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Culture and Civilisation Revised
Culture and Civilisation Revised
The distinction between culture and civilization is not well embedded in the English
language but has remained relatively meaningful in both other European and non-European
covers both culture and civilization. Though it is sometimes stated that Tylor’s relativist
concept of culture harks back to Herder, the latter’s cultural relativism differs from Tylor’s
amount of confusion that can still be felt today. According to Botz-Bornstein, in the English-
speaking world, a century-old confusing play of name switching and revisions has made the
distinction between culture and civilization difficult. The fogginess of the distinction has
“Culture” (from Latin cultus) is the older term and corresponds to the Latin form also
in its content; the term civilization (from Latin civis) was coined later, in 18th Century France
and later also in England. However, German scholars preferred culture, with its complexity of
meanings. One can draw a more or less distinctive line between civilization and culture by
stating that the former refers more to material, technical, economic, and social facts while the
latter refers to spiritual, intellectual and artistic phenomena. The German usage of Zivilisation
has always alluded to a utilitarian, outer aspect of human existence subordinated to Kultur,
which was perceived as the “real” essence of humans, society, and their achievements (Botz-
Bornstein, 2012).
The term ‘culture’ is a Latin origin of the word ‘cultus’, which refers to cultivating or
refining something, in such a way that it provides admiration and respect (Surbhi, 2018). In
finer terms, culture is the way people live, reflected in the language they spoke, food they eat,
clothes they wear and the Diety they follow or worship. It expresses the manner in which one
In other words, culture is the set of knowledge, experiences and behaviours which is
commonly shared by a group of people. It is something that a person gains through learning.
Culture includes art, knowledge, belief, customs, traditions, morals, festivals, values,
literature, music, dance forms, religious practices, dressing style, food habits, ways of
greeting others, recreation and enjoyment. Different cultures can be found in different places,
the state of human society, to the extent that the culture, industry, technology, government,
etc. reaches the maximum level (Surbhi, 2018). As already indicated, it is a term derived
The term ‘civilization’ is not confined to town; rather it talks about adopting better
ways of living, and making best possible use of nature’s resources, so as to satisfy the needs
of the group of people. Further, it stresses on systematising society into various groups that
work collectively and constantly to improve the quality of life, regarding food, education,
As already explained, while there seems to be a convergence at some point during the
evolution of these two terminologies, and in some instances, the two terms are used
civilization is concerned:
The term ‘culture’ refers to the embodiment of the manner in which we think,
behave and act. On the contrary, the improved stage of human society, where
members have the considerable amount of social and political organisation and
Our culture describes what we are, but our civilization explains what we have or
The culture of a particular region can be reflected in religion, art, dance, literature,
customs, morals, music, philosophy, etc. On the other hand, the civilization is
Culture denote the greatest level of inner refinement, and so it is internal. Unlike,
civilization which is external, i.e. it is the expression of state of the art technology,
Change in culture is observed with time, as in the old thoughts and traditions lost
with the passage of time and new ones are added to it which are then transmitted
Culture can evolve and flourish, even if the civilization does not exist. In contrast,
distinction between civilization and culture has been subjected to various attacks for many
years. Most of the time, neither the understanding of culture nor of civilization could lead to a
better understanding of the other. In the contemporary world, culture and civilization are in
However, as the historical development of culture and civilization has shown, there is no
References
Civilization in Rousseau and German Philosophy". Being after Rousseau: philosophy and
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Moses, Wilson Jeremiah. 2004. Creative Conflict in African American Thought: Frederick