Flier Andrey Yakovlevich,
Doctor of Philosophy, Professor,
Chief Researcher
Lykhachev Russian Research Institute
for Cultural and Natural Heritage
e-mail: andrey.flier@yandex.ru

The Key Question of Culture: What for?

Abstract: The author of the article gives reasons for considering culture as a safety program providing the collective character of human activity, social collaboration, interaction and communication, social integration and structuring. The article also discusses the role of different areas of social practices of in this process.

Key words. Culture, collective human activity, social behavior, ceremonial and ritual practice, language and writing, up-bringing and education, signal and symbol practice, self-idenification, forms of social dispensation.

[1] See, for example: Culture // Wikipedia. [e-resource] URL: http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/culture.
[2] See: Flier A.Ya. Culture as Social and Regulatory Program: the Initial Stage of Development // Culture of Culture. 2015. № 1. [e-resource] URL: http://cult-cult.ru/culture-as-a-social-regulatory-program-the-stage-of-formation/; Flier A.Ya. Culture as a Symbolic Activity: the Initial Stage of Development // Culture of Culture. 2015. № 1. [e-resource] URL: http://cult-cult.ru/culture-as-a-symbolic-activity-the-stage-of-formation/.
[3] Styopin V.S. Culture // Questions of Philosophy.1999. № 8. P. 61-71.
[4] See: Pelipenko A.A,. Yakovenko I.G. Culture as System. М.: Yaziki Russkoi Kulturi, 1998. P. 376.
[5] Flier A.Ya. Culture as the Evolution of Programs of Social Activity: Instinct, Custom, Rational Behavoir // Questions of Social Theory. Almanac of Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Science, M.: IF RAN, 2012. Vol. 6. P. 273-284.
[6] Cassirer, Ernst. Philosophie der symbolischen Formen. Bd 1-3. Вerlin: Bruno Cassirer, 1923-1929; White, Leslie Alvin. The Science of Culture: A Study of Man and Civilization. N.Y.: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, 1949.
[7] See: Kagan M.S. Human Activity. М.: Politizdat, 1974; Kagan M.S. Philosophy of Culture. Formation and Development. SPb.: Lan, 1998 and other works of the author.
[8] Stolyar A.D. The Origin of Graphic Art. М.: Iskusstvo, 1985; Sher Ya.A., Vishnyatsky L.B., Blednova N.S. The Origin of Symbolic Behavior. М.: Nauchny Mir, 2004.
[9] See also: Flier A.Ya. Essays on the Theory of Historical Dynamics of Culture // Flier A.Ya. Selected Works on the Theory of Culture. М.: Soglasiye-Artem, 2014.