Культурология
Savchenko A.
CULTURE AS A WAY TO SOCIETY
TRANSFORMATION
At the present stage,
the question of a new understanding of human essence and nature, a phenomenon
of human cultural evolution requires a thorough and comprehensive exploring,
since not only the future of man, but also the future of humanity depends on
man himself, on orientation of his actions and thoughts. With scientific
language available for everyone it is possible to understand and comprehend the
knowledge that humanity has kept since its inception.
The changes that are
taking place in science are to some extent correlated to the ancient knowledge
that has reached our days. New scientific discoveries in natural sciences in
field of genetics, ecology, environment, social biology, neurophysiology,
informational biology and epigenetics show the potential
evolutionary-biological capabilities of human. Man appears as a creator of his
life, as a complex self-organized system that is in interrelation with nature
and society and capable of development and evolution.
A distinctive feature of
the present day is the society’s search for some new philosophical ideas which
arise in various cultural trends and forms of culture. In 60-70's of the XX
century, with the emergence of such a scientific trend as epigenetics, there
appeared the opportunity to look at man from the viewpoint of his inner world,
the mechanisms that form and regulate his life, character, thinking, behavior
and culture [1]. The research in epigenetics proves that it is the environment
and the experience of man which he receives during the life, leads to directed
molecular changes in the genes. It is believed that these changes may be
transferred further, and affect children and grandchildren.
For the first time the
term epigenetics was introduced into the scientific use in 1942, by the
prominent geneticist Conrad Waddington from the United Kingdom, as a derivative
from the words «genetics» and «epigenesis» [4]. The physical nature of the genes had been studied very poorly yet then.
Modern scientists use the term in a more narrow sense, considering it as a
change in gene expression or cell phenotype caused by mechanisms that do not
affect the change in DNA sequence.
According to the
molecular biologist, Ph.D. B. Lipton, genes are just molecular «drawings»,
according to which a «contractor» builds cells, tissue and organs of the human
body [2, p. 8]. This «contractor» is our physical and energetic surrounding, in
other words, the environment, which is responsible for the cell functioning.
Since each cell is guided not by genes but by the information that comes from
this environment, the same thing can be said about human body as a whole.
Therefore, due to the information surrounding and conscious choice, man, being
a more complex system than a cell, is capable of building interrelations with
the environment quite deliberately.
Thus, modern scientists
consider a gene as a rather open system that really senses us and the
environment. In opinion of A. Sen`kov [3] a gene is no
longer regarded as a closed «black box» or «closed» stationary system for
storage of hereditary information because there appears more and more
scientific data on its adaptive qualities, plasticity, incredible ability to
instantly respond to changes in the internal and external environment.
Thus, research in
epigenetics shows that in fact our way of life, behavior, physiology and our
culture are controlled to a greater extent by our perception of the environment
and our beliefs than by our genes. B. Lipton comes to the important conclusion
that our body and consciousness, and, consequently, our lives are governed not
by genes which are specified by the hormones and neurotransmitters, but by what
we believe in [2, p. 22].
Society, nature and man
are interrelated and interdependent. The state of the one reflects much the
state of another. When applying the findings of epigenetics, it is possible to
predict that beliefs, ideas and views become the dominant in human perception
of the world, and as a result, they affect man’s biological state and,
subsequently, genes.
Under radical
socio-cultural transformation of awareness of the role of our beliefs and
views, both individual and collective, in the formation of our lives offers us
unlimited possibilities and leads to positive changes. Man appears responsible
for his life, choice, thoughts and actions. Therefore, the way man perceives
his life, reacts to those or other circumstances, in what he believes and what
he is convinced in, after all, determines the indices of his biological
systems, vital functions, culture and behavior.
We believe that the man
of the XXI century has the potential to reconsider his understanding of his own
nature and essence, and to become a perfect, self-sufficient and
self-regulating system that possesses unlimited capabilities to change. And
what the changes it will be – it will entirely depend on both man
himself and on the socio-cultural environment in which he resides, on the ideas
and beliefs that exist and are being recognized there, thus forming his outlook
and perception of the surrounding world.
Therefore, culture is a
method for formation of the corresponding personality type, which is grounded
on a particular worldview, of a special form of being in which man exists,
interacts and develops. Having powerful methods for influencing the minds of
people, the culture may and has to bring some positive changes into the
development of man and society, to contribute to the formation of a new
outlook, the starting point of which should be Man as a creative and active
personality who creates his own life and own culture.
References:
1. Ванюшин Б.Ф. Эпигенетика сегодня и завтра. Вавиловский журнал генетики и селекции / Б. Ф. Ванюшин. ― 2013, Том 17, №
4/2 ― С. 805–832.
2. Липтон
Брюс. Умные клетки: Биология убеждений. Как мышление влияет на гены, клетки и
ДНК: перев. с англ / Брюс Липтон. — М.: ООО Издательство «София», 2013. — 224 с
3. Сеньков О. Гены, которые мы
меняем / Олег Сеньков // В мире науки № 11, С. 50-59, 2008.
4. Waddington, C. H.
1953. Epigenetics and evolution. Symp.
Soc. Exp. Biol 7:186-199