - to the negative principle - death, and for others, for example, the Chinese, vice versa. Any nation will have its own idea of good and evil, norms and values, but each nation will have different ideas.

Each person will also have their own picture of the world, and it will depend primarily on their character: for a sanguine person it is one, for a phlegmatic person it is completely different.

It should also be borne in mind that the picture of the world depends on the language spoken by its speakers, and, conversely, the main points of the picture of the world are always fixed in the language. Of course, the cultural picture of the world is fuller, deeper and richer than the linguistic picture of the world. In addition, the cultural picture of the world is primary in relation to the linguistic one, but it is in language that the cultural picture of the world is verbalized, realized, stored and passed on from generation to generation. Language is capable of describing everything that is in the cultural picture of the world: features of geography, climate, history, living conditions, etc.

Here is a typical example from the field of language interaction. How are colors indicated in different languages? It is known that the retina of the human eye, with the exception of individual pathological deviations, records color in exactly the same way, regardless of whose eye perceives the color - an Arab, a Jew, a Chukchi, a Russian, a Chinese or a German. But each language has established its own color system, and these systems often differ from each other. For example, in the Eskimo language there are 14-20 (according to various sources) synonyms for the word white to denote different shades and types of snow. A person speaking English does not distinguish between the colors blue and blue, unlike a person speaking Russian, and sees only blue.

But such differences, naturally, concern not only the color scheme, but also other objects and phenomena of the surrounding reality. In Arabic, there are several designations for the word camel: there are separate names for a tired camel, a pregnant camel, etc.

Language imposes a certain vision of the world on a person. When mastering their native language, an English-speaking child sees two objects: foot and leg, where a Russian-speaking child sees only one - a leg.

In Russian, quite obvious reasons, there is a blizzard, a blizzard, a blizzard, a blizzard, a blizzard, and drifting snow, and all this is associated with snow and winter, and in English this diversity is expressed by the word snowstorm, which is quite sufficient to describe all snow manifestations in the English-speaking world .

Almost every culture has similar examples. Thus, in the Hindi language there are numerous names for a certain type of nut. This is explained by the role that the fruits of the areca palm (Areca catechu) and hard nuts “supari” play in the general culture and subcultures of the Hindustan Peninsula.

India annually consumes more than 200 thousand tons of such nuts: areca palms grow in a hot, humid climate, primarily along the Arabian Sea, in the Konkan. The fruits are collected unripe, ripe and overripe; they are dried in the sun, in the shade or in the wind; boiled in milk, water or fried in oil squeezed from other nuts - a change in technology entails an immediate change in taste, and each new option has its own name and has its own purpose. Among Hindu rituals - regular, calendar and extraordinary - there is no such thing where one could do without the fruits of the areca palm.”

The existence of a very close connection and interdependence between a language and its speakers is beyond doubt. Language is inextricably linked with the life and development of the speech community that uses it as a means of communication.

The social nature of a language is manifested both in the external conditions of its functioning in a given society, and in the very structure of the language, in its syntax and grammar. Between language and the real world stands man. It is man who perceives and comprehends the world with the help of his senses and, on this basis, creates a system of ideas about the world. Having passed them through his consciousness, having comprehended the results of this perception, he transmits them to other members of his speech community using language.

Language as a way to express a thought and transmit it from person to person is closely connected with thinking. The path from the real world to the concept and further to verbal expression is not the same for different peoples, which is due to differences in history, geography, the peculiarities of life of these peoples and, accordingly, differences in the development of their social consciousness. Since our consciousness is determined both collectively (by way of life, customs, traditions, etc.) and individually (by the specific perception of the world characteristic of this particular individual), language reflects reality not directly, but through two zigzags: from the real world to thinking and from thinking to language. The cultural and linguistic pictures of the world are closely interconnected, are in a state of continuous interaction and go back to the real picture of the world, or rather, simply to the real world surrounding a person.

But language is not the only component of the cultural picture of the world; it is also formed from thematically understandable, conscious and undoubted contents of artifacts and unconscious meanings and personal meanings, as well as experiences, experiences, and assessments. As a result, from a content-thematic point of view, scientific, aesthetic, religious, ethical, legal and other similar pictures of the world are usually distinguished; from this position, the picture of the world is reduced to a set of information and data. The appearance of these paintings is preceded by the appearance of another picture of the world - a picture of intuitive ideas, meanings and meanings as an expression of the characteristics of the life of a given culture. Moreover, every meaning is always in a special way represents the universality of the world in which people live.

The development of connections between cultures leads to the disappearance of the unique characteristics of each of them. So, in the 20th century. peoples and countries begin to unify in everyday life and in thinking. This is especially clearly evidenced by the processes of computerization, which subordinate the logic of thinking of those who work with the computer to a single algorithm. And yet, at the core of every culture, what is preserved is what is “crystallized” under the influence of the country’s nature, its climate, landscapes, food, ethnic type, language, memory of its history and culture. Thus, the cultural picture of the world retains its uniqueness in the processes of universalization of culture.

The essence of the concepts of “mentality” and “archetype” and their influence on the cultural picture of the world

In the 20s In the 20th century, the concept of “mentality” was introduced into the study of the “picture of the world.” Its development was carried out by representatives of historical-psychological and cultural-anthropological directions: L. Levy-Bruhl, L. Febvre, M. Blok. In the original context, “mentality” meant the presence among representatives of a particular society, interpreted as a national-ethnic or socio-cultural community of people, of a certain “mental toolkit”, a kind of “psychological equipment”, which makes it possible to perceive and realize in their own way their natural and social environment and themselves.

Currently, two main trends are emerging in understanding the essence of mentality: on the one hand, mentality includes a way of life, features of folk realities, rituals, style of behavior, moral precepts of the people, and self-identification of a person in the social world. In a narrow sense, mentality is what allows you to uniformly perceive the surrounding reality, evaluate it and act in it in accordance with certain established norms and patterns of behavior in society, while adequately perceiving and understanding each other.

Mentality is a mindset, attitude, worldview, spiritual identity of the worldview, world experiences and attitudes of a community and an individual representing a particular culture. Mentality contains unconscious value orientations that are natural for a given people, archetypes that underlie collective ideas about the world and man’s place in it, as well as national images of culture, unconscious and behavioral reactions that cannot be comprehended in any other way than in words. national language. Mentality differs from public sentiments, value orientations and ideology in that it is more stable. Mentality is always a certain integrity of the “worldview”, the unity of opposite principles - natural and cultural, emotional and rational, irrational and rational, individual and social.

Mentality is a certain set of symbols formed within each historical and cultural era and nationality. This set of symbols is fixed in people's minds during dialogue with other people. These symbols (concepts, images, ideas) serve as explanations in everyday life, by expressing knowledge about the world and man’s place in it.

Mentality includes basic ideas about man, his place in nature and society, his understanding of nature and God as the creator of everything. These are emotional and valuable orientations, collective psychology, the way of thinking of both the individual and the collective;

Mentality as a specificity psychological life people are revealed through:

Ø a system of views and assessments, norms of mentality, based on the knowledge and beliefs existing in a given society;

Ø language. Analysis of language makes it possible to very accurately identify the cultural specifics of people’s relationship to the world around them and represents the inner world of a person. One can learn through language the style of thinking;

Ø the dominant motives in a given group, through a hierarchy of values that are manifested in beliefs, ideals and interests. All this makes it possible to identify social attitudes that ensure readiness to act in a certain way. Mentality is most clearly manifested in the typical behavior of people, representatives of a given culture, expressed primarily in stereotypes of behavior and decision-making, which in fact mean the choice of one of the behavioral alternatives;

Ø the emotional sphere, through the dominance of any feelings;

Ø analysis of the main socio-political and ethnic categories that everyday consciousness operates on: “freedom”, “work”, “time”, “space”, “family”.

The concept of “mentality”, which is close in meaning, can be found among representatives of the psychological concepts of E. Fromm, K.G. Jung, Z. Freud, etc. Thus, the Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist K.G. Jung, trying to comprehend the deep foundations of collective psychology, used the concept of “archetype”.

The archetype represents the mental structures of the collective unconscious, which is not a personal acquisition of a person, but inherited from our distant ancestors. Archetypes are unique forms of understanding the world, in accordance with which people’s thoughts and feelings are formed and determine all mental processes associated with their behavior.

The French ethnographer and psychologist L. Lévy-Bruhl thus designates a number of symbolic forms that exist in primitive thinking. The concept of “archetype” received the greatest development in analytical psychology by K.G. Jung, who, exploring, under the influence of S. Freud, the “individual unconscious,” gradually came to the conclusion that there is a deeper layer in the human psyche - the “collective unconscious,” which is a reflection of the experience of previous generations, “imprinted” in the structures of the brain.

Unlike mentality, which is limited by spatiotemporal and sociocultural frameworks, the archetype is universal, regardless of time and place. If mentality depends on the sociocultural context, with its inherent axiological ideas, then the archetype is axiologically neutral. It represents the basis of cultural and historical processes, to which mentality gives a certain form. Thus, the archetype is a deeply abstract category, and the mentality is historical. It is the archetype of the collective unconscious that, according to Jung, forms a certain image of the world, which is then reflected in the mentalities of various types of societies.

The most fundamental in the composition of culture are universal cultural archetypes and ethnic cultural archetypes (ethnocultural archetypes).

In culture, understood as the “non-hereditary memory of the collective” (B.A. Uspensky), cultural archetypes act as spontaneously operating stable structures for processing, storing and representing collective experience. By preserving and reproducing the collective experience of cultural genesis, universal cultural archetypes ensure the continuity and unity of general cultural development. Ethnic archetypes (ethnocultural archetypes) are constants of national spirituality that express and consolidate the fundamental properties of an ethnic group as a cultural integrity. Each national culture is dominated by its own ethnocultural archetypes, which significantly determine the characteristics of the worldview, character, artistic creativity and historical destiny of the people.

According to Jung, the actualization of an archetype is a “step into the past,” a return to the archaic qualities of spirituality, however, the strengthening of the archetypal can also be a projection into the future, because ethnocultural archetypes express not only the experience of the past, but also the aspirations of the future, the dream of the people. The active presence of ethnocultural archetypes is an important condition for preserving the identity and integrity of national culture.

Cultural archetypes, remaining unchanged in essence, manifest themselves diachronically and synchronically in a wide variety of forms (mythological images and plot elements, religious teachings and rituals, national ideals, etc.).

Returning to the consideration of mentality, let us dwell on the Russian mentality, around which for many centuries there has been an aura of mystery, mystery, and incomprehensibility.

The Russian ethnos took root in the center of Eurasia, on a plain not protected from the west or east by either seas or mountains and accessible to military invasions from both East Asia and Western Europe, and was historically, geographically and psychologically doomed to resist the most severe pressure from the outside. The only way to maintain independence in such conditions is to occupy as much territory as possible, in which any enemy armies would be bogged down.

A huge, sparsely populated territory required for its development a special type of people, capable of decisive action, daring and courageous. Settling over a vast territory, the Russians created a network of fortress settlements, which also played the role of economic centers for the development of the territory. The population of such prisons was distinguished by their entrepreneurial spirit, extraordinary love of freedom and rebellion.

Colossal spaces, harsh climate and the need to resist the combined forces of many peoples from the West and East at the same time gave rise to the prevailing type of subconscious and conscious psychological attitudes, which were reflected in the mindset of the Russians, in the manner of their thinking.

In general, the variety of traits of a Russian person can be reduced to five main behavioral orientations:

Ø on collectivism (hospitality, mutual assistance, generosity, gullibility, etc.);

Ø on spiritual values (justice, conscientiousness, wisdom, talent, etc.);

Ø on power (honoring rank, creating idols, controllability, etc.);

Ø for a better future (hope for “maybe”, irresponsibility, carelessness, impracticality, lack of self-confidence, etc.);

Ø for a quick solution to life's problems (the habit of rush jobs, daring; heroism, high ability to work, etc.).

The Russians were formed not in a nationally closed space, but on an open plain, which formed such distinctive qualities as a sense of powerful unity with each other and a conciliatory attitude towards neighboring peoples - and towards those from whom they had to seize lands, which arose from centuries of life experience. and to those who joined based on their interests; and even more so to those who considered it important for themselves to pass on their knowledge and creative elements of their culture to the Russians.

What is interesting is the power perceived by members of society, which consists not in the individual and its significance, as in Western culture, but in the crowd, the mass. Hence our desire to collective forms- conciliarity in Orthodoxy (“hey, come on, men”, “the whole world, all the people”, “Get up, huge country”), these are rush jobs, collective creativity in all spheres of cultural life. Hence the search for support, deeply rooted in the Russian mentality. Representatives of other cultures would never think of turning on their headlights on a bright day when they find a traffic police post along the route to warn other drivers about an “ambush.”

Natural factors play an important role in the formation of mentality. It is no coincidence that the great Russian historian V.O. Klyuchevsky begins his “Course of Russian History” with an analysis of Russian nature and its influence on the history of the people: it is here that the beginnings of the mentality and character of Russians are laid. The Russian plain and its soil structure, the river network and the interfluve, the forest and the steppe, the river and the endless field, ravines and flying sands - all this shaped the worldview of the Russian people, and the type of predominant economic activity, and the nature of agriculture, and the type of statehood, and relationships with neighboring peoples (in particular, nomadic peoples Great Steppe), and folklore images.

Let us give some typical examples from the research of V.O. Klyuchevsky. “The forest served as the most reliable refuge from external enemies, replacing mountains and castles for Russian people”; “The forest gave a special character to northern Russian desert habitation, making it a unique form of forest colonization. Despite all such services, the forest has always been difficult for Russian people. This can explain the unfriendly or careless attitude of Russian people towards the forest: he never loved his forest. AND old Russian man populated the forest with all kinds of fears.”

The steppe is no less important for the Russian mentality. “...The wide, free steppe, as the song calls it, with its vastness, which has no end, cultivated in the ancient Russian southerner a sense of breadth and distance, an idea of a spacious horizon, a window, as they said in the old days. But the steppe also contained important historical inconveniences: along with gifts, it brought almost more disasters to its peaceful neighbor. She was an eternal threat to Ancient Rus' and often became a scourge for her.

At the same time, as emphasized by V.O. Klyuchevsky, “the forest and especially the steppe had an ambiguous effect on the Russian people.” On the one hand, the steppe symbolizes freedom, revelry, breadth, not limited by any bonds or prohibitions; on the other hand, the steppe is a dangerous space inhabited by nomads, unpredictable in their behavior, bringing ruin and destruction of any sociocultural stability.

The love of a Russian person for the river, as characterized by V.O. Klyuchevsky, made it possible to overcome such “ambiguity” of forest and steppe. “On the river he came to life and lived with her in perfect harmony”: she is a neighbor and nurse, a water and ice road.” The river is even a kind of teacher of a sense of order and public spirit among the people. She herself loves order and regularity.

The Russian River taught its coastal inhabitants to live together and be sociable. The river fostered the spirit of enterprise, the habit of joint, cooperative action, forced thinking, brought together scattered parts of the population, taught them to feel like a member of society, communicate with strangers, observe their morals and interests, exchange goods and experiences, and know their way around.”

But the endless plain, characterized by desertion and monotony, had the opposite effect on the Russian people. “Everything is distinguished by softness, elusiveness of outlines, insensitivity of transitions, modesty, even luxury of tones and colors; everything leaves an indefinite, calmly unclear impression,” this is how V.O. defined it. Klyuchevsky cultural semantics of the Central Russian landscape.

According to the hypothesis of an outstanding historian, this is “an impression of the general cultural state of the people, as far as it is reflected in the appearance of their country,” and not at all “a historical observation of ancient man, of his attitude to the surrounding nature.”

The cult of nature was so important for the formation and development of Russian culture, social system and statehood in Rus' that this was uniquely reflected in the self-name of the Russian people. Researchers and thinkers of the 20th century drew attention to the fact that representatives of various countries, peoples, nationalities are called nouns in Russian (French, German, Finn, Georgian, Tatar, Mongol, Turk, Chinese, Yakut, Eskimo, etc.), and only Russians call themselves an adjective - as the embodiment of their belonging to the existing, involvement in an object that is higher and valuable in itself - in comparison with the people who make up the people. This highest object, this being is Rus', the Russian land, and the people inhabiting it, protecting it, cultivating it, loving it, enjoying its mercy and protection, its children are Russian, i.e. belonging to Rus', related to it, collectively constituting this whole.

The severity of our climate has greatly affected the mentality of the Russian people. Living in a territory where winter lasts about six months, Russians have developed enormous power will, perseverance in the struggle for survival in a cold climate. Low temperatures for much of the year also affected the temperament of the nation. Russians are more melancholy and slower than Western Europeans. They have to accumulate their energy necessary to fight the cold.

The harsh Russian winters have had a significant impact on the traditions of Russian hospitality. To deny a traveler shelter in winter in our conditions means dooming him to a cold death. Therefore, hospitality was perceived by Russian people as a matter of course.

The severity and stinginess of nature instilled in Russian people such qualities as patience and obedience. Naturally, Russian people had to fight with harsh nature every day, hence, along with agriculture, they had to master other crafts. This explains the practical orientation of their mind and dexterity.

Another feature of the Russian person: the ability to work hard is associated with the fact that he needs to value a clear working day. This forces our peasant to rush to work hard in order to do a lot in a short time. Such hard work is perhaps unique to Russians.

The landscape also played an equally important role in the formation of the Russian mentality. Prudence, observation, thoughtfulness, concentration and contemplation - these are the qualities that were nurtured in the Russian soul by Russian landscapes. The beautiful Russian nature and the flatness of Russian landscapes have accustomed the people to contemplation. But the power of space over the Russian soul gives rise to whole line Russian shortcomings. Excessive contemplation makes people dreamy and lazy. Everyday irregularities and accidents have taught the Russian person to discuss the path traveled more than to think about the future, to look back more than to look forward.

Associated with this is Russian laziness, carelessness, lack of initiative, and a poorly developed sense of responsibility. Russian laziness (Oblomovism) is widespread among all segments of the people. We are lazy to do work that is not strictly necessary. Oblomovism is partially expressed in inaccuracy and delays. Seeing the infinity of their expanses, Russians come to terms with the idea that it is still impossible to master such a vastness.

A.P. Chekhov rightly noted in his time: “Russian people love to remember, but not to live.” These words highlight another feature of the Russian person: a special attitude towards time - in addressing the past or the very distant future.

N. Berdyaev, following V. Klyuchevsky, wrote that “the landscape of the Russian soul corresponds to the landscape of the Russian land, the same boundlessness, formlessness, aspiration to infinity, breadth.” “...In the soul of the Russian people,” noted Berdyaev, “there remains a strong natural element associated with the immensity of the Russian land, with the boundlessness of the Russian plain.” The immensity of the Russian soul, which the philosopher speaks of, was expressed in such features as scope and generosity - on the one hand (hence the monumentalism characteristic of Russian people - a tendency towards grandiose forms of self-expression and self-affirmation), and wastefulness and empty “wasting” of something neither was it - on the other hand, combined with recklessness and carelessness, the eternal hope for “maybe”. Rationalism, a prudent and pragmatic approach to life does not always help Great Russians, since the wayward climate sometimes deceives the most modest expectations. And, having become accustomed to these deceptions, our people sometimes prefer to recklessly choose the most hopeless solution.

Russia is rich in enormous natural resources - both external and internal. Russian people believe that these riches are endless and do not protect them, which gives rise to mismanagement in our mentality. It seems to us that we have a lot of everything. “From the feeling that our wealth is abundant and generous, a certain spiritual kindness is poured into us, a certain organic, affectionate good nature, calmness, openness of soul, sociability... there is enough for everyone, and the Lord will send more.” On the other hand, this is where the roots of Russian generosity lie.

The “natural” calmness, good nature and generosity of the Russians amazingly coincided with the dogmas of Orthodox Christian morality. Humility, repentance, obedience in the Russian people and from the church. Christian morality, which for centuries has held the whole Russian statehood, greatly influenced folk character. Orthodoxy has fostered in Great Russians spirituality, all-forgiving love, responsiveness, sacrifice, kindness. The unity of Church and state, the feeling of being not only a subject of the country, but also a part of a huge cultural community, has fostered extraordinary patriotism among Russians, reaching the point of sacrificial heroism.

State mastery of vast spaces was accompanied by centralization, the subordination of all life to state interests and the suppression of free personal and social forces, the suppression of any initiative coming from “from below.” Centralization affected the Russian spirit in two ways: firstly, the Russian people decided that the one who controls such vast spaces and great people is almost of supernatural origin. Hence the cult of personality, the feeling of reverence for the “Tsar-Father” in the soul of the Russian people. Secondly, the feeling that someone is standing over a person, sees and controls all his actions, has resulted in such a quality of the Russian soul as carelessness.

Increased attention to the sad aspects of life determined a very modest position of happiness in the minds of the Russian people. It is most often perceived as a fleeting episode of life that cannot be contained (“A little bit of good”; “Don’t trust happiness, don’t be afraid of trouble”). It often happens that, despite the presence of all the attributes of happiness, a person does not feel happy due to a heightened sense of guilt before others and conscience as the individual’s ability to exercise moral control. A Russian person is ashamed to be prosperous; he apologizes for his happiness and is even afraid of it. For the mentality of our people, the opinions of other people are important (one of the eternal questions is: “What will people say?”).

Another feature of the mentality is that the Russian soul craves equality. Russians subconsciously dislike people with above-average income. To characterize the financial and economic sphere in the Russian language, there are many negatively colored words associated with the concept of profit, expressing the deep features of mental psychology: profit, huckster, jackpot, huckster, huckster, grabber. In the Soviet era, this negative row included the words: entrepreneur, financier, businessman, merchant, owner, speculator.

Psychologists from Germany and Russia note striking observations. The Germans, when talking about their rich acquaintances, lower their voices to a respectful whisper, and a childish enchantment and reverence appear in their eyes. But for some reason Russian people speak with aggression about their rich or acquaintances who have become rich. Ordinary people believe that it is possible to achieve some success in life only by dishonest means, by deceiving someone, robbing someone, and not by hard, painstaking work.

But on the other hand, a Russian person often shows sympathy for an enemy when great grief befalls him, and even for an enemy. The whole world knows not only about the courage, but also about the kindness and compassion of the Russian soldier, who can warm and feed the defeated enemy.

But, perhaps, one of the most basic features of Russian culture, noted by many researchers, is the irrationalism of thinking, manifested in the unknowability and unpredictability of the Russian soul, “mysterious” not only for representatives of other cultures, but sometimes even for itself.

In figurative and artistic form, the essence of the national Russian character was expressed by the poet A.K. Tolstoy:

If you love, so without reason,

If you threaten, it’s not a joke,

If you scold, so rashly,

If you chop, it’s too bad!

If you argue, it’s too bold,

If it's punishment, that's the point.

If you forgive, then with all your heart,

If there is a feast, then there is a feast!

The “mysterious Russian soul” has always surprised foreigners. In this regard, we can recall the words of F. Tyutchev:

You can't understand Russia with your mind,

A common arshin cannot be measured,

she will become special,

You can only believe in Russia!

So, mentality is a stable layer of the national psyche, which includes certain ideological models.

The mentality develops during the long historical development of a given people and determines the national character, the national model of economic and social behavior. Mental constructs in this case play the role of the main characteristics of various cultures, allowing one way or another to typologize these cultures. The existence of stable features of the national mentality does not mean its immutability. Actually national mentality is being transformed, albeit very slowly: one by one, more and more new semantic layers are layered on top of the ancient archetypes. Many researchers note the transmission of mental constructs from generation to generation in the genotype. Mentality is a ancestral memory. It is based on the synthesis of natural and social inheritance programs.

The interaction between mentality and culture is two-way. On the one hand, mentality develops in interaction with culture (traditions, customs, mores, institutions, laws), and on the other hand, it itself shapes culture.

Norms and values of culture

The core components of the worldview, along with intuitive ideas, archetypes, and ways of perceiving the world, are cultural norms and values.

By mastering the world around us, a person decides for himself which elements of it are necessary for life and which are not. As a result, he develops a value-based attitude towards the world. All objects, phenomena or ideas are assessed and represent a certain significance, on the basis of which an appropriate attitude towards them is formed. Each sphere of human cultural activity acquires its own value dimension.

Any component of culture develops its own value dimensions; there are values of material life, economics, social order, politics, morality, art, science, religion. Moreover, the process of cultural development is always accompanied by their revaluation. Thus, in antiquity, of all value dimensions, the first place is occupied by the aesthetic approach to the world, in the Middle Ages the religious and moral approach comes forward, and in modern times - the scientific one.

IN human consciousness At the same time, there are many values of the most diverse quality and meaning, which together form a system of values, within which all values are ordered in relation to each other. Such a system, defining a person’s relationship with nature, society, the immediate environment and himself, plays an important role in any culture. Because when a person assimilates the values of the world around him, he is based on the traditions, norms, and customs established in his culture, gradually forming his own system of preferences that provide him with guidance in life. On this basis, each culture develops its own value system, reflecting its unique place in the world. Typically, such a system is a hierarchy in which values are arranged in order of increasing importance. This allows us to ensure the integrity of culture, its unique appearance, the necessary degree of order and stability.

The importance of values in the life of society in general and the individual in particular is difficult to overestimate. It is in accordance with them that information is selected in the process of interaction with the surrounding reality, social relationships are formed, emotions and feelings are formed, communication skills, etc.

The entire set of values can be conditionally ordered and classified, emphasizing those areas of life in which they are realized:

Ø vital values: life, health, safety, quality of life, level of consumption, environmental safety;

Ø economic values: the presence of equal conditions for commodity producers and favorable conditions for the development of production of goods and services, entrepreneurship;

Ø social values: social status, hard work, family, prosperity, gender equality, personal independence, ability to achieve, tolerance;

Ø political values: patriotism, civic engagement, civil liberties, civil peace;

Ø moral values: goodness, goodness, love, friendship, duty, honor, selflessness, honesty, fidelity, love for children, justice, decency, mutual assistance, respect for elders;

Ø religious values: God, faith, salvation, grace, Scripture and tradition.

Ø aesthetic values: beauty, harmony, style, etc.

From the entire system of values of a person and society, cultural values are distinguished, which in turn are divided into two main groups.

First of all, it is a collection of outstanding works of intellectual, artistic and religious creativity. In addition, this group includes unique architectural structures, significant works of craft, archaeological and ethnographic rarities.

The second group consists of principles of joint coexistence of people that have justified themselves and proven their effectiveness in practice: mores, customs, stereotypes of consciousness and behavior, etc., which unite society and contribute to the growth of mutual understanding between people.

Typically, significant differences are found in the perception of the same values by representatives of different cultures.

For example, such a social value as gender equality is not accepted by all states. Countries in the Arab world are known to deny equal opportunities for women. They were even warned in a 2008 UN report that this lack of rights is one of the most important factors preventing these countries from regaining their position as global leaders in trade, education and culture.

But still, among the huge variety of such perceptions, one can distinguish a small group of values that coincide both in the nature of the assessments and in content. These kinds of values are called universal or universal. Their universality is explained by the fact that the main features of such values are based on the biological nature of man and on the universal properties of social interaction between people, regardless of cultural specifics. For example, there is not a single culture in the world that would positively evaluate murder, lying, and theft. Each culture has its own limits of tolerance towards these phenomena, but their overall negative assessment is unambiguous.

A person’s life in society is impossible without the existence of certain rules that make up a significant part of his way of life. In accordance with these rules, every person has his own idea of "bad" and "good" behavior. In every culture, a system of permissions and prohibitions is formed, which prescribe how a person must act in a given situation, or prohibit certain actions. All this means that communication between people is clothed in various shapes, is subject to certain cultural norms.

Cultural norms are certain patterns, rules of behavior, actions, and cognition. They were isolated from customs or developed for cases of specialized behavior.

Almost from the very beginning of human cultural activity, there is a need to regulate his behavior and communication with other people. This is due to the fact that the material products of culture, created by people, show only their capabilities, but do not determine how people should act in various relationships with each other. Therefore, along with the creation of cultural values, requirements for human behavior also began to form, which regulated both the distribution of these values and various relationships between people.

Standards of behavior are reflected in the concepts of morality and ethics. They show how people should behave in different situations. The concepts of morality and ethics have different shades. Morality, as a rule, implies the presence of an external evaluative subject (other people, society, church, etc.). Morality is more focused on the inner world of a person and his own beliefs.

Morality in a broad sense is a special form of social consciousness and a type of social relations; in a narrow sense, it is a set of principles and norms of behavior of people in relation to each other and society. Morality is a value structure of consciousness, a way of regulating human actions in all spheres of life, including work, life and attitude towards the environment.

Morality is one of the main ways of normative regulation of human actions. Morality covers moral views and feelings, life orientations and principles, goals and motives of actions and relationships, rules of human behavior, interpretations of various cultural phenomena, drawing the line between good and evil, conscientiousness and dishonesty, honor and dishonor, justice and injustice, normality and abnormality. , mercy and cruelty, etc.

Clear norms are fixed in people's minds through upbringing, education, and persuasion. The form of moral culture can be different - from strict to completely liberal, but in any case it is imprinted in the consciousness of a person and cannot be unknown to him.

The need for morality as a regulator of behavior is due to the fact that every person behaves in one way or another, commits some actions, actions in relation to the world around him and, above all, in relation to other people. Already Small child Based on the reaction of adult family members, he understands what is “possible” and what is “not allowed.” Of no small importance in creating cultural norms characteristic of a given society are the approval and condemnation expressed by others, the power of personal and collective example, and visual patterns of behavior (both described in verbal form and in the form of real norms of behavior). The normativity of culture is maintained in the course of interpersonal, mass relationships between people and as a result of the functioning of various social institutions.

A huge role in the transfer of spiritual experience from generation to generation is played by the education system. A person, entering life, acquires not only knowledge, but also principles, norms of behavior, perception and attitude towards the world around him. At the same time, his behavior reveals characteristics of character, temperament, views, tastes, habits, emotions, feelings, etc.

When comparing the behavior of a person with specific cultural values of society, it is customary to talk about behavior that is normal or deviating from the norm. Normal is understood as behavior that corresponds to the norms that a given society has developed and adheres to. It consists of certain manners of behavior, generally accepted methods of communication, and treatment of others, which can be subjected to moral assessment. For example, in many cultures it is considered unacceptable to walk the streets naked, insult elders, beat women, offend the weak, mock the disabled, etc.

Cultural norms are unstable, like culture itself; they are open in nature. It is in culture that the changes that society undergoes are reflected. Throughout human history, all cultures have created a colossal number of very diverse norms of behavior and communication. Depending on the method, nature, purpose, scope of application, boundaries of distribution, severity of implementation, the following types can be distinguished in the whole variety of behavioral norms: traditions, customs, rituals, laws, mores.

Ordering the everyday behavior of people, ways of realizing values, analyzing the various forms of their relationships, morals, were historically one of the first regulators of human behavior. They are very mobile and dynamic, since they are called upon to organize current events and actions. Morals are moral assessments of the possibility of certain forms of both one’s own behavior and the behavior of other people that exist in a given society.

Responsibility for violating these norms is relative, since the punishment can be very diverse - it could simply be disapproving glances from people who are next to you, it could be a verbal condemnation, and in some countries the penalty could be the death penalty.

Customs are generally accepted patterns of action that prescribe rules of behavior for representatives of one culture. The influence of customs primarily concerns the private life of people. Customs regulate relationships and communication with family, friends, acquaintances, neighbors, work colleagues, and simply strangers, etc. They oblige strictly regulated behavior in specific situations. Customs originated as traditional forms of behavior that ensure cultural stability. The whole society was interested in this, striving to protect and preserve them, which allowed many customs to remain unchanged for many centuries.

Each culture is famous for its customs, which permeate all aspects of human life. This or that custom is always associated with some characteristic situation. Therefore, the main features of customs are commensurate with the way of life of society and its social class structure. Therefore, it would seem that the same customs in different cultures receive completely different forms of manifestation.

Examples here could be the customs of celebrating the New Year in different cultures.

So Italians believe that the New Year should be celebrated, freed from everything old, bad, sad that accumulated over the past year. Therefore, most Italians adhere to the custom of throwing old things, be it dishes or furniture, out of windows at midnight on December 31st. The custom of putting on new clothes on the morning of the first day of the new year has the same meaning.

In Spain and Portugal, according to custom, on New Year's Eve, with each stroke of the clock, they eat a grape (fresh or dried) and make wishes: twelve strokes - twelve cherished wishes for each month of the new year, since the grapevine is considered a symbol of abundance, health and family hearth.

In Bulgaria, on New Year's Eve, dogwood sticks are purchased - an indispensable attribute of the New Year's holiday. On the first of January, children approach their family and friends, lightly hitting them with chopsticks, and congratulate them on the holiday. With the last stroke of the clock of the passing year, the lights in all houses go out for 3 minutes: these are the minutes of New Year's kisses that replace toasts. Bulgarians are happy if someone sneezes at the table. They say it brings good luck.

The custom of “letting in the New Year” is widespread in the British Isles. This is like a symbolic boundary of transition from past life to the new, to the future. The custom of letting in the New Year is that when the clock strikes twelve, the back door of the house is opened to let out the Old Year, and with the last stroke of the clock, the front door is opened to let in the New Year.

In Scotland, New Year's Day is called Hogmanay. According to custom, on New Year's Eve, barrels of tar are set on fire and rolled along the streets, thus burning old year and inviting new ones. The Scots believe that whoever enters their house first in the new year determines the success or failure of the family for the entire next year. Great luck, in their opinion, is brought by a dark-haired man who brings gifts into the house.

Since the New Year is at its hottest time in Burma and Thailand, its arrival is celebrated with a water festival. The spectacle, I must say, is very funny: when people meet, they pour water on each other from different dishes. But pouring water does not offend anyone, because this ritual is a kind of wish for happiness in the New Year.

On New Year's Eve in Vietnam, it is customary to release live carp into rivers and ponds. According to legend, a god swims on the back of a carp, who goes to heaven on New Year’s Day to tell how people live on Earth.

In Cuba, before the New Year, everyone fills glasses with water, and when the clock strikes twelve, they splash it through the open windows onto the street. This means that the old New Year has ended happily and Cubans wish each other that the new year will be as clear and pure as water. And of course, happy! Hours in New Year in Cuba they strike only 11 times. Since the 12th strike falls just on the New Year, the clock is allowed to rest and calmly celebrate the holiday with everyone.

With the development of man and his relationship with the outside world, various regulators of human behavior also developed. As cultural and social experience accumulated, stable forms of behavior emerged that prescribed the most rational actions in relationships various groups people in relevant situations. Having a rational character and repeatedly tested in practice, they began to be passed on from generation to generation, which gave them a traditional character and gave rise to a new type of cultural norms - tradition. Initially, this word meant “tradition”, emphasizing the hereditary nature of the corresponding cultural phenomena. Currently, the purpose of traditions is reduced to the regulation of interpersonal and intergroup relations, as well as the transfer of social experience from generation to generation. In fact, tradition is a kind of oral “cultural texts” that accumulate a set of patterns of social behavior, established forms social organization, regulation and communication.

Traditions exist in all areas of human life. Taken together, they represent a stable system of human behavior in various spheres of life and in different situations, while fulfilling their special role. The main thing that distinguishes traditions is the increased attention to the use of such samples and models of behavior, following which serves as a necessary condition for the social life of every person. Another feature of this form of behavior regulation: the norms that make up the tradition must be observed automatically. Representatives of each culture are obliged to follow an established model of behavior, based only on the belief that it is necessary to do so, that their ancestors followed the same model, etc.

Mechanical observance of tradition in practice is following the typical norms and requirements for the behavior of representatives of a culture. An example is the tradition of inviting friends and acquaintances to dinner, which exists in many countries in Europe and Asia. However, in Asia, immediately after lunch, it is customary to say goodbye and leave. If someone does something wrong, it means that he is still hungry. And, on the contrary, if you do this in Europe or North America, it will be regarded as bad manners and disrespect. This behavior will mean that you came to visit only for lunch.

Another type of cultural norm is ritual.

A ritual is a set of symbolic stereotypical collective actions that embody certain social ideas, perceptions, values, norms, and the mass expression of a religious or everyday tradition. Its main distinguishing feature is not selectivity, but mass character, so the influence of rituals is not limited to any social group, it applies to all carriers of a given culture. As a rule, rituals accompany important moments of human life associated with birth, wedding, entry into a new field of activity, transition to another age group, and death. However, the most famous and widespread are religious rituals, especially those related to the use of food. It is reliably known that in many ancient religions sacrifices were made with food items, and in Christianity the ritual of communion is performed with bread and wine. This is no coincidence. Since food is the fundamental basis of human physical existence, in almost any culture it acquires mystical and symbolic meaning. At the earliest stages of cultural development, the process of consuming food meant for a person not only the satisfaction of hunger, but also an introduction to the surrounding world: thus, the power of an eaten animal seemed to pass on to the person who ate it, and cereals and berries gave a symbolic introduction to the forces of the earth. This kind of symbolic meanings and underlie many religious traditions sacrifices and sacraments.

An example is the ritual of lighting a peace pipe, common among the peoples of North America. The peace pipe is a sacred object decorated with eagle feathers, which symbolized prosperity and well-being.

The most ancient rituals in which the peace pipe was used were dedicated to the cult of fertility. The Indians gathered together and sat in a circle. The most revered person - the military leader, chief or elder - lit the sacred pipe, took a few puffs and passed it to the warrior sitting next to him. He took a few puffs and passed it on to his neighbor. So the tube went around all the ceremony participants in a circle, uniting them. Smoke rose to the sky, symbolizing thunderclouds. Participants in the ceremony called on them to rain. Rain, prosperity and peace were closely related concepts. Therefore, when the Indians concluded peace agreements and stopped hostilities, they performed a ritual similar to the ritual of making rain: they sat in a circle and lit a peace pipe. The Europeans, who fought with the Indians and more than once observed the rituals during the ceremonies of the truce, called the sacred pipe of the Indians the “pipe of peace.”

An integral part of the culture of any people is law, which is a system of generally binding norms and relations enshrined by the state.

The rules of law, like the principles of morality, have socially universal significance, fixing that general and original thing that makes up the culture of interpersonal relations. Law intersects with morality, but at the same time differs significantly from it, primarily in that legal regulations are formulated and enforced by special institutions.

The prototype of law was prohibitions (taboos) in human behavior. Law is a kind of joint agreement between people on rules of behavior that are generally binding for everyone and controlled by the state. By determining the production and distribution of products between people, regulating relations between them, regulating contacts and connections between peoples, law covers all spheres of public life.

Law differs from customs in its strictly obligatory nature, but, despite the characteristic differences, law and custom are interconnected. For example, according to Chinese law, a husband had the right to remarry in the event of his wife's death. This right recorded custom and encouraged such behavior as something common and common. In contrast, widow remarriage was condemned by Confucian norms. It was believed that by remarriage, a wife deprives the soul of her late husband of peace in life. the afterlife. But this norm did not become a custom, a practice of behavior, and remarriages of widows happened quite often.

The rules of law vary quite significantly among the peoples of the world. These differences are usually based on different understandings of justice.

Thus, cultural norms cover almost all spheres of human life. They are quite diverse - from elementary prohibitions to a complex system of social institutions. In the process of forming culture, some of them themselves became cultural values, the need for the fulfillment of which in the consciousness of modern society is perceived as a conscious necessity, a person’s inner conviction. Norms can either allow or prohibit something. But without them, the existence and further development of human society is impossible, since with their help the actions of individuals and human groups are regulated and coordinated, the best ways to resolve conflict situations are determined, and answers are given to many vital questions.

Bibliography

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Karmin A.S., Novikova E.S. Culturology. - St. Petersburg, 2006.

Culturology. Ed. Solonina Yu.N., Kagana M.S. - M., 2008.

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Flier A.Ya. Culturology for culturologists. - M., 2007.

CULTURAL PICTURE OF THE WORLD - a concrete historical system of worldviews and worldviews, including a set of both rational-conceptual and sensory-figurative ways of perceiving and comprehending the world.

K. k. m. is a holistic image of the world, which is formed within the framework of the initial worldviews (mythological, religious, philosophical, artistic, scientific, etc.).

K.K.M. is issued in the process practical activities people, based on their own experience and traditions inherited from previous generations.

A certain stage of development of production, social relations, and the “isolation” of a person from the natural environment correspond to their own forms of experiencing the world, which are recorded by the corresponding K.K.M.

Its most important components are space, time, cause, fate, the relationship of part and whole, sensory and transcendental, etc.

Taken together, these concepts form a kind of “coordinate grid”, through which the carriers of a certain culture perceive and understand the world, draw its image.

K. K. m. is realized in various semiotic incarnations, coordinated with each other into a single universal sign-symbolic system.

CULTURAL MODERNIZATION-

1) the process of cultural development that meets modern requirements;

2) a concept according to which ways and means of improving “late” cultures and their entry into the world community are recorded.

The idea of cultural theory is based on the idea of the fundamental division of cultures into traditional(agricultural) and modern (industrial).

The first are stable, little changeable, oriented toward repetition and tradition; the latter are dynamic, characterized by high sociocultural mobility, a “race for novelty” in all spheres of life.

There are two types of K. m.: organic and inorganic.

Organic medicine is carried out in a “natural” way, in the course of the historical evolution of a country (for example, England).

Here, the process of cultural change begins with culture, with changes in the system of values, lifestyle, and ideals, and then “advances” occur in the economic sphere.

Inorganic cultural m. represents the imposition (by one’s own government or the metropolis) of ideas, lifestyles, and values that are alien to a given culture.

As a result, traditional value systems, ethical standards, and social institutions are destroyed. The modernization process turns into cultural colonization.

CULTURAL SELF-IDENTITY - awareness of the characteristics of one’s culture, its assessment in history and in comparison with other cultures, understanding of its distinctiveness and integrity in the conditions of globalization and the spread of mass unifying culture in the post-traditional world.

K. s. - this is the desire to preserve and protect cultural heritage, formalized in the form of history, myths, religion, and the spiritual life of the people. K. s. not just a “protective shell”, but a constantly revised and evaluated project for the life of an individual or a people, aimed at the future. You can compare K. with. with an autobiography.

Social cultural institutions.

The purpose of social institutions is that they organize and coordinate the activities of people in every sphere, without which this activity would become disjointed, inconsistent and unstable.

The Institute always includes a number of components:

1. a system of functions, fixed by regulations (norms, charters);

2. material resources (buildings, finances, equipment) supporting the activities of this institute;

3. Personnel recruited in accordance with the principles and objectives of the institution.

Social cultural institutions are usually classified according to functional criteria, according to which they distinguish:

1) social institutions engaged in spiritual production (publishing houses, film studios, clubs, amateur creative associations);

2) institutions that disseminate cultural values (cinemas, lecture halls, concert associations, schools, universities, libraries, museums);

3) institutions planning and managing cultural processes (government cultural organizations, creative unions, research institutions).

Typology of cultures: ethnic and national, elite and mass cultures. Approaches to culture and its history.

Important for constructing a cultural typology is the definition of concepts "ethnic" And "national" culture. These concepts are often used as synonyms. However, in cultural studies they have different contents.

Ethnic(folk) culture is the culture of people connected by a common origin (blood relationship) and jointly carried out economic activities.

IN ethnic culture the power of tradition, habit, and customs, passed on from generation to generation at the family or neighborhood level, dominates.

The defining mechanism of cultural communication here is direct communication between generations of people living nearby.

Elements of folk culture - rituals, customs, myths, beliefs, legends, folklore - are preserved and transmitted within the boundaries of a given culture through the natural abilities of each person - his memory, oral speech and living language, natural musical ear, organic plasticity.

National culture As a rule, it is devoid of a cult character and is a product of predominantly individual creativity. National culture is created not by the ethnic group as a whole, but by the educated part of society - writers, artists, philosophers, scientists.

Internal organization and the structure of national culture is much more complex than that of ethnic culture.

National culture includes, along with traditional everyday life and professional culture, along with ordinary ones, it also has specialized areas of culture (literature, philosophy, science, law, etc.).

Elite culture- it is a creative avant-garde, an art laboratory where new types and forms of art are constantly being created. It is also called high culture, because... it is created by the elite of society, or at its request by professional creators. It includes fine art, classical music and literature. As a rule, elite culture is ahead of the level of perception of it by a moderately educated person and the general public. Creators of elite culture, as a rule, do not count on a wide audience. To understand these works you need to master the special language of art.

Mass culture- This is a public culture that does not express the refined tastes of aristocrats or the spiritual quest of the people. Its greatest scope begins in the middle of the 20th century, when the media penetrated into most countries. This is an art for everyone and it must take into account the tastes and demands of consumers who pay with their money for its commercial benefits. As a rule, popular culture has less artistic value, rather than elitist and popular. It's changing quickly. susceptible to fashion and reacts to any new event.

Approaches to culture and its history.

Material culture.

It has an eternal substance. This is the culture that is defended in the objective world (clock, table, chair).

It includes only what is created by man and what can be touched.

It creates the standard of living of society, the nature of its material needs and the possibility of satisfying them.

However, it is not the object itself that belongs to this culture, but the image associated with it.

If you make an unstable table, then the image of the table will be destroyed.

2. Spiritual culture.

This includes different ideas and songs (from the point of view of ideological content), legends, myths.

Everything related to the image relates to her.

Spiritual culture determines the connections between people.

Spiritual culture contains morality, aesthetics and positive knowledge.

3. Physical culture.

Thanks to physical culture a social person develops his motor abilities.

It prepares a person for any type of activity and therefore is the source and basis of pedagogy. This includes the culture of the body, which adapts to the implementation of forms 1 and 2 of culture.

Humanity is united in its roots, but in the process of development it branches into many diverse, special cultures. Each of them, in specific living conditions (geographical, historical, technological, everyday, etc.), creates its own history, develops its own language, and forms its own worldview. The uniqueness of each culture finds its manifestation in the cultural picture of the world, which is formed in the process of the emergence and development of the culture itself.

The term picture of the world was first introduced by Ludwig Wittgenstein in the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, but it came to anthropology and semiotics from the works of the German scientist Leo Weisgerber.

In different cultures, people perceive the world around them in their own way and thereby create a unique image of this world, their own special idea of it, called the “cultural picture of the world.”

Thus, cultural picture of the world is a set of rational knowledge and ideas about the values, norms, morals, mentality of one’s own culture and the cultures of other peoples. This knowledge and ideas give the culture of each nation its originality, making it possible to distinguish one culture from another.

The concept of “cultural picture of the world” is used in the narrow and broad sense of the word. IN narrow meaning That is, the cultural picture of the world includes primary intuitions, national archetypes, ways of perceiving time and space, obvious but unproven statements, and extra-scientific knowledge. IN in a broad sense Along with the listed elements, scientific knowledge is also included in the cultural picture of the world.

At the same time, it is possible to identify a universal picture of the world that is characteristic of all humanity, although it will be too abstract. Thus, for all people, apparently, a binary opposition (the main tool in describing or reconstructing the picture of the world) of white and black is characteristic, but for some groups white will correspond to the positive principle - life, and black - to the negative principle - death, and for others , for example, the Chinese, on the contrary. Any nation will have its own idea of good and evil, norms and values, but each nation will have different ideas.

An individual’s picture of the world will be determined primarily by his character: for a sanguine extrovert and a realist, the picture of the world will be clearly opposite to the picture of the world of an introverted schizoid and an autist. A paranoid person and a patient with schizophrenia and psychosis will have their own picture of the world. The picture of the world will change with altered states of consciousness.

A person immersed in virtual reality will also see the world in a completely different way.

Thus, the picture of the world is mediated by the cultural language spoken by a given group.

In addition, the cultural picture of the world consists of clear, meaningful and obvious ideas, unconscious meanings, personal meanings, as well as experiences, feelings, motives and assessments. In other words, it comes down to a set of information and data. From this point of view, one can distinguish scientific, aesthetic, religious, ethical, legal and other similar pictures of the world.

The development of connections between cultures leads to smoothing out the unique characteristics of each of them. So, in the 20th century. similar features appear in the life and thinking of different peoples and countries, this is clearly evidenced by the processes of computerization. However, at the core of each culture, what is preserved is that which is determined by the ethnic and climatic characteristics of the country, the specifics of its language, cultural memory and entire history. Thus, the cultural picture of the world retains its uniqueness in the processes of universalization of culture.