The Meaning of Culture

As it relates to current discussions in the field of philosophy, I wanted to share a bit about my thoughts on the meaning of human culture. Human culture by definition does not exist without people. More importantly though we could say people do not exist without some form culture. There is a dynamic social aspect that is woven into our being, and this I believe should guide our understanding of knowledge and the way things have meaning, which would also contain this dynamic social thread. Knowledge and meaning that pertain to a culture have their being because of a force which precedes them; namely the social function of culture, which is to preserve and perpetuate that acquired knowledge and meaning in society. We could say then that the meaning of culture is it’s social function in society because it seems that the only suitable way we can define the meaning of culture is by listing its function; to express, inform, socialize, etc.

Contrary to the privileged place they often have in society, these things (knowledge & meaning) have no authority over the function that guides them just like the answer to an algebra problem has no influence over the equation which produced it. Drastically understated, correct knowledge, just like the right answer to the algebra problem, can be useful. The computers we are at would not exist with out it. And for that we often prize the capability of human intellect for producing such things. But to illustrate my point, a computer is often seen as an object which would somehow exist apart from the function of culture, produced in the cold, mechanical labs of HP. But they are a part of a cultural text just as much as Sumo Wrestling in Japan, or Stonehenge. They are the outcome of the meaning/function of culture. They point not to themselves but to people.

Should the meaning of human culture be defined by it’s function? This question and others like it tend to surface in postmodern discourses. I think they are valuable because they inevitably point to us to what it means to be human (human ontology) and how to make sense of things in our information age. But just as the products of culture reflect a social reality, so to the meaning/function of culture itself can be explained as reflecting a reality beyond what is explained in mere scientific terms; namely a spiritual force which precedes the existence of all things related to human culture.

 

 

 

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Tags: culture, function, meaning, meaning function, Philosophy, social dynamic, spiritual dynamic, spiritual reality

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