Lecture 1 & 2 - Culture vs Nature

1. the rearing of certain animals, such as fish/oysters/bees or the production of natural animal products such as silk

2. the distinctive ideas, customs, way of life of a particular nation, society, period

3. the philosophy, practices and attitudes of an instituion, business or other organisation

4. arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively

lat. colere

either “to till land” or “to worship”

as something dangerous, hostile, primitive that must be overcome

hunters/gatherers, they didn’t change their environment

cultural existence, eg. agriculture -> collective human activity to “improve” the natural state of affairs

1. is considered inferior to culture,

2. it’a the base for all cultural existence, it’s healthy, sane, it’s a retreat for when culture goes too far

(Locke, Hobbes, Kant:) culture might have its roots in nagture, but it eventually rises above and leaves it behind

(this approach used to work better because less people were alive back then; nature could still be alright)

1. a dialectical relationship (not much use in discussing them seperately, one changes - it affects the other)

2. interests (political agendas/ideologies) are hidden behind cultural representation

3. diachronically (over time) AND synchronically (different defiitions can exist at the same time)

physical: improvement of the human body

mental: refinement of taste, mind, aesthetic value

being cultivated: someone who takes good care of themselves (smells good, educated, hygienic,…)

a value judgement and exclusion

-> someone always benefits frome exclusion

• the external world, environment

• animals

• instincts, reflexes of humans

• the human body (especially the female body - mother nature?!)

women aren’t rational -> education would be a waste -> can’t get job or money -> financial dependence on men -> emotional dependence -> low self-esteem -> impaired rational capabilities = women aren’t rational

broken when excluded groups gain access to culture

The very thought of a superior culture is a blatant insult to the majesty of nature”

it disappeared in the 19th century, maybe because of britains cultural hegemony?

there are different and variable cultures of different nations and periods

AND there are multiple different cultures within one country

he describes it as a “particular way of life”

something which stands for or denotes another symbolically, a sign/image/symbol

• the actual object (actual pipe irl)

• the pictorial representation (2D image)

• the linguistic representation (denotation: a pipe)

= interessierter Sinn

= meaning-making with an interest (Andreas Mahler)

• usually both the production and its interpretation (reception) are usually shaped by some srt of agenda

created in 13th century - only 3 continents were known back then

a “T&O” map

The east (the orient) is on top

• Jerusalem was considered the most important place on earth, therefore in the center

• jesus christ is o top of the map’s frame, eden is beneath his feet in the east

it was created to make navigation easier for sailors (straight meridians)

• it makes the western world look bigger than it actually is (more important?)

• unconscious message: western world bigger and on top; superior?

it tries to de-politicize and de-hierarchize, wants to be a more accurate map

every representation is a distortion and a cultural product, and they never come without ideology/interests embedded in it

(not inherently negative! can be fun, in eg. paintings, …, we just need to be aware of the distortion!)