This is something I've thought about on and off for a little while now.
We often easily use terms such as 'Western culture', 'Arab culture', 'South Asian culture' and whatever else, but we seem to only have vague ideas what these things mean.
To look at Western culture as an example (people are free to bring up others if they like, I'm sure that'll be very interesting as well), I wonder there is that uniquely culturally unites these people. If we include at the very least Western and Northern Europe, Anglo-North America and Anglo-Oceania in this definition (I'd say that all the EU could be included as well, and to a substantial extent Latin America, but I digress) then this is a cultural mega-grouping which includes farmers from up in the Appalachian mountains, the Belgian Royal Family, the United States' Congress and the populations of urban centres such as Dublin, Munich and Vancouver.
Is there something at a deeper level, in terms of priorities, ways of looking at the world, ways of approaching and interacting with other human beings and thinking about societies, which unites Western culture? I have seen it said that there is, in reference to the heritage of the Western Enlightenment and its impacts on Western mindsets. In particular, that would be things like a certain level of freethinking, an appreciation of humanistic ideals, of democracy, etc.
Either way, are there things that unite Westerners in terms of their customs and outward culture, whether or not they are united by shared values or intellectual and emotional approaches? One could argue there is common heritage, in Roman Catholicism and its derivatives in the form of Western Christianity, but is this really accurate to say when many countries where Orthodoxy or even Islam have historically been dominant are increasingly described as Western? e.g. Romania, Greece and Bosnia. And, perhaps more importantly, when people whose personal heritage is not Western Christian have come to make up a large proportion of modern Western society? Not to forget, Western societies have long had established Jewish populations, many of whom engaged in the Enlightenment etc as well.
Is there something that unites me, as a Wales-raised anti-nationalist whose spirituality is primarily Hindu, with someone in the American conservative mainstream? Do we approach the same history and language from a totally distinct way of looking at the world, or are there commonalities within Western culture above ad beyond such superficialities?
As with any identity, it is of course somewhat of a moving feast. It was not so long ago that 'the West' referred to the bloc allied with the USA against the Soviets, but that definition is no longer valid. Nevertheless, the Western world still seems to exist as a discrete identity in some sense.
Any thoughts welcome
We often easily use terms such as 'Western culture', 'Arab culture', 'South Asian culture' and whatever else, but we seem to only have vague ideas what these things mean.
To look at Western culture as an example (people are free to bring up others if they like, I'm sure that'll be very interesting as well), I wonder there is that uniquely culturally unites these people. If we include at the very least Western and Northern Europe, Anglo-North America and Anglo-Oceania in this definition (I'd say that all the EU could be included as well, and to a substantial extent Latin America, but I digress) then this is a cultural mega-grouping which includes farmers from up in the Appalachian mountains, the Belgian Royal Family, the United States' Congress and the populations of urban centres such as Dublin, Munich and Vancouver.
Is there something at a deeper level, in terms of priorities, ways of looking at the world, ways of approaching and interacting with other human beings and thinking about societies, which unites Western culture? I have seen it said that there is, in reference to the heritage of the Western Enlightenment and its impacts on Western mindsets. In particular, that would be things like a certain level of freethinking, an appreciation of humanistic ideals, of democracy, etc.
Either way, are there things that unite Westerners in terms of their customs and outward culture, whether or not they are united by shared values or intellectual and emotional approaches? One could argue there is common heritage, in Roman Catholicism and its derivatives in the form of Western Christianity, but is this really accurate to say when many countries where Orthodoxy or even Islam have historically been dominant are increasingly described as Western? e.g. Romania, Greece and Bosnia. And, perhaps more importantly, when people whose personal heritage is not Western Christian have come to make up a large proportion of modern Western society? Not to forget, Western societies have long had established Jewish populations, many of whom engaged in the Enlightenment etc as well.
Is there something that unites me, as a Wales-raised anti-nationalist whose spirituality is primarily Hindu, with someone in the American conservative mainstream? Do we approach the same history and language from a totally distinct way of looking at the world, or are there commonalities within Western culture above ad beyond such superficialities?
As with any identity, it is of course somewhat of a moving feast. It was not so long ago that 'the West' referred to the bloc allied with the USA against the Soviets, but that definition is no longer valid. Nevertheless, the Western world still seems to exist as a discrete identity in some sense.
Any thoughts welcome
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