In
philosophy and
sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...
, culturalism (new humanism or Znaniecki's humanism) is the central importance of culture as an organizing force in human affairs.
[Hałas (2010), p. 12.][Hałas (2010), p. 214.][Dulczewski (1984), pp. 186–187.] It is also described as an ontological approach that seeks to eliminate simple binaries between seemingly opposing phenomena such as nature and culture.
Origins
Florian Znaniecki (1882-1958) was a Polish-American philopher and sociologist. Znaniecki's culturalism was based on philosophies and theories of
Matthew Arnold
Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the celebrated headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, li ...
(''
Culture and Anarchy
''Culture and Anarchy: An Essay in Political and Social Criticism'' is a series of periodical essays by Matthew Arnold, first published in Cornhill Magazine 1867–68 and collected as a book in 1869. The preface was added in 1869.Robert H. Super, ' ...
''),
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his c ...
(
voluntarism),
Henri Bergson
Henri-Louis Bergson (; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopherHenri Bergson. 2014. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 13 August 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61856/Henri-Bergson (
creative evolutionism),
Wilhelm Dilthey (
philosophy of life),
William James
William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States.
James is considered to be a leading thinker of the la ...
,
John Dewey
John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the f ...
(
pragmatism
Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that considers words and thought as tools and instruments for prediction, problem solving, and action, and rejects the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror reality. ...
) and
Ferdinand C. Schiller (
humanism
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "human ...
).
He synthesized their theses and developed an original humanistic stance, which was first presented in ''Cultural Reality.''
Znaniecki's philosophy favored the advantages of rational, systematic knowledge.
He also attempted to reconcile the threads of the
phenomenological
Phenomenology may refer to:
Art
* Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties
Philosophy
* Phenomenology (philosophy), a branch of philosophy which studies subjective experiences and a ...
and
pragmatic views to counter
naturalism.
Aside from naturalism,
[Hałas (2010), p. 21.] Znaniecki was critical of a number of then-prevalent philosophical viewpoints:
intellectualism
Intellectualism is the mental perspective that emphasizes the use, the development, and the exercise of the intellect; and also identifies the life of the mind of the intellectual person. (Definition) In the field of philosophy, the term ''inte ...
,
[Hałas (2010), p. 52.] idealism
In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysics, metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely con ...
,
,
and
rationalism
In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy' ...
.
He was also critical of
irrationalism
Irrationalism is a philosophical movement that emerged in the early 19th century, emphasizing the non-rational dimension of human life. As they reject logic, irrationalists argue that instinct and feelings are superior to the reason in the researc ...
and
intuitionism
In the philosophy of mathematics, intuitionism, or neointuitionism (opposed to preintuitionism), is an approach where mathematics is considered to be purely the result of the constructive mental activity of humans rather than the discovery of ...
.
His criticisms became the bases of a new theoretical framework in the form of culturalism.
[Sztompka (2002), pp. 52–53.]
Characteristics
Znaniecki's "culturalism" was an
ontological
In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality.
Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exi ...
and
epistemological
Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics.
Episte ...
approach aiming to eliminate dualisms such as the belief that nature and culture are opposite realities.
This approach allowed him to "define
social phenomena
Social phenomena or social phenomenon (singular) are any behaviours, actions, or events that takes place because of social influence, including from contemporary as well as historical societal influences. They are often a result of multifaceted pr ...
in cultural terms".
Znaniecki was arguing for the importance of
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these grou ...
, noting that our culture shapes our view of the world and our thinking.
[Dulczewski (1984), pp. 187–188.] Znaniecki notes that while the world is composed of physical artifacts, we are not really capable of studying the physical world other than through the lenses of culture.
[Dulczewski (1984), p. 189.]
Among the fundamental aspects of the philosophy of culturalism are two categories: value and action.
, who calls it an "antithesis to the intellectual dogmas of naturalism", identifies the following assumptions:
* "The subject-object dualism must be overcome and thought should be united with reality."
* "Reality is not an absolute order but changes in a creative evolution."
* "All images of the world are relative."
* "It is false to oppose nature and culture or to subordinate culture to nature."
* "Value is the most general category of the description of reality."
Znaniecki's philosophy of culturalism laid the foundation for his larger theoretical system, based around another concept of his, "
humanistic coefficient."
[Hałas (2010), pp. 55, 172.] Though originally a philosophical concept,
culturalism was further developed by Znaniecki to inform his sociological theories.
[Hałas (2010), p. 51.]
Znaniecki's culturalism influenced modern sociological views of
antipositivism
In social science, antipositivism (also interpretivism, negativism or antinaturalism) is a theoretical stance that proposes that the social realm cannot be studied with the methods of investigation utilized within the natural sciences, and tha ...
and
antinaturalism.
[Sztompka (2002), p. 2425.]
References
Sources
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Further reading
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{{Social and political philosophy
Philosophical theories
Sociological theories