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Seeking Order in Chaos: A Definition of Culture

Since its identification as a unique field of research, the modern study of culture has become very popular. Its analytical-interpretive power has earned it a place of honor among the natural and social sciences, and the humanities. Despite its central status, however, the term “culture” itself has not yet found an accepted, customary definition. The absence of such a definition compels scholars of culture to search for ways to explore the discipline they are engaged in. This situation literally blocks knowledge of who we are as human beings and how we live, and muddles research goals and methodologies. This article aims to deal with this drawback. Taking as its starting point Freud’s basic definition of culture as the “total achievements and institutions, which moved us away from our animal-like ancestors,” and organizing this “total” under three analytical categories of taste, value, and control — it suggests a coherent definition of culture that encompasses most of the existing ones, while embracing them under the “rule” of “radical simplification,” conceived by Robert Darnton in hard-to-define cases. This may offer a better understanding of culture as an all-encompassing human phenomenon, and a a more effective means for selecting the appropriate methodologies needed for the analysis of relevant questions.