Summary: The Impact of the Concept of
Culture on the Concept of Man (Chapter 2 in The Interpretation
of Cultures")
According
to Clifford Geertz in his article "The Impact of the Concept of Culture on
the Concept of Man" the idea of culture is essential in understanding the
concept of man. Culture is not simply added onto a finished animal; it is
ingredient, and centrally ingredient, in the production of that animal itself.
As humans evolved, culture became a significant factor in their development.
The slow, steady, almost glacial growth of culture through the Ice Age altered
the balance of selection pressures for the evolving Homo in such a way as to
play a major directive role in his evolution. As culture, step by infinitesimal
step, accumulated and developed, a selective advantage was given to those
individuals in the population most able to take advantage of it-the effective
hunter, the persistent gatherer, the adept toolmaker, the resourceful
leader-until what had been a small-brained, protohuman Australopithecus became
the large-brained fully human Homo sapiens.
According
to Geertz It can be said that culture provides the link between what men are
intrinsically capable of becoming and what they actually become. Men without
culture would be unworkable monstrosities with very few useful instincts, fewer
recognizable sentiments, and no intellect. Therefore, culture must be
considered as a crucial factor in shaping humanity.
To
understand what man amounts to, Geertz argues that we must understand the
variousness of men and the specific cultural patterns that shape them as
separate individuals. To be human is not just to breathe; it is to control
one's breathing, by yogalike techniques, so as to hear in inhalation and
exhalation the literal voice of God pronouncing His own name-"hu
Allah." It is not just to talk; it is to utter the appropriate words and
phrases in the appropriate social situations in the appropriate tone of voice
and with the appropriate evasive indirection. It is not just to eat, but to
prefer certain foods cooked in certain ways and to follow a rigid table
etiquette in consuming them. It is not even just to feel but to feel certain
quite distinctively Javanese (and essentially untranslatable)
emotions-"patience," "detachment," "resignation,"
"respect."
Thus,
for Geertz, the concept of culture has a significant impact on the concept of
man, and it is essential to understand the specific cultural patterns that
shape individuals as well as the variousness of men. In order to comprehend
humanity, one must grasp firmly the essential character of not only the various
cultures but the various sorts of individuals within each culture. The road to
understanding lies, like any genuine Quest, through a terrifying complexity,
but a concern organized and directed in terms of theoretical analyses of
physical evolution, the functioning of the nervous system, social organization,
psychological process, cultural patterning, and the interplay among them.