Peter L. Berger and Robert Wartman’s Innovative Cultural Theory
The culture of a society, the shared habits and worldviews of a group, is essential to understanding how society functions. Peter L. Berger and Robert Wartman’s innovative cultural theory centers around the notion that culture is actively created and re-created through human processes, rather than passively received by individuals. This idea follows from their broader conceptualization of social change, which places the primary responsibility for change on the society itself. It is through the collective, accumulative action of individuals within a society that social change is initiated and maintained.
Berger and Wartman argue that the culture of a particular society is made up of multiple, overlapping components, which can be understood as its “cognitive profiles.” The cognitive profiles of a culture can be seen in the shared perspectives and reactions of its members. This shared behavior is created through the cumulative actions of individuals, and it is these actions that form the individual mental contexts that shape the culture of a society. Thus, Berger and Wartman argue that culture is not static, but is continually evolving as its members make individual decisions that shape the collective context.
The theory of cultural evolution proposed by Berger and Wartman gives rise to a dynamic, open-ended definition of culture. According to the authors, culture is both “encapsulated” and “open-ended”; it is both received from a specific environment and re-created by the individuals who inhabit it. The authors also argue that culture is dynamic and malleable; it is continually adapting to the changing needs of its members, and individuals can actively shape the culture of their society by interacting with others in their environments.
Berger and Wartman contend that culture can be best understood from a “totalistic perspective”, which takes into account both individual and collective processes. The authors’ emphasize the importance of exploring both the cultural and much-hinted material substrates of a culture, as well as the structural, functional, and ideological components of a society. This totalistic approach to understanding culture allows us to gain insight into both the subtle and overt aspects of a society, as well as how they interact to shape culture.
Berger and Wartman also stress the importance of recognizing culture as an evolving process rather than a static set of beliefs and behaviors. By acknowledging culture as a dynamic process of creation and re-creation, the authors emphasize the need to recognize that individual actions have an enormous impact on the formation of a culture. The authors contend that this dynamic process of cultural evolution allows us to both understand the past and recognize potential for change in the future.
Overall, Berger and Wartman present a provocative and innovative view of culture and social change. The authors claim that culture is not simply a static set of beliefs and behaviors, but is constantly being created and re-created by individuals within a society. They acknowledge the importance of exploring both individual and collective processes when attempting to understand a culture, and emphasize the need to recognize the dynamic nature of a culture. By doing so, it is possible to gain insight into how culture can influence the behaviors, perspectives, and values of its members. Finally, the authors remind us that social change is an ongoing process, and that it is essential to recognize and respect the potential of culture to be reshaped through the efforts of individuals and groups.
