Culture and civilization in the development of mankind

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

The relationship between the concepts of culture and civilization is a rather complex problem. Some philosophers consider them almost synonymous, but there is also a large cohort of those who breed these terms and consider them antagonistic. Consider the very meaning and origin of these words. "Culture" appeared in ancient Rome and originally meant the cultivation of the land. The etymology of the term "civilization" comes from the Latin "civis" (which means city dweller, citizen). This concept implied a certain level of development of social relations (laws, state infrastructure), everyday life (public buildings, roads, water supply, etc.), customs and art (ethics and aesthetics).

As you can see, on the one hand, the Romans included culture (in its current understanding) in the more general term "civilization", and on the other hand, they contrasted it as something rural and barbaricurban, enlightened and sophisticated. However, we can definitely say that at the dawn of mankind, these two phenomena were not antonymous. After all, we say: "the culture of ancient civilizations", meaning by this an organic fusion of technical achievements and mythology, art and science of this or that people at a certain level of progress.

A person does not adapt to the world around him, but seeks to transform it. Therefore, we can confidently say that both culture and civilization are a manifestation of the progressive development of human society, that is, a consequence of progress. On the one hand, a person tries to understand the laws that exist in nature and use them, to obtain additional material benefits for his existence. On the other hand, he is trying to realize his place in this world, to find the lost harmony, to comprehend the purpose of his life.

Before the New Age, culture and civilization did not oppose, but mutually complemented each other. The laws of nature were understood as norms established by God (or deities), and thus the sphere of the spiritual actively interacted with the material world. God's creation - man - created a different nature, which also participated in heavenly harmony, although it found its manifestation in such seemingly mundane things as a water mill, a deep plough, and bank lending.

However, with the beginning of the technogenic era, the concepts of "culture" and "civilization" begin todiverge. Mass production of products coming off the conveyor depersonalizes them, moves them away from their creator - the artisan. Man ceased to put his soul into things, and they began to dominate him. Both of these concepts became antagonistic, and in addition, an ersatz appeared, the "centaur" of both phenomena - fashion.

What is the essence of the confrontation between culture and civilization? The first operates with eternal values (the classics never become obsolete), and the second proceeds from the fact that gadgets become morally obsolete, they are replaced by other, more advanced ones. Modern science is pragmatic (mostly only those industries that bring tangible dividends are financed), while the achievements of the spirit do not always pay off the costs. Art, literature, religion are based on the achievements of all bygone eras, while each level of the next stage of progress is often self-sufficient.