How humans differ from other living species and what their unique qualities are have been discussed and answered by different disciplines for many years. In discussions about culture, it can be said that humans are the unique producer of culture. This has given humans the ability to 'think about their own existence' , which is a natural result of having a complex nervous system. As a result of this ability to think, culture emerges as an activity of producing symbols.
The idea and desire to transform nature instead of accepting it as it is belongs only to humans, and this desire is transmitted from the past to the present and the future through culture. The historical development of the world dates back four and a half billion years, in light of this data, human development is quite recent, even the ancestors of today's humans, known as Homo Sapiens, separated from their ancestors, the Hominids and Neanderthals, only about 300,000 years ago. Humans, who are inhabitants of the world, have fought a great struggle for existence and have also survived many wars in order to reach this day. The emergence of the high-level and complex life organizations we call civilization covers a period of only 5,000 years.
The organization of human communities, which we define as civilization in Turkish, is represented by the word civilisation in many European languages. This is derived from the Latin concept of “Civitas”, meaning “city”. Indeed, the same concept is clearly seen in the relationship between Civilization and Medina (both the city in general and the city of Medina, currently within the borders of Saudi Arabia) in Arabic. In this case, we can say that civilization, which is a situation in which the human lifestyle exhibits a certain continuity, organization and complexity, is closely related to the emergence of an urban type settlement, first and foremost and as a determinant. With the agricultural revolution , “surplus product” was formed and this formation gave rise to the structures we call cities. Cities are not the place of hunter-gatherer or animal husbandry communities. Urban life is dependent on production relations that require staying fixed in a certain place. Regular agriculture, stable trade and, in later stages, industry became the reason for the existence of the city. Such productions brought about the need for order in society. At this point, it is not a coincidence that writing was found in Mesopotamia, the invention of writing was considered an important turning point in human history because the cultural activities of the period were passed on to future generations through wall reliefs or clay tablets.
Although the production and accumulation of culture became apparent with the emergence of urban life and writing, the history of the concept of culture dates back to ancient times. This situation is related to the power of man to transform nature, this transformation situation has brought about a cultural accumulation. This tendency has led man first to magic, then to religion, and finally to science, and art has given rise to the activity of carrying a symbol. This situation is related to the intelligence that man has, thanks to intelligence, the activity of producing symbols is realized and transferred to the memory of humanity through abstractions (e.g. painting, music, language, writing). In fact, it is possible to talk about humanity thanks to this.
The main reason why people produce symbols is to be aware of their own existence. This means that people can think of themselves as a living being that 'thinks for themselves' . When people can think for themselves, they start thinking about death, and death is a frightening feeling for people, so they turn to the next stage, which is the search for immortality. When it is understood that immortality cannot be found through physical laws, they turn to material ways of immortality.
From painting cave murals in the Paleolithic Age to building huge monuments or temples in the Ancient Age, from collecting political ideas in a book to carving the name of your lover on a tree trunk, every human action is actually an effort to resist mortality. Regarding this subject, one of the most important thinkers of the Age of Enlightenment, René Descartes, demonstrated the ability to think about oneself by saying, " cogito ergo sum" , "I think, therefore I am".
(René Descartes)
In the process from beliefs to technology, culture has experienced a journey from the abstract to the concrete. At this point, concrete things have become symbols. Symbols do not only undertake the function of representation; they also create mystery. Thus, culture also carries a mystery within itself and this mystery is wondered by human beings, and as long as it cannot be solved, it is passed on from generation to generation as cultural accumulation.
Gozde Irem Zor
Bibliography:
Bauman, Z. , ''Globalization and Its Social Consequences'' Istanbul: Ayrıntı Publications, 2006.
Simmel, G., “The metropolis and Mental Life” , Classic Essays on the Culture of Cities. New York: Meredith Corporation, (1969).
Zernan, John, ''The Future Primitive'' , Kaos Publications.
Şenel, Alaeddin, ''History of Political Thought'' , Science and Art Publications.
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