Cultural genesis is a generalization of the achievements of history, philosophy, ethnography, archeology, sociology. It is associated with other disciplines involved in the study of various aspects of the existence of human society.
Subject
The concept of cultural genesis appeared at the beginning of the twentieth century. Currently, this term is given several definitions. Some researchers believe that cultural genesis is a complex of disciplines that study culture in social action and historical formation. The second definition allows the existence of this term in the form of an independent scientific discipline.
There is a third definition, according to which cultural genesis is one of the sections of those disciplines that study culture. The most widespread view was cultural studies, as a set of knowledge and an independent sphere of social and humanitarian knowledge. It is based on the achievements of sociology, philosophy, psychology.
Let's talk about which part of culturology explores cultural genesis. The subject of this area is culture. The object of its activity is people, as well as a variety of cultural phenomena that occur in institutions in society.
Structure
The structure distinguishes philosophy, history, theory, sociology of culture. It analyzes the issues of the main cultural categories, the definition of traditions. The theory of culture embraces the peculiarities of humanity’s conquest of the surrounding world, of cultural being. Within its framework, the relationship of nature and culture, the attitude and interaction of cultures are examined , criteria are defined for explaining numerous cultural phenomena.
There are several theories of cultural genesis:
- Cosmological. Its main essence is the assertion that the development of culture is influenced by certain cosmic forces, which, through their influence, prompt humanity to develop.
- Symbolic. Its supporters are convinced that the development of culture is caused by the transmission of information by encoded characters.
- Naturalistic. It is based on the fact that humanity and culture developed naturally in the course of evolution.
- Gun labor. Its founder is F. Engels, who argued that it was labor that served as the impetus for the development of mankind and culture.
- Social. It is based on the assertion that humanity does not develop labor activity, but the need to work together.
The problem of cultural genesis consists of 2 positions:
1. The origin of culture.
2. Its development and self-renewal.
The history of culture makes it possible to identify the origins of various problems and contemporary phenomena, analyze their causes, identify prominent figures. By right, it can be considered a philosophical science that integrates empirical and theoretical research into various parts of the cultural process.
Cultural genesis is a direction that allows not only to explain the possibilities of creating a conflict-free existence in society, but also to achieve the goal.
Explanations for this approach
There are several approaches that explain the essence of cultural genesis:
- Anthropological, which involves the expression of human nature.
- Philosophical and historical, providing for changes in reality.
- Sociological, in which culture is seen as a factor in the organization of social life.
- Axiological (value), considering culture in the form of a complex of values ​​that form the semantic core.
A concept such as culture is complex and multifaceted, so it is difficult to choose one definition for it.
Culture structure
This process involves the application of certain methods and methods of creating objects, tools, things that are necessary for a person. The mastery of culture is associated with the formation of a humanistic worldview, the intellectual development of mankind.
Mastery of culture promotes knowledge and communication. All stages of cultural genesis are aimed at studying the spiritual activities of individuals, creating “spiritual products” (writers, legislators, scientists). The products themselves of such work are scientific results, spiritual values, customs, laws, paintings, books. Spiritual culture manifests itself through public consciousness, and is realized in architectural, literary, and other monuments. Enlightenment, science, religion, art, education, writing, language are considered to be the spiritual culture of society. It can be described as a reflected humanity, a collective history of feelings and mind.
Important aspects
In the concept of cultural genesis there is no clear distinction between spiritual and material culture. The negative influence of various factors on the formation of culture played a decisive role in the fact that the predominance of material values ​​over spiritual values ​​arose. It was this kind of diverse contradictions that contributed to the gradual formation and development of human society.
Throughout the existence of mankind, the cultural process through reflection and self-awareness, communication and activity, acquires historical features. Regardless of what time period is taken, that is, from pre-class communities to the present, mankind is considered in three main cultural areas. Each of them can be viewed from the standpoint of beauty, kindness, knowledge, as well as from the point of view of aesthetics, ethics, science.
Proponents of different research schools share the same cultural values, symbols, things, objects, are evaluated differently. The palette of opinions is reflected in the cultural and intellectual process of studying the spiritual world of man.
Functions
At its core, culture is social, therefore it arises due to the fact that people, having stood out from the surrounding world, began to enter into different interactions and relationships with it. It is not some kind of isolated or complete concept, but constitutes the content and type of social life. A person creates a cultural environment for himself , and it, folding in a certain system, shapes people according to the norms and ideas that prevail in society, affects them socially and also personally.
Humanistic orientation
Humanism is a belief system that recognizes the value of the human person, his right to prosperity and freedom, the demonstration and development of individual abilities. Achieving certain conditions of life, mankind forms and improves its own nature. Humanism acts as the foundation, the common denominator of the creative activity of people.
The meaning-forming function of culture consists in the formation of an individual world that does not contradict faith and rationality; therefore, its components are religion and science, which involves a person in cognition of the world through his perception through the senses and mind. It is culture that creates man, transforms nature and society, changes personal relationships, stimulates self-development and self-improvement.
The activity function is the equivalent of the practical behavior and activities of people in interpersonal communication and in social life. Cultural sciences are branched in nature, therefore, the possibility of a theoretical analysis of reality in its diversity.
Cognition, which is carried out using such sciences, has its own distinctive characteristics in terms of forms, content, set of specific and general methods. Advantages and its epistemological features consist in an organic combination of scientificness and sensuality with the outside world.
Specificity
Culture is associated with the sectoral and social division of labor, which has cultural significance. The functioning of various social groups is associated with the development of spiritual and material areas. Some groups are engaged in production, scientific activity, while others are engaged in education, enlightenment, upbringing, and religion. The level of development of society in economic and social terms directly depends on the development of creativity. People of various professions need periodic emotional discharge, release of tension, change of type of activity.
Conclusion
Culture arose and is developing as a unique human activity. It distinguishes a person from the world around him, allows him to conceptualize his existence, to plan subsequent activities. It is constantly created by individuals and society as a whole.
Culture is a living organism that has its own laws of creation, determined by the internal characteristics of the emergence and passage of cultural processes. In culture, a person forms a second nature that helps him first adapt in the first environment, then to the world, other people, to himself.
Summing up all of the above, we can safely say that it is cultural genesis that includes the sum of spiritual and material values, the ability to self-development, understanding, awareness of the significance of art. The question of origin is key in cultural studies. Many historians dealt with the historical genesis of culture, but so far they have not been able to come to a common opinion. At first, this term meant the appearance of culture only during the period of the primitive system, drawing a parallel with the appearance of a rational person. Nowadays, the term "cultural genesis" is associated with historical and social changes in culture, the formation of new configurations and systems. In the course of numerous studies related to the formation of spiritual values, compassion and mutual understanding among people, it was possible to identify a direct dependence of the cultural level of the population on the economic and social situation in the country.