List the types of material and spiritual culture. Material and spiritual culture. The relationship between material and spiritual culture

Internal

Spiritual culture is science, morality, ethics, law, religion, art, education. Material means tools and means of labor, equipment and structures, production (agricultural and industrial), routes and means of communication, transport, household items.

Material culture is one of the parts of an integral human culture, the results of creative activity in which a natural object and its material are embodied in objects, properties and qualities and which ensure human existence. Material culture includes a variety of means of production: energy and raw materials resources, tools, production technology and infrastructure of the human environment, means of communication and transport, buildings and structures for domestic, service and entertainment purposes, various means of consumption, material and object relations in the field of technology or economics.

Spiritual culture is one of the parts of an integral human culture, the total spiritual experience of humanity, intellectual and spiritual activity and its results, ensuring the development of man as an individual. Spiritual culture exists in various forms. Customs, norms, patterns of behavior, values, ideals, ideas, knowledge that have developed in specific historical social conditions are forms of culture. In a developed culture, these components turn into relatively independent spheres of activity and acquire the status of independent social institutions: morality, religion, art, politics, philosophy, science, etc.

Material and spiritual culture exist in close unity. In fact, everything material, obviously, turns out to be a realization of the spiritual, and this spiritual is impossible without some material shell. At the same time, there is a significant difference between material and spiritual culture. First of all, there is a difference in subject matter. It is clear, for example, that tools and, say, musical works are fundamentally different from each other and serve different purposes. The same can be said about the nature of activity in the sphere of material and spiritual culture. In the sphere of material culture, human activity is characterized by changes in the material world, and man deals with material objects. Activities in the field of spiritual culture involve certain work with a system of spiritual values. This also implies a difference in the means of activity and their results in both spheres.

In Russian social science, for a long time, the dominant point of view was that material culture is primary, and spiritual culture has a secondary, dependent, “superstructural” character. This approach assumes that a person must first satisfy his so-called “material” needs in order to then move on to satisfying “spiritual” needs. But even the most basic “material” needs of humans, for example food and drink, are fundamentally different from the seemingly exactly the same biological needs of animals. An animal, by absorbing food and water, really only satisfies its biological needs. In humans, unlike animals, these actions also perform a sign function. There are prestigious, ritual, mourning and festive dishes and drinks, etc. This means that the corresponding actions can no longer be considered the satisfaction of purely biological (material) needs. They are an element of sociocultural symbolism and, therefore, are related to the system of social values ​​and norms, i.e. to spiritual culture.

The same can be said about all other elements of material culture. For example, clothing not only protects the body from adverse weather conditions, but also indicates age and gender characteristics, and a person’s place in the community. There are also work, everyday, and ritual types of clothing. The human home has multi-level symbolism. The list can be continued, but the examples given are quite sufficient to conclude that it is impossible to distinguish purely biological (material) needs in the human world. Any human action is already a social symbol that has a meaning that is revealed only in the sphere of culture.

This means that the position about the primacy of material culture cannot be considered justified for the simple reason that no material culture simply exists in its “pure form.”

Thus, the material and spiritual components of culture are inextricably linked with each other.

After all, when creating the objective world of culture, a person cannot do this without changing and transforming himself, i.e. without creating oneself in the process of one's own activity.

Culture turns out to be not only an activity as such, but a way of organizing activity.

Everything a person does, he does ultimately for the sake of solving a given problem.

In this case, human development appears as the improvement of his creative powers, abilities, forms of communication, etc.

Culture, if viewed broadly, includes both material and spiritual means of human life, which are created by man himself.

Material and spiritual things created by human creative labor are called artifacts.

This approach makes it possible to use the cognitive capabilities of a wide variety of research methods created by representatives of the sciences that study culture and have high heuristics.

There are different ways to analyze the structure of culture. Since culture acts, first of all, as a prerequisite for all types of socially significant activities, the main elements of its structure are forms of recording and transferring social experience. In this context, the main components of culture are: language, customs, traditions, values ​​and norms.

Language is a system of conventional symbols that correspond to certain objects. Language plays a vital role in the process of socialization of an individual. With the help of language, cultural norms are assimilated, social roles are mastered, and behavior patterns are formed. Each person has his own cultural and speech status, which denotes belonging to a specific type of linguistic culture: a high literary language, vernacular, local dialect.

Tradition is a form of sociocultural reproduction associated with the transmission from generation to generation of the basic elements of normative culture: symbols, customs, manners, language. The need to preserve these basic norms is determined by the very fact of their existence in the past.

Social norm- this is a form of sociocultural regulation in a certain social sphere, characterizing the individual’s membership in a given social group. A social norm establishes acceptable boundaries for the activities of representatives of specific social groups, ensures predictability and standardization of people’s behavior in accordance with their social status.

Value is a category indicating the human, social and cultural significance of certain phenomena of reality. Each historical era is characterized by a specific set and a certain hierarchy of values. Such a value system acts as the highest level of social regulation and forms the basis for the formation of personality and the maintenance of normative order in society.

Material and spiritual culture.

Considering culture by its carrier, material and spiritual culture are distinguished.

Material culture includes all spheres of material activity and its results: housing, clothing, objects and means of labor, consumer goods, etc. That is, those elements that serve the natural organic needs of man belong to material culture, which literally satisfies with its content these needs.

Spiritual culture includes all spheres of activity and its products: knowledge, education, enlightenment, law, philosophy, religion, art. Spiritual culture is connected, first of all, not with the satisfaction of needs, but with the development of human abilities that are of universal importance.


The same objects can belong to both material and spiritual culture at the same time, and also change their purpose in the process of existence.

Example. Household items, furniture, clothing in everyday life satisfy natural human needs. But, being exhibited in a museum, these things already serve to satisfy cognitive interest. Using them you can study the life and customs of a certain era..

Culture as a reflection of the spiritual abilities of the individual.

Based on the form of reflection of spiritual abilities, as well as on the origin and nature of culture, the following three forms can be conventionally distinguished: elitist, popular And massive.

Elite, or high culture, includes classical music, highly artistic literature, poetry, fine arts, etc. It is created by talented writers, poets, composers, painters and is aimed at a select circle of art connoisseurs and connoisseurs. This circle may include not only “professionals” (writers, critics, art critics), but also those who highly value art and receive aesthetic pleasure from communicating with it.

Folk culture arises to a certain extent spontaneously and most often does not have specific authors. It includes a variety of elements: myths, legends, epics, songs, dances, proverbs, ditties, crafts and much more - everything that is commonly called folklore. Two component features of folklore can be distinguished: it is localized, i.e. connected with the traditions of a particular area, and democratic, since everyone takes part in its creation.

Mass culture began to develop in the mid-nineteenth century. It is not distinguished by high spirituality; on the contrary, it is mainly of an entertaining nature and currently occupies the main part of the cultural space. This is an area without which it is impossible to imagine the lives of modern young people. Works of mass culture are, for example, modern pop music, cinema, fashion, modern literature, endless television series, horror films and action movies, etc.

Sociological approach to understanding culture.

In the context of the sociological approach, culture is a system of values ​​and norms inherent in a particular social community, group, people or nation. Main categories: dominant culture, subculture, counterculture, ethnic culture, national culture. Considering culture as a characteristic of the life activity of various social groups, the following concepts are distinguished: dominant culture, subculture And counterculture.

Dominant culture- is a set of beliefs, values, norms, and rules of behavior that are accepted and shared by the majority of members of society. This concept reflects a system of norms and values ​​that are vital for society and form its cultural basis.

Subculture is a concept with the help of which sociologists and cultural scientists identify local cultural complexes that arise within the framework of the culture of the entire society.

Any subculture presupposes its own rules and patterns of behavior, its own style of clothing, its own manner of communication, and reflects the peculiarities of the lifestyle of various communities of people. Russian sociologists are currently paying especially great attention to the study of youth subculture.

As the results of specific sociological studies show, the subcultural activity of young people depends on a number of factors:

Level of education (for people with a lower level of education, for example, vocational school students, it is noticeably higher than for university students);

From age (peak activity is 16 - 17 years old, by 21 - 22 years it decreases significantly);

From the place of residence (more typical for the city than for the village).

Counterculture is understood as a subculture that is in a state of open conflict in relation to the dominant culture. Counterculture means rejection of the basic values ​​of society and calls for the search for alternative forms of life.

Specifics of modern mass culture.

Back in the 19th century, philosophers who studied culture turned to analyzing the essence and social role of mass and elite culture. Mass culture in those days was clearly viewed as an expression of spiritual slavery, as a means of spiritual oppression of a person, as a way of forming a manipulated consciousness. It was contrasted with high classical culture, which was perceived as a way of life characteristic of the privileged strata of society, intellectuals, aristocrats of the spirit, i.e. "colors of humanity"

In the 40-50s of the twentieth century, a point of view on mass information as a new stage of culture took shape. It was successfully developed in the works of the Canadian researcher Herbert Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980). He believed that all existing cultures differ from one another in the means of communication, because it is the means of communication that form the consciousness of people and determine the characteristics of their life. As many cultural scientists note, the concept of McLuhan and his followers is a typical optimistic concept of mass culture.

The main function of mass culture is compensatory and entertaining, which is complemented by a socially adaptive function, implemented in an abstract, superficial form. In this regard, Western researchers have repeatedly emphasized that mass culture turns people into curious observers of life, viewing the illusory world of video images as an objectively existing reality, and the real world as an illusion, an annoying hindrance to existence. Consumption of samples of mass culture, according to the testimony of many psychologists, returns adults to the infantile stage of perception of the world, and turns young consumers of this culture into passive creators, indiscriminately absorbing the ideological “rations” prepared for them.

American researchers of popular culture argue that today it functions as a spiritual drug. Immersing the human mind in the world of illusions, mass culture becomes a school of stereotypes that shape not only mass consciousness, but also the corresponding behavior of people. When defending this position, it was often assumed that human inequality is natural and will exist forever. That there will always be an elite in any society, that it is the elite that constitutes the intellectual ruling minority, highly active and highly intelligent.

Civil liberties;

Spreading literacy among all segments of the population;

National psychology and self-awareness, most clearly expressed in national art.

Scientists distinguish two levels of national culture:

Expressed in national character and national psychology;

Represented by literary language, philosophy, high art.

Ways to master national culture:

Unlike an ethnic group, each nation creates specialized cultural institutions: museums, theaters, concert halls, etc.

The formation of national identity is facilitated by the national education system: schools, higher education institutions.

Today, the main goal of national education is the moral education of the individual, instilling such socially significant qualities as love, humanism, altruism, tolerance as the desire for freedom and justice, equality of rights and opportunities, and a tolerant attitude towards the most diverse manifestations of human essence.

Culture and civilization.

In cultural studies, next to the concept of culture there is the concept of civilization. This term arose later than the concept of “culture” - only in the 18th century. According to one version, its author is considered to be the Scottish philosopher A. Ferrugson, who divided human history into eras:

savagery,

barbarism,

Civilizations,

meaning by the latter, the highest stage of social development.

According to another version, the term “civilization” was coined by French Enlightenment philosophers and was used by them in two senses: broad and narrow. The first meant a highly developed society based on the principles of reason, justice and religious tolerance. The second meaning was closely intertwined with the concept of “culture” and meant a set of certain qualities of a person - an extraordinary mind, education, politeness, refinement of manners, etc., the possession of which opened the way to the elite Parisian salons of the 18th century.

Modern scientists define civilization according to the following criteria:

Historical time (ancient, medieval, etc.);

Geographical space (Asian, European, etc.);

Technology (industrial, post-industrial society);

Political relations (slave, feudal civilizations);

Specifics of spiritual life (Christian, Muslim, etc.).

Civilization means a certain level of development of material and spiritual culture.

In the scientific literature, the definition of civilization types is carried out according to the following criteria:

The commonality and interdependence of historical and political fate and economic development;

Interpenetration of cultures;

The presence of a sphere of common interests and common tasks from the point of view of development prospects.

Based on these characteristics, three types of civilization development have been identified:

Non-progressive forms of existence (Australian aborigines, American Indians, many tribes of Africa, small peoples of Siberia and northern Europe),

Cyclical development (countries of the East) and

Progressive development (Greco-Latin and modern European).

At the same time, in cultural studies there has not been a unified view on understanding the essence of civilization as a scientific category. So, from the position of A. Toynbee, civilization is considered as a certain stage in the development of the culture of individual peoples and regions. From the perspective of Marxism, civilization is interpreted as a specific stage of social development that began in the life of the people after an era of savagery and barbarism, which is characterized by the emergence of cities, writing, and the formation of national-state entities. K. Jaspers understands civilization as “the value of all cultures,” thereby emphasizing their unified universal character.

The concept of civilization occupies a special place in the concept of O. Spengler. Here, civilization is interpreted as the final moment in the development of the culture of a particular people or region, meaning its “decline.” Contrasting the concepts of “culture” and “civilization”, in his work “The Decline of Europe” he writes: “... civilization is the inevitable fate of culture. Here the very peak has been reached, from the height of which it becomes possible to solve the most difficult questions of historical morphology.

Civilization is the most extreme and most artificial state of which the higher type of people is capable. They... completion, they follow becoming as what has become, life as death, development as numbness, like mental old age and the petrified world city behind the village and soulful childhood. They are the end without the right of appeal, due to internal necessity, they always turn out to be a reality” (Spengler O. The Decline of Europe. Essays on the Morphology of World History: in 2 vols. M., 1998. Vol. 1., p. 164.).

With all the diversity of existing points of view, they largely coincide. Most scientists understand civilization as a fairly high level of development of material culture and social relations and consider the most important signs of civilization to be: the emergence of cities, the emergence of writing, the stratification of society into classes and the formation of states.

Culturology: Textbook for universities Apresyan Ruben Grantovich

3.3. Material and spiritual culture

The division of culture into material and spiritual is associated with two main types of production - material and spiritual.

Concept "material culture" introduced into cultural studies by ethnographers and anthropologists, who understood material culture as the characteristic features of the culture of traditional societies. According to B. Malinovsky’s definition, human material products are artifacts, built houses, manned ships, tools and weapons, objects of magical and religious worship, which constitute the most tangible and visible part of culture. Subsequently, the concept of “material culture” began to define all material and practical human activity and its results: tools, homes, everyday items, clothing, means of transport and communication, etc. Human labor, knowledge, and experience are invested in all of this.

Spiritual culture covers the sphere of consciousness. This is a product of spiritual production - the creation, distribution, consumption of spiritual values. These include: science, art, philosophy, education, morality, religion, mythology, etc. Spiritual culture is a scientific idea, a work of art and its execution, theoretical and empirical knowledge, views that develop spontaneously, and scientific views.

Manifestations of material and spiritual culture, the creation and use of objects related to each of them are different.

For a long time (and sometimes even now), only spiritual activities and spiritual values ​​were considered culture. Material production remains beyond the boundaries of culture. But human activity is, first of all, material activity. Starting from primitive society, the entire human culture - the way of obtaining food, as well as customs, mores, etc. are determined, directly or indirectly, by material foundations. The creation of a “second”, “artificial” nature begins in the material sphere. And what its level is ultimately determines the development of spiritual culture. At the dawn of mankind, the connection between primitive art and the nature of labor activity was direct and obvious. At higher stages of development of human society, the belonging of material activity to the sphere of culture became no less obvious: some manifestations of people’s material activity turned out to be such a direct manifestation of culture that their very designation is terminologically defined as culture. Thus, at the end of the 20th century, technical and technological, technotronic, screen and other cultures emerged.

In addition, the very development of spiritual culture largely depends and is determined by the level of development of material culture.

Material culture and spiritual culture are interconnected, and the border between them is often transparent. A scientific idea is embodied in a new model of a machine, device, aircraft, that is, it is clothed in material form and becomes an object of material culture. Material culture develops depending on what scientific, technical and other ideas are implemented in it. Also, an artistic idea is embodied in a book, painting, sculpture, and outside of this materialization it will not become an object of culture, but will remain only the creative intention of the author.

Some types of creative activity are generally on the verge of material and spiritual culture and belong equally to both. Architecture is both art and construction. Design, technical creativity – art and technology. The art of photography became possible only on the basis of technology. Just like the art of cinema. Some theorists and practitioners of cinema argue that cinema is increasingly ceasing to be art and becoming technology, because the artistic quality of the film depends on the level and quality of technical equipment. One cannot agree with this, but one cannot help but see the dependence of the quality of a film on the quality of filming equipment, film and other material and technical means of cinema.

Television, of course, is an achievement and embodiment of technology. But the idea of ​​television, its invention belongs to science. Having been realized in technology (material culture), television also became an element of spiritual culture.

It is obvious that the boundaries between various spheres of culture and its individual forms are very arbitrary. Almost all forms of culture are interconnected. So, for example, artistic culture interacts, at least indirectly, with science, and with religion, and with everyday culture, etc. The development of science and the formation of a certain picture of the world affected the development of art - the development of natural science knowledge contributed to the formation of landscape genres and still life, and the emergence of new technical inventions led to the emergence of new types of art - photography, cinema, design. Everyday culture is associated with religious tradition, and with the moral norms prevailing in society, and with such types of art as architecture and decorative arts.

But the values ​​of material culture differ in their characteristics from the values ​​of spiritual culture. Values ​​related to spiritual culture are closer to values ​​of a universal human nature, therefore, as a rule, they have no limits to consumption. Indeed, such moral values ​​as life, love, friendship, dignity have existed as long as the entire human culture. Masterpieces of artistic culture do not change their significance - the “Sistine Madonna”, created by Raphael, is the greatest work of art not only for the Renaissance, but also for modern humanity. Probably, the attitude towards this masterpiece will not change in the future. The values ​​of material culture have temporary limits of consumption. Production equipment wears out, buildings deteriorate. In addition, material assets can become “morally obsolete.” While maintaining their physical form, the means of production may not meet the requirements of modern technologies. Clothes sometimes go out of fashion faster than they wear out.

The values ​​of spiritual culture very often do not have a monetary expression. It is impossible to imagine that beauty, goodness and truth can be assessed in some fixed units. At the same time, the values ​​of material culture, as a rule, have a certain price. “Inspiration is not for sale, but you can sell a manuscript” (A. Pushkin).

The purpose of material culture values ​​is clearly utilitarian in nature. The values ​​of spiritual culture, for the most part, are not practical in orientation, but sometimes they can also have a utilitarian purpose (for example, such types of art as architecture or design).

Material culture includes several forms.

Production. This includes all means of production, as well as technology and infrastructure (energy sources, transport and communications).

Life This form also includes the material side of everyday life - clothing, food, housing, as well as traditions and customs of family life, raising children, etc.

Body culture. A person’s attitude towards his body is a special form of culture, which is very closely related to forms of spiritual culture and reflects moral, artistic, religious and social norms.

Ecological culture – human relationship to the natural environment.

Spiritual culture includes both scientific and non-scientific knowledge, both theoretical and empirical, views that arose under the direct influence of ideology (for example, political views, legal consciousness), and those that develop spontaneously (for example, social psychology).

Spiritual culture, its features and forms will be discussed in the second section of the textbook.

From the book Culturology: A Textbook for Universities author Apresyan Ruben Grantovich

Section II Spiritual culture

From the book Aryans [Founders of European Civilization (litres)] by Child Gordon

From the book History and Cultural Studies [Ed. second, revised and additional] author Shishova Natalya Vasilievna

From the book Japanese Civilization author Eliseeff Vadim

From the book Requests of the Flesh. Food and sex in people's lives author Reznikov Kirill Yurievich

Part three Material culture

From the book of Kumyks. History, culture, traditions author Atabaev Magomed Sultanmuradovich

From the book Tabasarans. History, culture, traditions author Azizova Gabibat Nazhmudinovna

From the author's book

The spiritual culture of the Eastern Slavs The diverse and colorful material culture of ancient Rus' corresponded to the bright, multifaceted, complex spiritual culture of the Eastern Slavs. Since time immemorial, folk oral poetry has developed in Rus', a wonderful

From the author's book

3.2. Material culture of Ancient China The formation of the material culture of Ancient China was affected by the uneven development of material production in different parts of the country. Of the traditional types of home production and craft, the most characteristic is pottery.

From the author's book

3.3. Spiritual Culture of Ancient China Philosophy in China emerges at the end of the third period in the history of Ancient China (“separate states”) and reaches its highest peak during the Zhanguo period (“warring kingdoms,” 403–221 BC). At that time there were six main

Material culture

Material culture usually refers to artificially created objects that allow people to optimally adapt to natural and social conditions of life.

Objects of material culture are created to satisfy various human needs and are therefore considered as values. When speaking about the material culture of a particular people, they traditionally mean such specific items as clothing, weapons, utensils, food, jewelry, housing, and architectural structures. Modern science, by studying such artifacts, is able to reconstruct the lifestyle of even long-vanished peoples, of which there is no mention in written sources.

With a broader understanding of material culture, three main elements are seen in it.

The actual objective world created by man is buildings, roads, communications, instruments, objects of art and everyday life. The development of culture is manifested in the constant expansion and complexity of the world of artifacts, the “domestication” of the human environment. It is difficult to imagine the life of a modern person without the most complex artificial devices - computers, television, mobile phones, etc., which lie at the basis of modern information culture.

Technologies are means and technical algorithms for creating and using objects of the objective world. Technologies are material because they are embodied in specific practical methods of activity.

Technical culture is the specific skills, abilities, and abilities of a person. Culture preserves these skills and abilities along with knowledge, transmitting both theoretical and practical experience from generation to generation. However, unlike knowledge, skills and abilities are formed in practical activity, usually by example. At each stage of cultural development, along with the complexity of technology, skills also become more complex.

Spiritual culture

Spiritual culture, unlike material culture, is not embodied in objects. The sphere of her existence is not things, but ideal activity associated with intellect, emotions, feelings.

The ideal forms of cultural existence do not depend on individual human opinions. This is scientific knowledge, language, established norms of morality and law, etc. Sometimes this category includes the activities of education and mass communication.

Integrating forms of spiritual culture connect disparate elements of public and personal consciousness into a coherent worldview. At the first stages of human development, myths acted as such a regulating and unifying form. In modern times, its place has been taken by religion, philosophy and, to some extent, art.

Subjective spirituality is the refraction of objective forms in the individual consciousness of each individual person. In this regard, we can talk about the culture of an individual person (his knowledge base, ability to make moral choices, religious feelings, culture of behavior, etc.).

The combination of the spiritual and material forms the common space of culture as a complex interconnected system of elements that constantly transform into each other. Thus, spiritual culture - ideas, plans of the artist - can be embodied in material things - books or sculptures, and reading books or observing objects of art is accompanied by a reverse transition - from material things to knowledge, emotions, feelings.

The quality of each of these elements, as well as the close connection between them, determine the level of moral, aesthetic, intellectual, and ultimately cultural development of any society.

The relationship between material and spiritual culture

At the same time, spiritual culture is inextricably linked with material culture. Any objects or phenomena of material culture are based on a project, embody certain knowledge and become values, satisfying human needs. In other words, material culture is always the embodiment of a certain part of spiritual culture. But spiritual culture can only exist if it is materialized, objectified, and has received one or another material embodiment. Any book, painting, musical composition, like other works of art that are part of spiritual culture, need a material carrier - paper, canvas, paints, musical instruments, etc.

Moreover, it is often difficult to understand what type of culture - material or spiritual - a particular object or phenomenon belongs to. Thus, we will most likely classify any piece of furniture as material culture. But if we are talking about a 300-year-old chest of drawers exhibited in a museum, we should talk about it as an object of spiritual culture. A book, an indisputable object of spiritual culture, can be used to light a stove. But if cultural objects can change their purpose, then criteria must be introduced to distinguish between objects of material and spiritual culture. In this capacity, one can use an assessment of the meaning and purpose of an object: an object or phenomenon that satisfies the primary (biological) needs of a person belongs to material culture; if it satisfies secondary needs associated with the development of human abilities, it is considered an object of spiritual culture.

Between material and spiritual culture there are transitional forms - signs that represent something different from what they themselves are, although this content does not relate to spiritual culture. The most famous form of sign is money, as well as various coupons, tokens, receipts, etc., used by people to indicate payment for all kinds of services. Thus, money - the general market equivalent - can be spent on buying food or clothing (material culture) or purchasing a ticket to a theater or museum (spiritual culture). In other words, money acts as a universal intermediary between objects of material and spiritual culture in modern society. But there is a serious danger in this, since money equalizes these objects among themselves, depersonalizing objects of spiritual culture. At the same time, many people have the illusion that everything has its price, that everything can be bought. In this case, money divides people and degrades the spiritual side of life.

5. Culture is one of the most important characteristics of the specifics of human life. Each individual is a complex biosocial system that functions through interaction with the environment, which is necessary for a person for his normal functioning, life and development.

Most human needs are satisfied through work. And the labor process is always carried out with the direct participation and guiding influence of human consciousness, his thinking, knowledge, feelings, and will. The system of human culture is a world of things, objects, and now the natural environment, created by man to satisfy his needs. This means that culture is the “objectified” world of human spirituality.

Culture is a product of human activity, and activity is a person’s way of being in the world. The results of human labor are constantly accumulating, and therefore the cultural system historically develops and is enriched by many generations of people. Everything achieved by humanity in legal, political, government activities, in educational systems, medical, consumer and other types of services, in science and technology, art, religion, philosophy - all this belongs to the world of human culture:

· fields and farms, industrial (factories, factories, etc.) and civil (residential buildings, institutions, etc.) buildings, transport communications (roads, pipelines, bridges, etc.), communication lines, etc. .;

· political, legal, educational and other institutions;

· scientific knowledge, artistic images, religious doctrines and philosophical systems, family culture

It is not easy to find a place on Earth that has not been developed to one degree or another by human labor, that has not been touched by the active hands of man, that has not had the stamp of the human spirit on it.

The world of culture surrounds everyone. Each person is, as it were, immersed in a sea of ​​things, objects of human culture. Moreover, an individual becomes a person insofar as he assimilates the forms of activity for the production and use of cultural objects (developed by previous generations of people). In the family, at school, at a higher educational institution, at work, in communication with other people, we master the system of objective forms of culture, “deobjectify” them for ourselves. Only on this path does a person change himself, develop his inner spiritual world, his knowledge, interests, morals, skills, abilities, worldview, values, needs, etc. The higher the degree to which a person masters the achievements of culture, the greater the contribution he can make to it. further development.

Culture appeared simultaneously with man himself, and the first cultural phenomena were the tools created by our distant ancestors.

Culture is a single, complex, integrated phenomenon of human nature, which is conditionally (according to the degree of predominance of the spiritual or material components) often divided into humanitarian and natural science cultures.

It is unlikely that today anyone will be able to describe the entire variety of cultural values ​​achieved and being achieved by humanity. We can highlight only some of the most significant areas of human culture today. Such a division is arbitrary, controversial and largely depends on the views of a particular person. Humanitarian culture.

Humanitarian culture in the modern sense is a human worldview, embodied practically and predicted theoretically, based on the belief that the World around us can be imagined in consciousness. In other words, it is a universal complex of material and spiritual values, created exclusively by the subjective (personal) consciousness of man and society. This is morality, religion, art, politics, philosophy, etc., which is included in the concept of spirituality.

Humanitarian culture is focused on universal human values, such as humanism, democracy, morality, human rights, etc. But the researcher of this culture is located within the problems under consideration. Philosophical systems, religions, and philological studies include features inherent in their creator. His whole life is often inextricably woven into the “fabric” of these systems, religions, etc. Therefore, the research methods used in the field of humanities are strikingly different from the natural sciences and come down mainly to interpretations, interpretations, and comparisons.

Teleological or finalistic explanations are of great importance in the humanities, the purpose of which is to reveal the motives and intentions in people’s activities. Interest in such explanations has increased recently; it was driven by results obtained in synergetics, ecology and other natural sciences. But even more important in the humanities is the research method associated with interpretation, which is usually called hermeneutic.

6. Culture acts as an important factor in the social renewal of society. It is sensitive to all changes occurring in society, and itself has a significant impact on social life, shaping and determining many social processes.

Modern Western sociologists assign a large role to culture in the development of modernization processes. In their opinion, a “breakthrough” of the traditional way of life in a number of countries should occur under the direct influence of their sociocultural contacts with already existing centers of market-industrial culture. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the specific historical conditions of these countries, their traditions, features of the national character, established cultural and psychological stereotypes, etc.

The special role of culture in the evolution of society was noted by the classics of world sociological thought. Suffice it to cite M. Weber’s famous work “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,” which showed how the ideological principles of Protestantism led to the formation of a system of value orientations, motivations and behavioral stereotypes that formed the basis of capitalist entrepreneurship and significantly contributed to the formation of the bourgeois era.

The role of culture as a factor of social change especially increases during the period of social reforms. This can be clearly seen in the example of our country.

In these conditions, the development of a new cultural policy becomes especially important. Cultural policy is understood as a set of measures to regulate the development of spiritual and value aspects of social life. Culture plays the role of forming value-oriented, optimally organized and socially effective activities.

7. The post-industrial state of human civilization is rightfully associated with the development of the information society - a society whose level is decisively determined by the quantity and quality of accumulated information, its freedom and accessibility. The emergence of the information society is inextricably linked with the awareness of the fundamental role of information in social development, consideration of such phenomena as information resources, new information technologies, and informatization in a broad sociocultural context.

The formation of the information society required ensuring the adequacy of education to the dynamic changes occurring in nature and society, the entire human environment, the increased volume of information, and the rapid development of new information technologies. Of particular importance in the information society is the organization of information education and the improvement of the information culture of the individual.

Today there is every reason to talk about the formation of a new information culture, which can become an element of the general culture of mankind. This will include knowledge about the information environment, the laws of its functioning, and the ability to navigate information flows. Information culture is not yet an indicator of general, but rather professional culture, but over time it will become an important factor in the development of each individual. The concept of “information culture” characterizes one of the facets of culture associated with the information aspect of people’s lives. The role of this aspect in the information society is constantly increasing; and today the totality of information flows around each person is so large, diverse and ramified that it requires him to know the laws of the information environment and the ability to navigate information flows. Otherwise, he will not be able to adapt to life in new conditions, in particular, to changes in social structures, the consequence of which will be a significant increase in the number of people working in the field of information activities and services.

Currently, there are many definitions of information culture. Let's look at some of them.

In a broad sense, information culture is understood as a set of principles and real mechanisms that ensure the positive interaction of ethnic and national cultures, their connection into the common experience of humanity.

In a narrow sense - optimal ways of handling signs, data, information and presenting them to interested consumers to solve theoretical and practical problems; mechanisms for improving technical environments for the production, storage and transmission of information; development of a training system, preparing a person for the effective use of information tools and information.

The information culture of mankind has been shaken by information crises at various times. One of the most significant quantitative information crises led to the emergence of writing. Oral methods of preserving knowledge did not ensure complete preservation of the growing volumes of information and recording of information on a material medium, which gave rise to a new period of information culture - documentary. It included a culture of communication with documents: extracting fixed knowledge, encoding and recording information; documentary search. Handling information has become easier, the way of thinking has undergone changes, but oral forms of information culture not only have not lost their significance, but have also been enriched by a system of relationships with written ones.

The next information crisis brought to life computer technologies that modified the information medium and automated some information processes.

Modern information culture has absorbed all its previous forms and combined them into a single tool. As a special aspect of social life, it acts as a subject, means and result of social activity, reflects the nature and level of practical activity of people. This is the result of the subject’s activity and the process of preserving what was created, distributing and consuming cultural objects.

Currently, a basis is being created for the formation of a contradiction between the category of individuals whose information culture is formed under the influence of information technology and reflects new connections and relationships of the information society, and the category of individuals whose information culture is determined by traditional approaches. This creates different levels of its quality with the same expenditure of effort and time, entails objective injustice, which is associated with a decrease in the possibilities of creative manifestation of some subjects compared to others.


Related information.


The concept of education methods. In a complex and dynamic pedagogical process, the teacher has to solve countless typical and original educational tasks, which are always tasks of social management, since they are aimed at the harmonious development of the individual. As a rule, these problems have many unknowns, with a complex and variable composition of initial data and possible solutions. In order to confidently predict the desired result and make error-free, scientifically based decisions, the teacher must be professionally proficient in educational methods.

Educational methods should be understood as methods of professional interaction between a teacher and students in order to solve educational problems. Reflecting the dual nature of the pedagogical process, methods are one of those mechanisms that ensure interaction between the teacher and students. This interaction is not built on parity principles, but under the sign of the leading and guiding role of the teacher, who acts as the leader and organizer of the pedagogically appropriate life and activities of students.

The method of education breaks down into its constituent elements (parts, details), which are called methodological techniques. In relation to the method, the techniques are of a private, subordinate nature. They do not have an independent pedagogical task, but are subordinate to the task pursued by this method. The same methodological techniques can be used in different methods. Conversely, the same method for different teachers may include different techniques.

Educational methods and methodological techniques are closely related to each other; they can make mutual transitions and replace each other in specific pedagogical situations. In some circumstances, the method acts as an independent way to solve a pedagogical problem, in others - as a technique that has a particular purpose. Conversation, for example, is one of the main methods of shaping consciousness, attitudes and beliefs. At the same time, it can become one of the main methodological techniques used at various stages of the implementation of the training method.

Educational techniques (sometimes educational techniques) in domestic pedagogy are considered as specific operations of interaction between the educator and the student (for example, creating an emotional mood during an educational conversation) and are determined by the purpose of their use.

  • this is an individual, pedagogically designed action of the teacher, aimed at consciousness, feelings, behavior to solve pedagogical problems;
  • This is a particular change, an addition made to the general method of education, corresponding to the specific conditions of the educational process.

Educational means are objects of material and spiritual culture that are used in solving pedagogical problems.


Scheme of a functional-operational approach to educational methods:

Category Educational methods are specific ways of influencing the consciousness, feelings, behavior of children in order to solve pedagogical problems and achieve the goal of education in the process of interaction of children with the teacher and the world
Purpose Formation of social-value relations of the subject, his way of life
Method functions Formation of beliefs, concepts of judgments, presentation of the world to the child through: 1) Demonstration, example - visual and practical forms 2) Message, lecture, conversation, discussion, debate, explanation, suggestion, request, exhortation - verbal forms Formation of behavioral experience, organization of activities through: 1) exercises, training, instructions, games, educational situations - visual practical forms 2) Demand, order, advice, recommendation, request - verbal forms Formation of assessment and self-esteem, stimulation through: 1) Reward and punishment - practical and verbal forms 2) Competition, subjective-pragmatic method - practical forms
Essence Spiritual activity to comprehend life, the formation of the subject’s moral position, worldview Living social-value relations, objective activities and communication. Acquiring skills and habits Development of motivation, conscious motives, stimulation, analysis, assessment and correction of life activity
Some parenting techniques Conviction based on one’s own experience, a “continuous relay of opinions,” improvisation on a free or given topic, a clash of conflicting judgments, a friendly argument, the use of metaphors, parables, fairy tales, passion for a creative search for a good deed, etc. Organization of group activities, friendly assignment, creative play, indirect requirement: advice, request, expression of trust, collective creative work Creative competition, competition, friendly encouragement, reminder, control, condemnation, praise, reward, punishment according to the logic of natural consequences, granting honorary rights, imitation of something worthwhile
Result Organization and transformation of one’s own life, self-realization and personal development

Classification of education methods

The creation of a method is a response to the educational task posed by life. In the pedagogical literature you can find a description of a large number of methods that allow you to achieve almost any goal. There are so many methods and especially different versions (modifications) of methods that have been accumulated that only their ordering and classification helps to understand them and choose ones that are adequate to the goals and real circumstances.

Classification of methods is a system of methods built on a certain basis. Classification helps to discover the general and specific, essential and random, theoretical and practical in methods and thereby contributes to their conscious choice and the most effective application. Based on the classification, the teacher not only clearly understands the system of methods, but also better understands the purpose, characteristic features of various methods and their modifications.

Any scientific classification begins with determining the general foundations and identifying features for ranking the objects that make up the subject of classification. Considering the method, there are many such signs - a multidimensional phenomenon. A separate classification can be made according to any general characteristic. In practice, this is what they do, obtaining various systems of methods.

In modern pedagogy, dozens of classifications are known, some of which are more suitable for solving practical problems, while others are of only theoretical interest. In most systems of methods, the logical basis of classification is not clearly expressed. This explains the fact that in practically significant classifications, not one, but several important and general aspects of the method are taken as a basis.

By nature, education methods are divided into persuasion, exercise, encouragement and punishment. In this case, the general feature “nature of the method” includes the focus, applicability, peculiarity and some other aspects of the methods. Closely related to this classification is another system of general methods of education, which interprets the nature of the methods in a more general way. It includes methods of persuasion, organizing activities, and stimulating the behavior of schoolchildren. In the classification of I. S. Maryenko, such groups of education methods are named as explanatory-reproductive, problem-situational, methods of training and exercise, stimulation, inhibition, guidance, self-education.

Based on the results, methods of influencing the student can be divided into two classes:

1. Influences that create moral attitudes, motives, relationships, forming ideas, concepts, ideas.

2. Influences that create habits that determine one or another type of behavior.
At present, the most objective and convenient classification of educational methods is based on orientation - an integrative characteristic that includes in unity the target, content and procedural aspects of educational methods.

In accordance with this characteristic, three groups of education methods are distinguished:

1. Methods of forming the consciousness of the individual.

2. Methods of organizing activities and forming experience of social behavior.

3. Methods of stimulating behavior and activity.

Classification of education methods and their characteristics.

Classification is a system of methods built on a certain basis.

Currently, the most objective and convenient classification of educational methods is based on the orientation of G.I. Shchukina.

There are 3 groups of education methods:

a) Methods for forming personality consciousness:

Belief;

Story;

Explanation;

Clarification;

Ethical conversation;

Suggestion;

Instruction;

b) Methods of organizing activities and developing experience of social behavior:

Exercises;

Accustoming;

Pedagogical requirement;

Public opinion;

Order;

Educational situations.

V) Methods of stimulating behavior activity:

Competitions;

Encouragement;

Punishment.

A story on an ethical topic is a vivid, emotional presentation of specific facts and events that have moral content that affects feelings; the story helps students understand and internalize the meaning of moral assessments and norms of behavior.

Explanation is a method of emotional, verbal influence on students. An important feature is the focus of the impact on a given group or individual. It is used only when the student really needs to explain something, to somehow influence his consciousness

Suggestion, penetrating imperceptibly into the psyche, affects a person’s personality.

Attitudes and motives for activity are created. They are used when the student must accept a certain attitude. (used to enhance the impact of other parenting methods.

Ethical conversation is a method of systematic and consistent discussion of knowledge, involving the participation of educators and students. The teacher listens and takes into account the opinions of the interlocutors.

The purpose of an ethical conversation is to deepen and strengthen moral concepts, generalize and consolidate knowledge, and form a system of moral views and beliefs.

An example is an educational method of exceptional power. Its effect is based on the fact that phenomena perceived by sight are quickly and easily imprinted in consciousness. An example provides specific role models and thereby actively shapes consciousness, feelings, and active activity. The psychological basis of the example is imitation. Thanks to it, people master social and moral experience.

Exercise is a practical method of education, the existence of which consists in repeatedly performing the required actions, bringing them to automatism. The result of the exercises is stable personality traits, skills and habits.

The effectiveness of the exercise depends on:

Taxonomy of exercises;

Availability and passivity;

Repetition frequencies;

Control and correction;

Personal characteristics of the pupil;

Place and time of the exercise;

A combination of individual, group and collective forms of exercise;

Motivation and stimulation (you need to start the exercise as early as possible; the younger the body, the faster habits take root in it).

Requirement is a method of education with the help of which behavioral skills, expressed in personal relationships, stimulate or inhibit certain activities of the pupil and manifest certain qualities in him.

According to presentation form:

Indirect.

Indirect ones can be:

Requirement advice;

The requirement is in a playful form;

Requirement by trust;

Requirement request;

Requirement hint;

Requirement approval.

According to the results of education:

Positive;

Negative.

By presentation method:

Direct;

Indirect.

Habituation is intensively performed exercises. It is used when it is necessary to quickly and at a high level formulate the required quality. It is often accompanied by painful processes and causes dissatisfaction. It is used at all stages of the educational process.

Assignment - with its help, schoolchildren are taught to take positive actions. The assignment is given in order to develop the necessary qualities.

Method of educational situation - situations should not be far-fetched. Situations must be natural. Surprise plays an important role.

Encouragement - expresses a positive assessment of the students’ actions. It reinforces positive skills and habits. The action of encouragement is based on the arousal of positive emotions. It instills confidence and increases responsibility.

Types of incentives:

OK;

Encouragement;

Praise;

Gratitude;

Rewarding with a certificate or gift.

You need to be careful with rewards so as not to overdo it.

Competition is the natural need of schoolchildren to compete and prioritize the development of qualities necessary for a person and society. By competing, a student develops physical and moral qualities. The effectiveness of the competition increases when its goals, objectives and conditions are determined by the schoolchildren themselves, who also sum up the results and determine the winners.

Punishment is a method of pedagogical influence, which should prevent undesirable actions, slow down schoolchildren, causing a feeling of guilt towards themselves and others.

Types of punishment:

Associated with the imposition of additional responsibilities;

Deprivation or restriction of rights;

Expressing moral censure and condemnation.

Forms of punishment:

Disapproval;

Comment;

Warning;

Discussion at the meeting;

Suspension from classes;

Exception.

The power of punishment increases if it comes from or is supported by the collective.