In philosophy and sociology, culturalism (new humanism or Znaniecki's humanism) is the central importance of culture as an organizing force in human affairs. [1] [2] [3] It is also described as an ontological approach that seeks to eliminate simple binaries between seemingly opposing phenomena such as nature and culture. [4]
Florian Znaniecki (1882-1958) was a Polish-American philosopher and sociologist. Znaniecki's culturalism was based on philosophies and theories of Matthew Arnold ( Culture and Anarchy), Friedrich Nietzsche ( voluntarism), Henri Bergson ( creative evolutionism), Wilhelm Dilthey ( philosophy of life), William James, John Dewey ( pragmatism) and Ferdinand C. Schiller ( humanism). [5] He synthesized their theses and developed an original humanistic stance, which was first presented in Cultural Reality. [6]
Znaniecki's philosophy favored the advantages of rational, systematic knowledge. [7] He also attempted to reconcile the threads of the phenomenological and pragmatic views to counter naturalism. [7] Aside from naturalism, [3] [8] [9] Znaniecki was critical of a number of then-prevalent philosophical viewpoints: intellectualism, [10] idealism, [8] realism, [8] and rationalism. [3] He was also critical of irrationalism and intuitionism. [10] His criticisms became the bases of a new theoretical framework in the form of culturalism. [8] [9] [11]
Znaniecki's "culturalism" was an ontological and epistemological approach aiming to eliminate dualisms such as the belief that nature and culture are opposite realities. [9]
This approach allowed him to "define social phenomena in cultural terms". [1] Znaniecki was arguing for the importance of culture, noting that our culture shapes our view of the world and our thinking. [12] Znaniecki notes that while the world is composed of physical artifacts, we are not really capable of studying the physical world other than through the lenses of culture. [13]
Among the fundamental aspects of the philosophy of culturalism are two categories: value and action. [9] Elżbieta Hałas, who calls it an "antithesis to the intellectual dogmas of naturalism", identifies the following assumptions: [10]
Znaniecki's philosophy of culturalism laid the foundation for his larger theoretical system, based around another concept of his, " humanistic coefficient." [14] Though originally a philosophical concept, [3] culturalism was further developed by Znaniecki to inform his sociological theories. [5]
Znaniecki's culturalism influenced modern sociological views of antipositivism and antinaturalism. [15]