The concept of “culture”

In some of the above works G. Simmel highlights the duality of interpretation of “culture”. He distinguishes between objective culture, which included some artistic, moral, economic works, culture and subjective identity. It is this distinction between culture derived Robert Simmel lighting throughout, driving them problems. Culture in its treatment means is a synthesis of subjective and objective human development of spiritual values. However, the trend of development of culture is the emphasis steps in creating a culture and interpretation of cultural values carried by the people on improvement and self-sufficient development objective culture. Thus there is reification of culture, while the final and sole purpose of cultural activities should be cultivating human creation is subjective culture.

When it involves subjective culture reached with the development of the individual. The concept of “culture”, used initially to land as cultivation, tillage, G. Simmel extends to man, the development of his soul. Here I want to emphasize that culture G. Simmel – not a goal but a means of creating a special state man feels a certain unity of individual aspects of existence, harmony of vitality. Only a person can be the subject of culture, because it is the only known creature that has the initial impulse. As the formation of man, his soul shall develop a variety of ways, including through relationships with other individuals, but acculturation takes place only when he passes through something external, not inherent. This replaces G. Simmel that looks and objectivity should not be understood in a spatial sense, because demeanor, refinement of taste judgments, moral tact – all cultural formation, making desirable individual member of society, by engaging in objective the formation of the subjective mind. In this regard, and illuminated them emerges the problem boils down to what exactly are autonomous objects – the objective world of culture – for personal development, that is how cultural values.

The cultural significance of each of the items of objective culture does not correspond to the value, which is a particular object in each of the series to which they are adjacent, – artistic, economic and so on. D. For example, the work of art is considered in line with the aesthetics and history of art , while its cultural value – under completely different rules and ranks. The cultural significance of the object is evaluated based on its ability to cultivate human life is to change it, make it cultural. According to Robert Simmel, “is a state of mind, but such that it is expedient achieved using existing objects.” Duality of objects is that they can perfectly serve any private purposes, but provide very little for the development of our maybe the opposite – they can be imperfect and insignificant with real or technical point of view, but to achieve what needs our whole being – harmony, which, by definition, G. Simmel regarded as mysterious unity beyond all needs and forces. Measure objects of culture is how they “serve the development of our inner totality.” Having established the conditions in which objects or processes but its content may fall under the category of culture, G. Simmel captures the paradox is quite clear: “The higher achievements in various fields (primarily accomplishments personal manner in art, religion, meditation), the more reduced their cultural value.” This is because the cultural achievements grow in rows, all things are made more perfect, more spiritual, more appropriate for the internal logic of subjects, but this process is not accompanied by cultivating the same subjects. In this connection G. Simmel formulates a different interpretation of culture, related to subjective culture.

While it is clear that a subjective culture cannot emerge without objective culture, yet objective and subjective culture only in the figurative sense is the first coordinated concepts, because only the dominant culture is the subjective ultimate goal.

Here is the definition of culture as understood G. Simmel, a small philosophical essay “The Crisis of Culture.” The culture of “I understand – writes G. Simmel – that the perfection of the soul, is not it reaches directly the and detour through formation of spiritual and historical activity kinds: subjective spirit in the way culture is through science and forms of life through art and the state, profession and knowledge of the world, the way in which it returns to itself, but reached greater heights of excellence.”