Formation of Culture:From Lucy to Postmodernism

Ancient World History

2

Ontology

Realism: Reality is “Real”

Idealism: Reality is Our “Idea” of What’s Real

Is Reality “Real”?Metaphysical Question: “Is Reality Real?”Reality is defined/limited by our sensory experienceLimits to sensory information (infrared & high

frequency)Alternative sensory experience (sonar & taste)Distortions in sensory experience (brain interpretation)“If a tree falls in the woods and

no one is there to hear it…. “…does it make a sound?”

Is Reality a Matter of Choice?

At macro level, the table is solid, persistent, and predictable.

At molecular level, the table is fluid, more than 99% empty space, and predictable.

At subatomic level, table is fluid, chaotic, and exists only as a function of probability.

Language and RealityMany animals have language skills.Symbolic language emerged approx. 125K years ago

in humans.Language enables collective memory.Language comes to “define reality”

(Without a word for it, it literally doesn’t exist for us)Inuit Eskimos and “snow”The French and “love”

Reality is subtle, nuanced, and always evolving, while language is fixed and meanings change slowly.

This is hard with nouns – but it’s REALLY hard with adjectives.

ContextualizationHuman brains always jumps to

conclusions with incomplete information -- depending on the context.

“It was a long hard winter…

but it was a beautiful spring.”

My “Spring” is a Slinky!

What is “Culture?”

“Patterned behaviors, beliefs, and practices,

including technology, that enable a civilization to

adapt and survive in it’s environment.”

Culture vs. EvolutionCulture =Social Adaptations

Evolution =Biological Adaptations

Stone ToolsManipulation of FireClothingSymbolic Language

Upright WalkingOpposable ThumbsSmall Jaw/Growing BrainSkin Coloration

Culture & Collective MemoryPre-language: Pointing and Grunting

Language Enabled Culture to be Passed Along OrallyDetailed InstructionsAllows Learned Information to be Passed DownOral Histories Enable Intergenerational

CommunicationCan Build Upon Accomplishments of Past Generations

Writing Turbocharged Collective MemoryMore Detailed InformationInformation Can be Stored & Recalled When NeededFreed Human Brain to Discover New Knowledge,

Rather than Remember Old Memories

The Power of Collective Memory

250K

BP

100K

BP

10K B

P

7K B

P

4K B

P

500 A

D

2000

AD

Cultural AdaptationsBiological Adaptations

Early Culture

Stone Tools

Modern Culture

Is Culture “Good” or “True?”Like Evolution, Cultural Adaptations are

“Value Neutral”Culture Can Be a Powerful Force for SurvivalCulture Can Confer Benefits, But Still be Immoral

SlaveryKnowledge of Looting and Pillaging

Culture Can Be Harmless, But Factually WrongSaying “Bless You” after a Sneeze

Culture Can Be Harmless, But ObsoleteShaking Hands with Right Hand

Culture Can be Factually Wrong, Obsolete, and Destructive

Oppositional BinariesCentered/Preferred Binary Marginalized BinaryMaleStrongLargeHardIndividualisticRationalCompetitive

FemaleWeakSmallSoftCommunity/FamilyEmotional/IntuitiveCooperative

Socially Constructed Gender Norms

• Definitions Tend to be Binary• Makes a complex reality simpler (more manageable)• Maintains a manageable vocabulary• Helps in the process of establishing “identity”

Socially Constructed NormsThin is beautifulSun tans are attractiveWealth / consumption is desirableHonesty is valuedConformity is expected

Societal Enforcementof Cultural NormsIgnore violationsTrivialize violationsCo-opt the subversive message of violationsAttack violations of the norm

OstracizeBanish from the tribePunish or criminalize

Self-Enforcementof Cultural NormsCloseted Gays/LesbiansGirls “Acting Stupid” in Math ClassStopping at Red Lights at 3:30amSelf Enforcement as “The Panopticon”

Coined by Jeremy Bentham in 1796

Michel Foucault made famous in 1950’s

The Tool of DeconstructionDefines/clarifies

binariesExposes assumptionsHelps identify

implications of changeMale

FemaleMale

Female

Centered Binary

Marginalized Binary

Summary (How culture works)“Culture:” social adaptations that aid “survival”“Culture” is as old as humanity itself“Culture” is a social construction, and is not “real” in

any absolute or objective sense.Dependent on the geography/environment & social

contextTendency to generalize with incomplete informationLimits/uncertainties to sensory perception & processing

Culture became far more powerful with language, but language also introduced limits to culture.Tendency to define complex realities as simple binariesTendency to assign value judgments to simple

binaries

Summary (The Power of Culture)Cultural Norms Define Our Social Reality

What is the meaning of life?What is proper behavior? (notions of good and bad)

Culture Can be a Powerful Positive ForceRules against murder, theft, and lyingTechnological advances improve quality of life (and lifespan)

Culture Can Also be a Powerful Negative ForceDefinition and enforcement of gender/racial/religious

stereotypesPerpetuation of outdated values (overconsumption,

violence, war, defining self in terms of “the other,” etc.)“Deconstruction” as a Diagnostic Technique

Formation of Culture:From Lucy to Postmodernism

Ancient World History