2.9 Culture And Creativity

After all that has been said, it is obvious that cutlure and creativity are inseparable. Surprisingly, beyond this book, the inter-relations between culture and creativity are not that clear. This can be seen by looking at many of dictionary definitions of ''culture,'' such as these taken from the One Look dictionary (www.onelook.com), which, in turn, takes entries from a great deal of other dictionaries, such as Miriam-Webster Online Dictionary (www.w-m.com), Cambridge International Dictionary of English (dictionary.cambridge.org), and others:
Quick definitions (Culture)
...noun: the tastes in art and manners that are favored by a social group
...noun: the attitudes and behavior that are characteristic of a particular social group or organization (Example: "The developing drug culture")
...noun: a particular society at a particular time and place
...noun: all the knowledge and values shared by a society
...noun: a highly developed state of perfection; having a flawless or impeccable quality
...
All the above definitions of culture lack the most important point -- its development. Development is included in the very idea of culture as such and, thus, must be reflected in its definition. For example, ''culture is the development of the tastes in art and manners that are favored by a social group,'' or ''culture is the development of the attitudes and behavior that are characteristic of a particular social group or organization,'' or ''culture is the development of a particular society at a particular time and place,'' and so forth. In other words, all of the above stated definitions are related to the current subject at hand (the culture of mankind) in the sense that they have been born within culture and continue to give birth to other forms of culture. If we disregard the continuous process of the development of culture as part of its nature, all that will remain will be nothing more than complex forms of behavior. Culture and creativity are interrelated and interdependent; they are practically synonymous. Culture is the embodiment of novelty of human life in all possible dimensions. For example, we noted earlier that an author creates not only a work, but also a new alter ego and a new audience. If novelty stops coming in, all the culture developed thus far will immediately turn into forms of behavior only, and, as I said, essentially would not differ from some complicated forms of animal life. Likewise, if thinking stops, speech loses sense and doesn't differ from animal communication.
We can summarise all the above said in a paradoxical way (the only right way to do so): culture is creation of forms of culture.
One more important dimension in the culture-creativity tandem is worthy of recollection. It is author-to-audience relations. Remember, a single piece of art represents culture when it serves as a medium for dialogue, provoking an act of free human will, when it is read, watched, listened to, empathized with, feared, thought of, discussed, etc. That means that culture presumes, encourges, promotes, develops and depends on a creative audience.