World culture, acting as a phenomenon of social life, is of interest to many sciences. This phenomenon is studied by sociology and aesthetics, archeology, ethnography and others. Next, we will understand what constitutes world culture.
General information
You should start by defining the concept of culture. The term is very ambiguous. In special and fiction publications you can find a lot of interpretations of this concept. In ordinary life, culture is understood as the level of upbringing and education of a person. In an aesthetic sense, this phenomenon is directly related to numerous works of folk art and professional art. In public life, the definitions of speech, political, mental, industrial culture are also applicable.
Former concepts
Previously, the level of culture corresponded to the achievements of crafts and sciences, and the goal was to make people happy. The history of world culture goes back to the very depths of centuries. The concept was contrasted with the savagery of the people and their barbaric condition. After a while, a pessimistic definition appeared. His adherent, in particular, was Rousseau. He believed that world culture as a whole is a source of evil and injustice in society. According to Rousseau, she was a destroyer of morality and did not make people happy and rich. In addition, he believed that human vices are the result of cultural achievements. Rousseau offered to live in harmony with nature, to educate man in its bosom. In classical German philosophy, world culture was perceived as a sphere of people's spiritual freedom. Herder put forward the idea that this phenomenon represents the progress of the development of the abilities of the mind.
Marxist philosophy
In the 19th century, the concept of "world culture" began to be used as a characteristic of a personβs creative potential and a set of results of his activity. Marxism emphasized the conditionality of culture in a certain production way. It was believed that it always had a specific character: bourgeois, primitive, etc. Marxism investigated various manifestations: political, labor, and other cultures.
Understanding Nietzsche
The philosopher sought to push the tradition of criticizing the phenomenon to the limit. He considered culture only as a means of enslaving and suppressing a person with the help of legal and other norms, prohibitions, and prescriptions. Nevertheless, the philosopher believed that this was necessary. He explained this by the fact that man himself is an anti-cultural, power-hungry and natural being.
Spengler Theory
He denied the view that the history of world culture is combined with progress. According to Spengler, it breaks up into several unique and independent organisms. These elements are not interconnected and naturally go through several successive stages: occurrence, flowering and dying. Spengler believed that there is no single world culture. The philosopher identified eight local cultures: Russian-Siberian, Mayan, Western European, Byzantine-Arabic, Greco-Roman, Chinese, Indian, Egyptian. They were regarded as existing independently and independently.
Modern understanding
World culture is a diverse phenomenon. It was formed in different conditions. The modern concept of the phenomenon is very diverse, since it includes the foundations of world cultures. The development of each nation is unique. The culture of a nation reflects its fate and historical path, its position in society. However, despite such many faces, this concept is one. A major contribution to world culture was made by the capitalist market. For several centuries, it destroyed the national partitions that developed in the Middle Ages, turning the planet into a "one house" for humanity. Of particular importance to world culture was the discovery of America by Columbus. This event actively contributed to the elimination of the isolation of peoples and countries. Until that moment, the interaction of cultures was a more local process.
Key Development Trends
In the XX century there was a sharp acceleration of the rapprochement of national and regional cultures. To date, two trends in the development of this complex are being identified. The first of them should be considered the desire for originality and originality, the preservation of the "face". This is most evident in folklore, literature, and language. The second trend is the interpenetration and interaction of different cultures. This becomes possible due to the use of effective means of communication and communications, active trade and economic exchange, as well as the presence of common management structures that control these processes. For example, UNESCO operates under the UN - an organization responsible for resolving issues of science, education, and culture. As a result, the development process takes a holistic view. On the basis of cultural synthesis, a planetary unified civilization with a global world culture is formed. At the same time, man is its creator. As well as culture contributes to the development of people. In it, people draw on the experience and knowledge of their predecessors.
World Religious Cultures
This phenomenon includes many systems. They were formed on national soil, associated with ancient beliefs and folk traditions, language. Some beliefs were previously localized in certain countries. The foundations of world religious cultures are closely related to the national and ethnic characteristics of peoples.
Judaism
This religion originated with the ancient Jews. At the beginning of the second millennium, this people settled in Palestine. Judaism is one of the few religions that has survived to this day in almost unchanged form. This belief marks the transition to monotheism from polytheism.
Hinduism
This form of religion is considered one of the most common. It arose in the first millennium AD. It was the result of a rivalry between Jainism, Buddhism (young religions) and Brahmanism.
Beliefs in Ancient China
The most common religions in the past were Confucianism and Taoism. Disputes are ongoing about the first to this day. Despite the fact that there are many signs that make Confucianism a religion, it is not recognized as such by many. Its peculiarity is the absence of a caste of priests and the performance of rites by government officials. Taoism is considered a traditional religious form. It provided for the presence of a hierarchical layer of priests. The basis of religion was magic spells and actions. Taoism is a higher level of development of consciousness. In this case, religion has acquired a supranational character. In the framework of this form of belief, representatives of different languages ββand peoples are mixed. They can both geographically and culturally be quite far from each other.
Buddhism
This oldest world religious culture arose in the 5th century. BC e. The number of believers is several hundred million. According to ancient records, the prince of India is Siddhartha Gautama. He received the name Buddha. The basis of this religion is moral teaching, through which a person can become perfect. Initially, the commandments in Buddhism assume a negative form and have a prohibitive nature: not to take someone else's, not to kill, and so on. For those who strive to become perfect, these precepts become absolute truths.
Christianity
This religion is considered the most common today. There are more than a billion believers. The Bible, which includes the Old and New Testaments, is used as the basis. The most important cult rites are communion and baptism. The latter is considered a symbol of the removal of original sin from a person.
Islam
This religion is practiced by the Arab-speaking peoples, the majority of Asians and the population of North Africa. The main book of Islam is considered the Quran. It is a collection of records of teachings and sayings of the founder of the religion of Mohammed.
Finally
Religion is considered one of the main forms of the moral system. Inside it, true commandments are formed that a person needs to follow throughout his life. Along with this, religion is a social factor regulating the interaction between people. This is especially important for those societies whose members perceive their freedom as permissiveness.