Culture-Epoch Theory:
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Culture
o
shared system of beliefs, values, and behaviors
o
a dynamic system always in flux
o
founded upon whatever conception of reality is
held by the great majority of its people over a considerable period of time.
o
concept of culture 1871 E.B. Tyler “that complex
whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.” (culture always entails learned behavior)
o
shaped by nationality, geography, language,
race, religion, tribe, kinship, social class, gender, age, sexuality,
occupation, media, etc.
o
tool-making represents the beginning of
culture—problem solving, control over nature
o
language allows us to acquire this control by
transmitting ideas and techniques from one generation to the next.
[ Creations of culture reveal the
visions, hopes, & dreams of those who created them; the study of these
human creations is the heart of the humanities.
[ Interdisciplinary approach attempts
to understand the interpenetration of ideas and the interrelationship of the
visual arts, philosophy, literature, religion, politics, technology,
architecture as well as other institutions such as marriage.
[ Not only
goods and services were exchanged along expanding trade routes;
ideas were carried back and forth as well.
[ Values such as truth, beauty, love, justice, & faith shape cultural development.
o
justice à
law & government
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education à
form & curriculum in schools
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religion à
temples & creeds
o economy à production & distribution of goods & services
[ All
dynamic relationships go through periods of chaos, adjustment, & balance.
o
Chaos
1) 1st step toward new epoch
2) New critics chisel away @ bedrock of
established culture by pointing out inconsistencies & challenging the
boundary limits of “reality.”
3) this collapse (of “old” patterns of belief,
values, and behavior) sweeps away old institutions, theology, science, etc. + causes turmoil & confusion.
4) Note that in the 1st stage of
creation stories, deity brings order to chaos.
o
Adjustment
1) Innovative artists & thinkers (painters,
scientists, writers, composers, philosophers) respond to chaos by
suggesting/creating innovative new patterns for culture that seem more in
keeping with the emerging spirit of the times.
2) Intellectuals (academics, government
officials, business executives, media, etc.) seek to distill & resolve the
tensions by designing new modes of thought and new models that will provide a
framework for society.
3) Innovators posit a new design; intellectuals
institute workable models of these new expressions.
o
Balance
§
Order is reestablished when the new ideas of
reality, the philosophies underlying the basic institutions, and the
institutions themselves are all in harmony.
§
Everything seems to be orderly and tidy &
people have a fundamental security that comes from certainty.
§
Even in periods of balance, there is always an
undercurrent of new ideas brewing that will eventually upend this sense of
surety.
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Dialectic (Plato/Socrates, Hegel, Marx)
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Deciphering which phase of an epoch a culture is in can only
legitimately be accomplished in retrospect.
o
Remember that all 3 (chaos, adjustment, balance) transpire
concurrently and that their impact is a matter of degree and not an absolute;
in other words, during periods of chaos, there will also be some semblance of
adjustment and balance going on beneath the surface, and in turn, during
periods that are marked by a predominant sense of security, there will be a
chaotic element fermenting underground.
Generally, there remains an ongoing process of adjustment that serves as
a balancing mechanism between any two extremes (yin/yang).
“Time achieves revolutions by invisible increments. Changes that seem inconsequential over a single lifetime can upend the social order over three or four. We don't naturally think in these terms; we're all hemmed in by our one-lifetime horizon” ( Are We Rome ? Cullen Murphy, 21).