The Concept of Culture. Culture as a Communication of Cultures. The World for the First Time

ABSTRACT In this section, Bibler once again explicates the meaning of the term “culture.” He first defines it as a form of simultaneous being and communication among people of different cultures and eras. The second definition he gives is that culture is a form of self-determination in the horizon of personhood, the self-determination of life, knowledge, and thought. The third is that culture is the world “for the first time.” Culture allows us, author and reader, viewer, and audience, an ability as if to recreate the world of objects—on the surface of a picture or the pages of a literary work—and this world is, at the same time, perceived in its absolute objectivity, in its independence from me. A work of culture is not destroyed or consumed but retains its significance for centuries. The world and objects begin to be understood as if they were works of art. Bibler also considers the style of communicating among people at each of the thresholds of culture. He emphasizes that the author always addresses his work. In this section, he also gives a brief description of the modes of thought of antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the modern era. He characterizes communication among cultures as one of the facets of the idea of a dialogue of logics.