Sorokin Review of Cultural Dynamics: all human acts have meaning in social context
Dr. Tanvir Orakzai
May 16, 2006
The inner working of any society are quite complex. It is not possible to judge the norms of a society from outside, unless a person is part of it. Human acts may seem irrational to one society, can be perfectly right within that particular society, as all human acts have meaning in social context. The state, family, Church, universities, political parties, labor unions, or armies and navies are based on cultural bonding rather than the chemical composition. All of these institutes have their own norms and values, which may look useless to an outsider, but their foundations are based on these social values. Thus an ordinary stick can become a sacred stick, a piece of wood of Jesus can work miracles or a piece of cloth on a stick with few colours is considered worth dying and an ailing man can become saint over night. It is these social beliefs, which forms foundation of interaction and the cultural bonding in a society.
According to Sorokin, cultural individuality creates a meaningful identity and ideas for a culture to exist. He argues that the basis of the unity of culture lies in the pursuit of religious, philosophical and scientific organizations as they bestow a meaning to a culture. Comparing the values and norms with physical or biological properties will not lead to interaction. For example Koran or Bible carries the same holiness, no matter whatever format it has. Both books will have the same reverence and meaning for its follower, and will not alter with the change in its chemical and physical properties. If we remove meaningful aspects from human interaction, life will become a biophysical phenomenon, which is meaningless for the existence of a culture. This is one of the reason people often find scientists boring and musicians more amusing.
In a Sensory culture, true value is senses that believe that there is no reality beyond the senses. The Western civilizations from ancient time (Greece and Rome) are materialistic societies; their culture can be called sensory cultures, which appeals to the senses. The second type is idealistic culture (platonic ideal), which believes that the sensory reality is ?illusion?, that can be found in Islam and other eastern religions. Through out the centuries God found its expression in different forms, ranging from painting to sculpture and ethics, giving the idea of an ideological integration especially in early Christianity and Islam. However, in sensory period, science is pragmatic in techniques, striving for practicality rather than chasing philosophical apparitions, while religion emphasizes on moral practice.
Every culture in the beginning expands to become powerful and prosperous, but at the end of day decline is natural to take place. This process has been recurrent in the course of history with distinctive rhythms. The more a culture swells beyond the optimum point of its meanings the more difficult it becomes to function. The cultural followers find it hard to adjust to this swift transforming power. Every culture pursues an inner need for growth, but if it is bent on one way of thinking, it is following the destiny of self-destruction. Islamic Culture is stuck at this stage and has not moved an inch in the past many centuries. Any cultural system that has reached its pinnacle of growth becomes less and less capable of serving as an instrument of adaptation for its followers. The ?cultural truth which initially creates benefits of its followers becomes burden and rituals are followed without purpose. This situation is a clarion call for the demise of a dying culture.
On the contrary in a Sensory culture, utilitarianism is perused ardently. The metaphysics and non-pragmatic philosophy, religion and absolute ethics are relatively ignored, as they have no utilitarian purpose. Religion instead of a revelation of God becomes a social gospel. No longer religion and religious figures have any respect or value in such system. Right and wrong, knowledge changes from school to school giving rise to many truths at a time. In a Sensory period anything that does not serve a purpose is neglected, while every action is related to some reward or benefit.
The believer of Sensory culture live in doubts, for them tomorrow is uncertain. They are opportunist and do not hesitate to go to any limits to become rich or grab power, fame, no matter whatever it takes, be it waging war, killing thousand of people for their interest. For them life is only present and the things which cannot be sensed, do not exist. It is always race against time; the present is shadowed by fear and uncertainties, lurking in transit, leaving no time for thinking. Everything is earthly, shadowy and subject to change, nothing absolute exists. A thing can become good or bad over night, regardless of its ultimate reality. A lie may appear to be true under the false sensory conditions and truth can appear a lie. The values, norms, and beliefs change according to the individual at the name of freedom. Once this approach is established, a time arrives that all relative truths and values are completely reduced to atoms. This relativism gives birth to skepticism ending the frontier between right and wrong. The society finds itself in a state of cultural anarchy.
The sensory truth creates illusion providing fleeting shadows of ever-changing sensory impressions. Instead of revealing truth, it transmits artificial ideas, which exist only in senses. Being dependent only on the sensory science, it may declare one day, truth has nothing to do with reality. Western civilization has completed two cycles of this process. Now ideologies are rationalized only by self-interests. Every one believes in truth as long as a particular idea is useful to that person or nation. Instead of one single truth, there are countless contradictory truths nullifying each other.
The sensory revolution has undermined its own values through an increasing relativism. The lack of value and truth has made modern societies willing to serve any master making knowledge a tool in the hands of despots and dictators, for whom truth is only convenience rather than eternal truth.
On the contrary Islamic civilization is idealist. In the wake of cultural invasion from the West, Muslims are protesting to save their culture through protests and violence. Muslims need to adapt their culture according to the changing time. If believing only in sense leads to vacuum and multiple truths; idealism is constant war with the self and society. Islamic ideals are too lofty which were even hard to achieve in its golden age. The ideal path is middle way, not too sensationalist and not too idealist.
According to Sorokin, cultural individuality creates a meaningful identity and ideas for a culture to exist. He argues that the basis of the unity of culture lies in the pursuit of religious, philosophical and scientific organizations as they bestow a meaning to a culture. Comparing the values and norms with physical or biological properties will not lead to interaction. For example Koran or Bible carries the same holiness, no matter whatever format it has. Both books will have the same reverence and meaning for its follower, and will not alter with the change in its chemical and physical properties. If we remove meaningful aspects from human interaction, life will become a biophysical phenomenon, which is meaningless for the existence of a culture. This is one of the reason people often find scientists boring and musicians more amusing.
In a Sensory culture, true value is senses that believe that there is no reality beyond the senses. The Western civilizations from ancient time (Greece and Rome) are materialistic societies; their culture can be called sensory cultures, which appeals to the senses. The second type is idealistic culture (platonic ideal), which believes that the sensory reality is ?illusion?, that can be found in Islam and other eastern religions. Through out the centuries God found its expression in different forms, ranging from painting to sculpture and ethics, giving the idea of an ideological integration especially in early Christianity and Islam. However, in sensory period, science is pragmatic in techniques, striving for practicality rather than chasing philosophical apparitions, while religion emphasizes on moral practice.
Every culture in the beginning expands to become powerful and prosperous, but at the end of day decline is natural to take place. This process has been recurrent in the course of history with distinctive rhythms. The more a culture swells beyond the optimum point of its meanings the more difficult it becomes to function. The cultural followers find it hard to adjust to this swift transforming power. Every culture pursues an inner need for growth, but if it is bent on one way of thinking, it is following the destiny of self-destruction. Islamic Culture is stuck at this stage and has not moved an inch in the past many centuries. Any cultural system that has reached its pinnacle of growth becomes less and less capable of serving as an instrument of adaptation for its followers. The ?cultural truth which initially creates benefits of its followers becomes burden and rituals are followed without purpose. This situation is a clarion call for the demise of a dying culture.
On the contrary in a Sensory culture, utilitarianism is perused ardently. The metaphysics and non-pragmatic philosophy, religion and absolute ethics are relatively ignored, as they have no utilitarian purpose. Religion instead of a revelation of God becomes a social gospel. No longer religion and religious figures have any respect or value in such system. Right and wrong, knowledge changes from school to school giving rise to many truths at a time. In a Sensory period anything that does not serve a purpose is neglected, while every action is related to some reward or benefit.
The believer of Sensory culture live in doubts, for them tomorrow is uncertain. They are opportunist and do not hesitate to go to any limits to become rich or grab power, fame, no matter whatever it takes, be it waging war, killing thousand of people for their interest. For them life is only present and the things which cannot be sensed, do not exist. It is always race against time; the present is shadowed by fear and uncertainties, lurking in transit, leaving no time for thinking. Everything is earthly, shadowy and subject to change, nothing absolute exists. A thing can become good or bad over night, regardless of its ultimate reality. A lie may appear to be true under the false sensory conditions and truth can appear a lie. The values, norms, and beliefs change according to the individual at the name of freedom. Once this approach is established, a time arrives that all relative truths and values are completely reduced to atoms. This relativism gives birth to skepticism ending the frontier between right and wrong. The society finds itself in a state of cultural anarchy.
The sensory truth creates illusion providing fleeting shadows of ever-changing sensory impressions. Instead of revealing truth, it transmits artificial ideas, which exist only in senses. Being dependent only on the sensory science, it may declare one day, truth has nothing to do with reality. Western civilization has completed two cycles of this process. Now ideologies are rationalized only by self-interests. Every one believes in truth as long as a particular idea is useful to that person or nation. Instead of one single truth, there are countless contradictory truths nullifying each other.
The sensory revolution has undermined its own values through an increasing relativism. The lack of value and truth has made modern societies willing to serve any master making knowledge a tool in the hands of despots and dictators, for whom truth is only convenience rather than eternal truth.
On the contrary Islamic civilization is idealist. In the wake of cultural invasion from the West, Muslims are protesting to save their culture through protests and violence. Muslims need to adapt their culture according to the changing time. If believing only in sense leads to vacuum and multiple truths; idealism is constant war with the self and society. Islamic ideals are too lofty which were even hard to achieve in its golden age. The ideal path is middle way, not too sensationalist and not too idealist.