Judging Culture

Calculated Discipline's Epistemology (Part: 3)

Culture is collective judgments of a group of people over a large time. A group of people which creates a society is comparable to an organism which adopts certain factors by accepting or rejecting certain factors. These acceptances and rejections are based on collective judgments. What are collective judgments? Collective judgments are composed of three basic judgments which we have discussed in part 1 and 2 of the calculated discipline’s epistemology are as follows,

a- Practical judgments (Everyday life judgments). In everyday life our sensations though receiving data from environment but send selective information to brain to make life easier.
b- Artistic judgments (The judgments of appearances). It is detailed observation, especially to creative composition of objects related to concepts and ideas. Here colors, shades, timing and perspectives are important.
c- Aided judgments or instrumental judgments. The scientific judgments or use of instruments like microscopes, mass spectrometry etc for judgments of objects beyond our senses.

Studying societies through collective judgments provides us great insights in understanding the society in their very nature. Following are some points which make it more elaborate,

1- It provides us a tool to analyze evolution of a culture as we can logically and historically deduce that,

i) Practical judgment was first to evolve and it must influenced dominantly, the beginning cultures.

ii) Artistic judgments were second and it influenced the practical judgments by being more impressive and unique.

It was artistic judgments that put the foundations of real civilizations. Artistic judgments evolved from artistic observations to artistic compositions which had great economical, social, political military, philosophical and scientific impacts over societies. The effect of arts and art crafts are well documented and well researched. The human history is divided as Stone Age (Due to developments and use of stone instruments), Bronze Age, and Iron Age etc. These words are showing importance of tool making or art crafts which are results of developments of artistic judgments. The search for cultivable grains, extractable minerals and their use in different products requires artistic observations into earth, water, air, life and their cycles. The products that were results of artistic observations enabled ancient people to create empires that are mostly quoted in studying history.

iii) Aided Observation lead to scientific revolution that crossed the cultural boundaries and created a global culture. Aided judgments provided a base for all cultures to become more harmonized. The most quoted shift of cultures to more harmonized beliefs with the aid of aided judgments is shift from earth centric to sun centric views then from soul centric to biological centric shifts. Evolution of subatomic particles, elements, compounds, organism and simply cosmic evolution have made clear position of men in universe and in earth which have harmonized and brought closer the cultures to more global and humanist culture which still to have a long way to go to become a true humanist culture but are at least on the way.

2- Collective judgments create world views. It is the most wanted piece of information in analyzing and defining culture. Once we know what the source of world view is then it becomes easy to define and analyze cultures. World view not only steer the opinions and behaviors of individuals but also the progress and evolution of cultures. From perspective of world view we can go back to origin and evolution of cultures.

i) Collective judgments help us appreciate the differences as natural phenomenon and make intercultural dialogues with clear understanding and accepting of differences.

ii) It helps us to set up an educational system that nurture the minds of generations based on futuristic needs. A student attached to his society nourishes both his creative/emotional/artistic judgments and scientific judgments.

iii) It helps educators to divide their focus based on developmental stages while planning and deciding about educational programs and policies.

a- Early stages: Development of practical judgments by focusing on sensual and cultural education

b- Artistic judgments: Development of creative judgments by focusing on arts education

c- Scientific judgment: Development of rationality and critical thinking by focusing on scientific and philosophical education

3- It provides a tool for psychoanalyze a personality based on his biography based on his exposures to collective judgments. When we compare and analyze the composition of collective judgments of a culture or a society we focus on ratio of richness of its judgments or in other words we focus on composition of judgments. We can a personality’s works based on his reactions on the times he has been exposed to the collective judgments. The influence of the collective judgments in a time is key to judge the developments of his works.

4- Composition of collective judgments tells us about levels of organization in a society. Organizations and institutions define and shape the composition of the collective judgments. Certainly, lack of artistic and scientific organizations and institutions result in lacking of artistic and scientific judgments. The lack of artistic and scientific organizations also shows lack of social organizations. It is the loose and weak social organizations which fail to or feel fewer needs for setting of organizations to develop artistic and scientific judgments. Strong judgments, lead to higher levels of social organizations and artistic and scientific organizations.

5- We have seen the divisions of cultures into higher or lower levels of culture, natural or synthetic cultures and cultures attached a class group of society. Usually this division is done on levels of refinements of the judgments. Refinement of judgments is especially important in artistic judgments as artistic judgments are unique and individualistic. The uniqueness of artistic judgments is more elaborated by symbolic expressions. The symbolic expressions of artistic judgments are more powerful than world views. Most of the times it is symbolic expressions of the same ideas within people of common beliefs or common language that distinct them and their culture.

6- Composition of collective judgments also indicates the economic conditions of that culture at that time. Economically improved cultures have richer expressions of artistic and aided judgments. Though pure arts express world views but art crafts tell us the important tools of economy and economic conditions.

7- Collective judgments are composed of three basic elements of judgments. Though the compositions of judgments differ from culture to culture but as the elements are same so they make common humanist judgments also. We can find geographical and historical factors that influence distinctness and uniqueness of compositions in each culture.

8- Culture is becoming very important in modern societies. The reason for increasing importance is era of information and more competitiveness of businesses and financial activities. The judgments are very important in progressing as well as sustaining the progress of societies. Societies are struggling to develop the levels and diversities of skills, knowledge and imaginations. Societies with weak levels of organizations suffered from emigrations of their skills, knowledge and imaginations in a process known as brain drain to societies where higher levels of social organizations promised more sustainable progress. It is not only the underdeveloped or developing countries which suffered but some mistakes of developed countries also causing shifts of technologies and investments. The cheap skillful and knowledgeable work forces as well as cheap commodities, accommodations and lower taxes made some businesses to shift their businesses to other countries like China, Taiwan, Malaysia, etc. The modern world is evidence of importance of role of judgments and its composition in lives of people and in shape of societies. In modern world only those cultures will lead the world which generate and attract individuals and organizations with best judgments. Brain drain and business dislocations will shape the faces and identities of cultures and societies...

(NOTE; This knols was part of my series of efforts during 2004-2008 to build a Philosophical system which I left incomplete for a better time to return...)