What is culture? There is no universal answer to this seemingly simple question. There are many definitions of this word, interpretations of this concept. So what is culture? Often we say about someone: “What man of culture". By this characteristic, we most often mean a polite, courteous person who knows the words "thank you" and "please", gives way and way, opens doors, lets them go ahead, is interested in well-being and health. Then it turns out that by culture we mean good manners? Yes. But not only, because sometimes we use the word "cultural" as a synonym for the word "educated". A very cultured person is a person who reads a lot, quotes Goethe or, well, knows latest news arts and sciences.
From the above, it follows that a cultured person is educated person With good manners. But shall we call cultured one who, for all his education and good manners, is selfish? The one who thinks only of himself, trying to look good in the eyes of others, but completely not caring about anyone else's problems besides his own? No. Consequently, culture also implies respect for others, concern for the convenience of others.
Thus, the concept of "culture" incorporates many components: good manners, education, respect for others. In addition, the features of a cultured person are his ability to correctly express his thoughts, the beauty of his speech, knowledge of etiquette, tact, rich spiritual world. That is, a cultural person can be characterized by the words of Dr. Astrov from Chekhov's play "Uncle Vanya":
"Everything should be beautiful in a person: the face, and clothes, and the soul, and thoughts."
Quite a lot of demands put forward by society to a cultured person. It would seem that it is extremely difficult to correspond to this status. But how nice it is to realize that you are known as a cultured person, that your behavior, manners, your way of life are admired and set as an example! Being a cultured person is quite fashionable today, so many try to imitate their culture with neat neat clothes, strict hairstyles, glasses that are popular today, which, according to the idea, should give the wearer an intelligent look. But in reality, impersonating a cultured person without being one is impossible: manners, speech, and the level of knowledge in various fields fail. You should not pretend to be a cultured person, it is better to try to become one! After all, it is possible!
Do I consider myself a cultured person? This question is quite sensitive, it is difficult to answer even to yourself. Most likely, I will not undertake to call myself cultural in full. This would place a very great responsibility on me. But I strive for this proud title, I try to become better. With small steps, I bring myself closer to this status: I read books that are recognized classical literature I try to be aware recent events world of culture and art, I try to be more tactful and polite with people, to be kinder to them, I try to competently build my speech. I want to become a cultured person to the fullest extent of the meaning of the word.
Especially acute today is the problem of the correctness of speech. How many problems the modern Russian language has! If earlier one of the main problems was dominance foreign words, then today it is the use of profanity, which is present in the speech of even children. What can we say about the inability to competently build a sentence, express your thoughts, use speech turns and relevant artistic means to enhance the expression of one's own speech. Today I cannot call my speech cultural. For the same reasons that I dare not call myself a cultured person in general. But I think that my age allows some shortcomings in this direction. But I am learning, striving, trying!
I consider the speech of the host of the First Channel, Ekaterina Andreeva, to be the standard of cultural speech. It just so happened that as a child I fell in love with listening to her, then still not quite understanding the meaning of the news that she told. And today I am convinced that the speech of Ekaterina Andreeva can serve as a model of cultural speech, which can be guided in an effort to speak correctly.
Culture is an integral part modern society, and to be a full-fledged member, you need to be a cultured person. No matter how unattainable it may seem to some of us, absolutely everyone is capable of cultivating a culture in themselves.
The world does not stand still and develops. However, at any time there were certain limits and restrictions that a person simply must comply with. That is why now I want to understand what it means to be cultural and civilized man.
A bit about terminology
As you know, you need to start understanding the issue with the definition of basic terms. What is the difference, or is there still a commonality of the concepts of "civilized" and It should be noted that there are several versions.
- The terms "civilization" and "culture" are considered as synonyms, inseparable concepts from each other. In this context, civilization is determined by the level of development of society, its cultural traditions.
- The terms "culture" and "civilization" are opposed to each other. He also liked to talk about this. So, according to his opinion, culture is something moral, something that is inherent in a person. And civilization requires from a person only external observance of the generally accepted human rules of coexistence in society.
- Very interesting is the opinion of O. Spengler about So, he considers culture as something cyclic. And when cultural development society reaches its peak, that is, civilization, there is degradation and extinction. And the culture is changing.
- N.A. Berdyaev argued that culture is something individual, special, inherent in a certain group of people. But civilization is a ubiquitous and most common phenomenon that can be repeated in many societies.
That is, one can conclude that these terms are exactly related to each other, regardless of the theory that considers them.
About people
A similar situation arises in the event that it is necessary to figure out what it means to be a cultured and civilized person. Again, since there is no consensus about these terms, it is very difficult to determine the designation of a cultural or civilized person. Here much depends on the society in which the individual is integrated. That is, in one social group some actions and statements may be normal, while in another they are completely unacceptable. This, by the way, often occurs when compared developed countries and African wild tribes.
human culture
But still: what does it mean to be a cultured and civilized person in an ordinary European society? This means - to adhere to those norms and rules that were previously adopted. By the way, some can go into oblivion, others can arise. For example, today no one greets by raising his hat. But, when you see a familiar person, you need to remove the headphones from your ears to say hello.
It should also be noted that the concept of "human culture" is closely related to the term "educated person". That is, a person must be spiritually rich. These are well-read people who try to develop and learn, regardless of the place of work, social class or availability higher education. A person may not have a high school diploma, but be spiritually rich.
Examples of cultured people
If you ask a group of people the question “what does it mean to be a cultured and civilized person?”, you can hear a lot of very different opinions in response. For one, a cultured person is one who does not litter on the street. The other puts forward broader and deeper requirements for the individual. But still, you can try to identify and consider examples of a cultured and civilized person.
- They are respectful even to strangers.
- A cultured person should also be moderately erudite.
- Constant learning and learning something new - distinguishing feature cultural person.
- A cultured person adheres to the rules of cohabitation in society. That is, he does not litter on the streets, he maintains order at home and in his native city.
An uncivilized person is called someone who does not follow these rules and is an asocial person.
cultured man
A cultured person is a rather rare phenomenon today. And the thing is that the concept of a "cultural person" includes many requirements, which, unfortunately, not every one of us meets. Let's consider what kind of person can be called cultural.
Modern cultured person
First of all, one who can be called a cultured person must have courtesy and good manners. Etiquette, the basics of behavior - this is exactly what makes a person cultured. This is by no means innate instinctive knowledge. They are acquired with age, parents teach us this, Kindergarten, school. In fact, etiquette is not based on empty, nothing meaningful rules, and on fundamental basis life in society. The ability to behave well can be improved by every modern cultured person.
How to become a cultured person?
What defines the concept of a cultured person? It is worth considering the defining features of a cultured person, and then we will find out what it means to be a cultured person. Let us enumerate the main distinguishing qualities of a cultured person, which should prevail in us.
External signs. They meet a person, as they say, by clothes. The first impression is almost always correct, so a cultured person is always presentable. appearance, dressed according to the situation, he has a competent speech, he knows the rules of etiquette and behavior in society well;
Character traits. The main features and characteristics of a cultured person, namely his character and personality traits, are responsibility, kindness, inborn politeness, generosity and sincerity, willpower and self-control, self-confidence. The signs of a cultured person, acquired with age and experience, laid down in his upbringing, should be a sense of proportion and tact, tolerance, lack of rudeness, respect for others, sympathy and compassion, readiness to help, self-giving and self-sacrifice;
Self-development. This is an equally important feature that determines cultural level person. Erudition and education, civilization and general knowledge about the world, reverence for knowledge and the ability to appreciate the beautiful - these are the main qualities of a person that determine what a cultured person should be. The ability to create and strive for new knowledge and skills, openness to everything new and unknown, willingness to learn and the desire for continuous self-improvement distinguish a cultured person from other people.
Cooperation with people. This means the ability to cooperate, work in a team, work for the common good, be able to sacrifice oneself for the sake of high goals. The signs that determine what kind of person can be considered cultural are the lack of commercialism, the ability to put personal interests below common goals and interests, the willingness to help and teach, share one's accumulated experience, knowledge and skills, the desire to learn and learn from others.
Devotion home country and her culture. This is another important sign of a cultured person. After all, a person who knows nothing about his own country, its history, people, national traditions. This quality largely depends on education and upbringing, on parents and the society in which a person grew up. However, his desire for new knowledge can independently educate a personality out of him.
It is difficult to enumerate all the qualities and signs of a cultured person. Everyone means by this characteristic something of their own. However, we have tried to present to you the main features of a cultured person, which can be developed and nurtured in yourself on your own. Strive for excellence and be cultured!
Man, no doubt, is a rational being, but this statement is not always applicable to each individual representative of humanity. Sadly, in the era of advanced technology and high scientific achievements, there are still individuals whose intellectual abilities and level of culture leave much to be desired.
What are the main qualities a modern person should have?
So, what set of qualities should a person have in order to be called a worthy member of a highly developed society? as show psychological research, each of us on a subconscious level already knows what should fill the modern mental healthy person. But there are also generally recognized character traits that need to be worked out. In the first place among them is the desire for development. In the conditions of the old world priority man was survival. Today, the living conditions of the majority have improved significantly and there is time for spiritual development and self-improvement. A healthy desire to become better (smarter, stronger, more beautiful, more talented, kinder) encourages us to overcome negative traits and develop positive qualities.
Humanity is a trait that also needs to be cultivated in oneself. Participation in charity events, active assistance to those in need, altruistic deeds develop humanity and make the world kinder. Another way to train humanity is to help ordinary people, for example, someone who fell on the street, lost something, etc.
Another important quality The deficiency of which often leads to conflicts and aggression is tolerance. Tolerance is a tolerant attitude to the personality of another person, to his opinion, actions, his otherness. We are all different and look at the world in our own way, but this should not be an obstacle to peaceful coexistence. Learn to accept people for who they are and stop imposing your opinion on them. And very soon you will notice how much easier and better your life has become.
What qualities should a cultured person have?
Over the millennia, our society has gone through great transformations. Gradually, people came up with new means of self-improvement and adjustment - constructive styles of interaction, adequate methods for solving conflict situations, morality, morality, human and legal laws. All this is the culture of society. 
As for a single person, a person can be called a cultural person who:
- know how to be grateful
- responsible for their actions
- educated
- respects others
- benevolent
- polite
- accepts the opinions of others, even those that differ from their own
- tactful
- brought up
- enterprising
A cultured person observes the norms of society, the team, and the family. He always knows the measure in his statements and actions. In addition, he tries to contribute to the development of society. A cultured person always behaves naturally, does not try to ingratiate himself with others. Hypocrisy and malicious sarcasm are not present in his manner of communication. He builds his own system of values, which does not contradict the norms and rules of society and does not go against his own morality and the principles of others.
Thus, an individual can be called a cultural one who has managed to combine positive traits and good relations to those around you. Of course, the set of features listed above is far from complete, because the concept of culture is very broad. But we can say with confidence that a person who has at least half of the qualities from this list can be called a worthy representative of a modern highly developed society.
The concept of "cultural person" is ambiguous, it is used in the broad and narrow sense of the word. In a broad sense cultural called a person who is spiritually rich, diversified, intellectually developed, morally and aesthetically educated, i.e. intelligent, possessing, above all, an internal culture.
Let's characterize traits of a cultured person.
Spiritual wealth - the presence of a person a wide range spiritual needs and interests and rich inner peace. A cultured person gives priority to spiritual rather than material values.
Versatile education - a person is competent not only in his specialty, but also in many other areas.
Intellectual development - the degree and depth of development of the mind, intellect.
Moral education - possession moral culture, knowledge and compliance moral standards and principles.
Aesthetic education - the formation of a sense of beauty and aesthetic taste.
In a narrow sense cultural they simply call a polite, well-mannered person, i.e. possessing an external culture, or a culture of behavior. External culture consists in observing the norms and rules of etiquette. External culture includes: a person’s manners, speech, form and style of clothing, the ability to behave, etc. The most important features of a person’s external culture are:
politeness,
upbringing,
tact.
Let's characterize them. A cultured person is first of all polite. Polite call behavior that corresponds to the rules of decency and manners accepted in a given society. The main thing in politeness is attention and respect for people, respect for human dignity. When interacting with people, you must adhere to golden rule of morality , formulated by I. Christ: Treat people the way you would like them to treat you.
On the meaning of politeness. Discuss the words of the writer Cervantes: "Nothing is given to us so cheaply, and is not valued by people so dearly, as politeness."
upbringing - this is politeness, which has turned into a habit, which has become the second nature of a person. An educated person automatically, without thinking, does what polite person knows, but does not always do, for example, greet at a meeting, let the elder go forward, give way to him, take off his hat in the room, etc. Good manners is a higher level of human culture compared to politeness.
Tact - this is a sense of proportion in human relationships, moral intuition, prompting a person the most faithful, cautious, delicate line of behavior in relation to others. The rules of behavior of a tactful person usually begin with a “not” particle: “don’t get into the soul”, “don’t touch on a sore point for a person”, “don’t aggravate”, etc. (“don’t rub salt in my wound”). Discuss the words of A.P. Chekhov: “A good upbringing does not mean that you don’t spill the sauce on the table, but that you don’t notice if anyone around you does it.”
Internal and external culture do not always coincide with each other and complement each other. A person can have an external culture, perfectly master the rules of etiquette, and at the same time, in his inner essence, be dishonorable, immoral. Those. behind external ostentatious politeness, he can mask his negative inner essence (his “rotten insides”). Ideal is a combination of internal and foreign culture, a combination of good manners and the ability to behave with the inner beauty, moral perfection of a person. The formation of such a person is the goal of education. In other words, the ideal and goal of education is comprehensive, harmonious development of personality, in the unity of internal and external qualities, spiritual and physical. The unity of spiritual and physical development is an ideal formulated back in Ancient Greece. Spiritual development (education) includes: moral, aesthetic, political, legal education, etc. And accordingly, this is aimed at the formation and improvement of moral, intellectual, psychological, political, etc. culture.
The process of formation and development of human culture is a purposeful, long, gradual and difficult process. Much here depends on the determination, efforts, perseverance, perseverance and patience of a person. Give sayings: "What a man sows, that he will reap." “Sow a good deed, reap a good habit, sow a good habit, reap good character but if you sow a good character, you will reap a good character and custom.” Man creates himself. But the responsibility for How he became and what he became, he also carries.
