A little while ago, we posted a definition of culture. It was crisp and got straight to the point. Was it helpful? Probably not. Even though the definition was accurate, it was also flawed.
- We said it was a concept, and that’s right, but it’s also a metaphor, and one with a long history
- We packed a lot into those few sentences but left aspects out
- Those few simple sentences masked an underlying complexity, one that is also masked by popular culture
- Finally, it was demoralizingly neat and tidy, passively discouraging any attempt to put the definition to use
In this and future blogs we will tackle these self-criticisms. In the end, though, we don’t intend to come up with a better definition; instead, the aim is to develop an account of culture that is pragmatically helpful.
Culture is a metaphor
As is widely known, the etymology of the word culture derives from the Latin colere; to tend, cultivate and extends to English to mean growing, cultivation. That history of the word’s association goes back at least 300 years. In drawing on agrarian activities and understandings relating to the development of land and crops, today’s ordinary usage of culture retains essences of those early ideas both in relating to the activities of cultivating and its results.
A non-human example is the process of cultivating bacterium in a lab or as a starter for the production of yoghurt. By contrast, and applied to humans as an analogy, the process of enculturation refers to a process of social development within and through one’s culture. In this way, through social interaction, education, and training, cultivated minds, tastes, and manners are formed.
The development process also leads, commonly, to the drawing of boundaries around a social group; “a culture”. This application assumes degrees of developed commonality; a national culture; a jazz culture; a scientific culture; a gendered culture; a ‘tradie’ culture etc. Crossing boundaries and learning the culture of another is encapsulated in another of the word’s derivatives; acculturation.
Finally, culture is represented in material form by artifacts such as artworks and industrial design that are tangible representations of social development.
These associated ideas reveal a common theme. Firstly, and most obviously, they relate to aspects of human development; to learning and what is learnt. Secondly, they involve common aspects of development of individuals that produce patterns observable in collectives. Thirdly, following from this they are based on the idea that development is a social process and, therefore, individuals are socially constituted.
Implications
This is clearly a very short and selective look at the source of the word culture. In importing culture analogously from its origin in agriculture into the human domain the word has become metaphor, a figure of speech, one that equates two unlike things. In doing so it appeals to imagery, tacit understanding, and latitude. Furthermore, because it’s an idea, in its application in our human domain it has no tangible ‘realness’ other than in its continued use. In other words, culture, both as a metaphor and concept, is only real in its in ongoing discourse and application. These discourses and applications are many and varied. The variety to which the term culture, and its conceptual application, will be discussed in a following post.
Another implication, in recognising that the practices of cultivation precede/predate the act of cultivation, is that the development of individuals is entwined with the cultural understandings that already exists. Consequently, people are brought up to act in particular ways, to strive for ends, to comply with normativity and to be affected emotionally as they live their lives. Or not. Further, much of what is learned and shapes everyday actions can’t be put into words. Yet, people ‘know-how’ to go on with their lives.
Although not the last, there is one other important implication to be noted before closing this post. As with the preceding point, the study of culture is rooted in its own historical pathway. It is also rooted in the pathways of the development of the sciences more generally. As these pathways have crossed, intermingled, and laid claim to various concepts of culture, a range of representations have emerged. These are not just those of the arts, but also those of academic schools where, for example, culture is reduced to psychological or pseudo-psychological phenomena such as beliefs and values. Sociology, anthropology, economics, management, geography, literature, and politics are among those that have engaged with and espoused an understanding of culture and how it is best analysed. That makes for serious complexity and, perhaps, a clue for dealing with it.
Following posts will address some of the issues raised as they progress towards an account of culture that is pragmatically helpful, especially in the context of organisations.
Photo by Jack Swords on Unsplash