The Nature of Culture

 

        CULTURE, as already defined, is the developing of the powers of man. It aims at the unfolding and growth of all the powers, and the training of them so as to attain their highest activity and fullest development. As in the culture of land we aim to improve the soil, so in human culture we aim to enrich the soil of the mind and body, and cause it to bud and blossom and bring forth its richest harvests of thought and sentiment, of science, art, and character.

        Corresponding to the general constitution of man as body and mind, Culture is divided into two distinct branches; Physical Culture and Mental Culture. Mental Culture is also divided into Intellectual Culture, Esthetic Culture, and Moral Culture to correspond to the general classes of mental faculties they most heavily involve, the Intellect, the Sensibilities, and the Will respectively.

          Physical culture. PHYSICAL CULTURE is that which relates to the cultivation and development of the physical powers. As the maxim "A sound mind in a sound body" implies, physical culture is an integral part of education. It embraces the culture and attainment of Health, Strength, Skill, and Beauty. A full discussion of the subject would include a consideration of the conditions, the laws, and the methods of securing each one of these objects.

        The first object of physical culture is Health. To a large extent man's health is in his own keeping. We can be sick or well as we choose. Sickness is the penalty of violating physical law. Death, except in old age, is usually a curse entailed upon man by his transgressions. A proper physical culture would banish disease and premature death from the land. Physical culture seeks to ascertain the laws and methods by which these results are secured, and to present a sound body as a condition of a sound and vigorous intellect.

        The second object of physical culture is Strength. By culture a man can double or treble his natural strength; and not transcend the limits of health. A proper physical culture would remove the bodily weakness which we find so prevalent in society. It would give muscular fibre and endurance where we now find flabbiness and debility. It would give physical power to students, and enable them to endure much more fatigue and to accomplish much more, than they can at present. While it can be a great culture for the will of a restless man, it can also transform a delicate and frail‑looking woman into a woman of muscular power and endurance, such as were the women of Sparta, and as nature intended women to be.

        The third object of physical culture is Skill. To use the muscles with dexterity, either for pleasure or business, is in itself laudable. To walk far, run fast, jump a good distance, etc., are not unworthy attainments. To possess manual skill and be able to use our hands for some useful purpose is especially desirable. A knowledge of a use of tools is of great value to every person. Education should therefore aim to cultivate muscular skill and dexterity.

        A fourth object of physical culture is the attainment of Beauty. Deformity, like sickness, is the result of violated physical law. Men should strive to be as handsome as the figures immortalized in classic sculptures. Art does much to restore what we have lost; but culture is the best panacea for ugliness. The best coloring for the cheek is pure, rich blood; the best enamel for the neck and arms is the flush of health.

          Intellectual Culture. INTELLECTUAL CULTURE is that which relates to the development and training of the intellectual powers. The object of intellectual culture is the normal growth and highest activity of all the intellectual faculties. 

        Intellectual Culture aims to cultivate the powers of Observation. It enables man to see what is going on around him, and to acquire a knowledge of facts and phenomena. It makes him sharp‑eyed and ready to drink in knowledge at every pore. It makes him an original observer of nature and society, obtaining his knowledge first hand, instead of depending on others for it. It thus gives him independence in his own ideas of things, and enables him to make contributions to the sum of human knowledge.

        Intellectual Culture increases the power of the Memory. It gives strength of retention and readiness of recollection. It makes man a treasury of knowledge -a walking library of information. It aims to overcome the habit of allowing things to fade away from the memory, and trains the mind to hold what is worth knowing as a permanent possession. It aims to bring the memory up towards the old standard of power when men could repeat volumes of manuscript, or "call by name the twenty thousand citizens of Athens," as was said of Themistocles (527?-460? BC).

        Intellectual Culture aims to give activity and direction to the power of Imagination. It leads it to delight in ideal creations, to enjoy the works of fiction, to wander with pleasure among the images of poetry, to linger delighted amid the romantic events of history, to awaken into activity in viewing the varied beauties of earth, sea, and sky, and to revel among the works of art where the brush of the painter or chisel of the sculptor has made a name immortal. It aims also to develop the creative power of artistic genius, and to stimulate those who have the gift to emulate the achievements of the masters in poetry, fiction, and fine art.

        Intellectual Culture embraces the training of the power of Thought. It aims to make man a thinker, to enable him to draw true conclusions from the facts he observes, to exercise correct judgment in the affairs of life, to investigate and ascertain the laws of nature and society, to read the truths which Nature has written upon the pages of earth and sky, to build up the sciences and apply their principles to the advancement of truth and the improvement of the world. It aims to develop the power of thought by which man lifts himself into a higher civilization, makes the laws and elements of Nature servants of his will to promote his comfort and happiness, arms himself with the power to predict the events of the far off future, and stands at the head of created beings, crowned with the triumphs of science and philosophy.

        This view of culture is also in accordance with the ideas of education of John Locke (1632-1704), the Founding Father in absentia of the United States. According to him, the body must be hardened from infancy by subjecting it to exposure, discomforts, and rigorous exercise. Right moral conduct, too, can come only by persistent crossing of one's desires and by practice of virtue. A child should be given only what is good for him, and nothing that merely pleases him. The education of the mind, as of the body, is achieved by the exercise and use of its inborn faculties or powers. Man, for instance, becomes rational through the exercise of his faculty of reason, and mathematics provides the best exercise for its development. Mathematics should be taught not to make one a mathematician but to make him a reasonable being, and the training thus acquired would carry over into other subjects whenever the occasion arose. Thus it is not particularly what is learned but the power acquired in the process of learning is important, and justifies each subject of study.

        Schools should not stress the acquisition of knowledge for the sake of skill in its use. Knowledge, however useful, has in itself secondary educational value. The only such value it has lies in its use as a means of developing mental powers and putting the mark of general culture upon men.

          Esthetic Culture. ESTHETIC CULTURE embraces the cultivation of the esthetic nature. The esthetic nature includes the activity of the Reason and the Sensibilities as pertaining to the beautiful. The Reason apprehends beauty; the Sensibilities admire, appreciate, and enjoy it. Esthetic culture seeks to develop this nature to the fullest appreciation of the element of beauty as found in the works of nature and art, to lift the soul upward to the enjoyment of the refined and artistic, to refine and elevate the taste, and thus add to man's happiness and lend an influence for the growth of his spiritual nature.

          Moral Culture. MORAL CULTURE embraces the training of the moral nature. The moral nature includes the activity of the entire spiritual being; it involves the activity of the Intellect, the Sensibilities and the Will. The Reason apprehends the Right and the obligation to do the Right; the Sensibilities feel the obligation to act in accordance with an apprehension of obligation; and the Will puts forth the executive volition in obedience to the spiritual imperative. The Esthetic nature consists of idea and feeling; the Moral nature consists of idea, feeling, and will. In mathematical phraseology, the Esthetic nature=the Reason, plus the Sensibilities; the Ethical nature=the Reason, plus the Sensibilities, plus the Will. Moral Culture embraces the full and complete development of this nature.

          Discipline as Culture. The human body in infancy is weak, it needs to be invigorated and toughened; the human intellect is feeble, it needs to be developed and strengthened; the human passions are wild and rash, they need to be restrained and guided; the human will is fitful and perverse, it needs to be trained to docility and educated to husband and direct its power. This invigorating and toughening of the body, developing and strengthening of the intellect, restraining and guiding the passions, training and educating the will, is discipline; and  it is one of the highest aims of education to secure it.