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La idea de cultura
¿Cuántos significados ha tenido la idea de cultura desde la Ilustración hasta el posmodernismo? ¿Por qué la cultura ocupó el lugar de la religión? ¿Y cómo se relacionan los conceptos de naturaleza y cultura? ¿Es la cultura un antídoto contra la política o es su verdadera salsa? ¿Son compatibles la cultura como esfera de valores estéticos universales y las culturas como formas particulares de vida? ¿Qué será de la cultura en la era del hipercapitalismo? Terry Eagleton, uno de los críticos culturales más influyentes del momento, propone su particular visión de un debate político cada vez más candente. Como en sus libros anteriores, Eagleton vuelve a arremeter contra la complacencia política del mundo ilustrado y del humanismo liberal, pero también contra las ilusiones del posmodernimo, las contradicciones del multiculturalismo y las evasiones del izquierdismo académico tan de moda en Estados Unidos. El giro cultural ha supuesto un avance fundamental para la política, desde luego, pero paradójicamente también ha provocado su desplazamiento. ¿Qué postura habrá que adoptar ante semejante contradicción? ¿Es posible pensar dialécticamente en una época que ha olvidado para siempre la dialéctica? Eagleton prolonga su peculiar modelo marxista, influido aún por su primer maestro, Raymond Williams, pero incorporando, de manera crítica, enfoques posestructuralistas (psicoanálisis y deconstrucción), así como la experiencia reciente de movimientos sociales, étnicos y políticos. La idea de cultura es, sin duda, una de las introducciones a la crítica cultural y política más originales y útiles que se pueden leer hoy día.
208 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2000
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About the author
Terry Eagleton
160 books1,281 followersWidely regarded as England's most influential living literary critic & theorist, Dr. Terry Eagleton currently serves as Distinguished Professor of English Literature at the University of Lancaster and as Visiting Professor at the National University of Ireland, Galway. He was Thomas Warton Prof. of English Literature at the University of Oxford ('92-01) & John Edward Taylor Professor of English Literature at the University of Manchester 'til '08. He returned to the University of Notre Dame in the Autumn '09 semester as Distinguished Visitor in the English Department.
He's written over 40 books, including Literary Theory: An Introduction ('83); The Ideology of the Aesthetic ('90) & The Illusions of Postmodernism ('96).
He delivered Yale's '08 Terry Lectures and gave a Gifford Lecture in 3/10, titled The God Debate.
He's written over 40 books, including Literary Theory: An Introduction ('83); The Ideology of the Aesthetic ('90) & The Illusions of Postmodernism ('96).
He delivered Yale's '08 Terry Lectures and gave a Gifford Lecture in 3/10, titled The God Debate.
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April 30, 2014"إنجيل هذا العصر"، "إنجيل الثقافة" ... كان ذلك وصف شوقى جلال مترجم كتاب "فكرة الثقافة"، الكتاب يتناول تاريخ الثقافة على مدى ثلاثة قرون حتى مطلع القرن الواحد والعشرين، كما يقدم شرحاً وتحليلاً فكرياً عميقاً للنظريات الثقافة التى ارتبطت بالتيارات السياسية والاجتماعية فى عصرها.
الجدير بالذكر أن تيرى إيجلتون آثر إهداء كتابه إلى المفكر العربى الذى يتميز بدراساته الثقافية، ألا وهو إدوارد سعيد.
الجدير بالذكر أن تيرى إيجلتون آثر إهداء كتابه إلى المفكر العربى الذى يتميز بدراساته الثقافية، ألا وهو إدوارد سعيد.
March 20, 2020
"بل أن قدرة هوية ثقافية على الانكباب على السخرية, ونقد الذات هي مقياس نعرف من خلاله مقدار الأمن والطمأنينة التي تنعم بهما هذه الهوية الثقافية."
يتناول الكتاب فكرة الثقافة بكل تعقيداتها وتشابكاتها. الكتاب يبحث في معانيها من حيث كونها تمثيلاً للثقافة الرفيعة والفنون وبين كونها تعبير عن العادات والتقاليد لمجتمع وبين كونها نزعة استهلاكية حديثة. يبحث الكتاب الصراع بين أنماط الثقافة المختلفة والصراع بينها وبين السياسة والطبيعة. باختصار أن العنوان يلخص فكرة الكتاب فهو يحاول تشريح الثقافة وتحديد مدى القصور والفعالية في كل جانب من جوانبها والأفكار التي أرتبط بها عبر التاريخ
"يقول هيردر إن"ما يشكل جزأ لا يتجزأ من عالم الأفكار لدى أمة من الأمم لا يمكن أن يدخل عقل أمة ثانية, في حين تحكم عليه أمة ثالثة بأنه ضار ومؤذ
أذا لم عليك قراءة هذا الكتاب؟ لا أعرف, فأنا لا أعتقد أنه كتاب سيغير نظرتك إلى العالم أو سيضيف شيئاً جديداً في طريقة نقدك للعالم من حولك.
"فنحن من نهذب أنفسنا, وبذا نكون مثل صلصال بين أيدينا, حيث يجتمع في الجسد الواحد ذاته كل من الضال والمهتدي, الخاطئ والقديس."
سأحاول أولاً أن أضع لكم السلبيات في هذا الكتاب ثم سأعقب عليها بالايجابيات وبعدها يمكنكم التقرير أن كنتم تريدون قراءة هذا الكتاب أم لا.
الكتاب-وهذه ليست بنقطة سلبية بالمعنى الدقيق للكلمة- قد لا يصلح للمبتدأين في الأدب أو الفلسفة مثلي. فهناك الكثير من المصطلحات التي يعاملها إيغلتون كما لو أنها تحصيل حاصل مثل ما بعد الحداثة والتفكيكية. وهو هنا لا يستخدم المصطلحات بنفس المعنى الذي يمكنك البحث عنه في ويكبيديا بل يستخدمها بطريقة تتطلب منك فهم جميع جوانبها لكي تفهم كيف يستخدمها بالضبط. لكن هذه ليست بالمشكلة الكبيرة فأغلب هذه المصطلحات يتم شرحها في المتن ولكن بعد فوات الأوان.
"والحق أن ما من شيء أبعد عن البراءة السياسية من تسويد صفحة السياسة باسم الإنسان والإنسانية. وأولئك الذين يدعون الحاجة إلى فترة من الحضانة الأخلاقية لتهيئة البشر للمواطنة السياسية يضمون في صفوفهم من ينكرون على الشعوب المستعمرة حقها في أن تحكم نفسها بحجة أن عليها أن"تتحضر" بما يكفي لأن تمارس ذلك بصورة مسؤولة. ويغفل هؤلاء حقيقة أن أفضل تهيئة للاستقلال السياسي هي الاستقلال السياسي نفسه."
العيب الثاني هو السرد الطويل وهذا العيب هو في نفس الوقت أحد أهم مميزات هذا الكتاب. فالكاتب لا يبوب أفكاره فبعض الفصول قد تصل إلى سبعين صفحة متواصلة وهو يحول من موضوع إلى موضوع فبعد نهايتك تكون قد تهت ولا تذكر كيف وصلت إلى هنا. وليس هنالك فاصل بين الأفكار فجميعها متداخلة مع بعضها البعض, لذلك قد تحتاج إلى قراءة هذا الكتاب إلى أكثر من مرة لكي تربط بين أفكاره أو لكي تتذكرها بشكل أدق.
"جميع الثقافات متشابكة إحداها مع الأخريات؛ وما من واحدة بينها منفردة ونقية, وإنما كلها مهجنة مُولدة, ومتخالطة, ومتمايزة الخواص إلى أبعد حد, وغير واحدية, كما يقول إدوارد سعيد."
حسناً لهذا الكتاب ايجابية واحدة وهي أنه ممتع. حسناً قد تساءلون كيف يكون ممتع وهو يحوي أجزاء صعبة ولا يمكنك تذكر أغلب المواضيع لأنها متداخلة مع بعضها البعض. لا أعلم, لكنه ممتع. فالسرد الطويل على الرغم من أنه عيب لكنه ميزة رائعة في هذا الكتاب. فيمكن تشبيه هذا الكتاب بمحاورة بينك وبين حبيبك لساعات وساعات نعم قد يستنفذ هذا الشيء وقتك ونعم لا يمكنكم تذكر كل شيء تحدثتم عنه, ولكنها تجربة ممتعة. بالتأكيد كل شخص شاهد مسلسل ولم يستطع الصبر وأنهى جميع الحلقات في جلسة واحدة يفهم ما أقوله. فأحيانا لا نريد معرفة النهاية أو الخاتمة بل نريد لهذه التجربة, لهذه المحاورة أن تستمر للأبد, نعم أنها ليست مثمرة جداً فالأفضل هو تقسيمها وتبويبها لكي تصبح سهلة المضغ. لكن أين المتعة في ذلك!
"أن مجتمعاً مفرطاً في ماديته لابد أن يولد هادميه الساخطين والأفظاظ."
تنقل حنة إرندت في أحدى مقالاتها مثل روماني يقول"سقراط وأفلاطون أصدقائي, ولكني أقدر الحقيقة أكثر منهما." وثم تعقب بمقولة لشيشرو " أفضل أن أخطأ مع أفلاطون على أن أصيب مع غيره من الفلاسفة."
فنعم لا أضمن لك أن الكتاب سيفيدك بشيء حقاً لكنه قد يكون كما كان لي صدفة حسنة منعتني من الانتحار, لأنه ساعدني في أدراك متعة مهمة قد أغفلت ثقافتنا عن أخبارنا عنها وهي متعة الاستماع لشخص ذكي يفكر والحديث والجدال والشجار والعراك مع هذا الشخص. أنها متعة العيش التي يجب أن لا نفقدها.
"حيث انتقلت عباءة المقاومة من المناضلين السياسيين إلى الشعراء."
وهل يمكنني شكر المترجم ثائر ديب على نقله هذا الكتاب وبهذه الطريقة الرائعة التي تفوق الوصف.
"فالطبيعة إذا, تنتج الثقافة التي تغير الطبيعة."
"وكلما كان يتزايد ظهور الحضارة القائمة على أنها حضارة نهابة ومغشوشة, كان يتزايد اضطرار فكرة الثقافة لأن تكون موقفاً نقدياً."
December 20, 2011
Eagleton is not the first to note that ‘culture’ is one of the most complex words in the English language (indeed for many of us of a certain age that observation stems from Raymond Williams – whose influence on Eagleton is implicit and explicit throughout this book, including where Eagleton notes Williams’s case that perhaps only ‘nature’ is a more complex word than ‘culture’). There is little doubt that ‘culture’ has become more complex since Williams first made his case in 1976, in part because of the growing comparative significance of identity politics, in part because of the commercialising and commodifying pressures that have contributed to the reification of ‘culture’, and in part because of the decline in the significance of materialist politics and a rejection of ‘overarching’ narratives associated with forms of postmodernising theories.
This is the issue Eagleton confronts in this fabulously argumentative and polemical manifesto on ‘culture’, challenging the reification and objectification of culture’s explanatory, almost deterministic, power where there is a sense that it explains all. Eagleton sees a need for a much more nuanced relationship between nature and culture, between culture and its material forms (such as the equation of culture and nation-state), reminds us of the powerful and profound differences between cultural politics and the politics of culture while lamenting the failure of many to recognise or remember the distinction, teases out the distinctions between culture as ‘civility’ and culture as ‘civilisation’, and argues, in the end, that “culture can be too close for comfort. This very intimacy is likely to grow morbid and obsessional unless it is set in an enlightened political context, one which can temper these immediacies with more abstract, but also in a way more generous, affiliations. We have seen how culture has assumed a new political importance. But has grown at the same time immodest and overweening. It is time, while acknowledging its significance, to put it back in its place.” (p 131)
These, the book’s final sentences, reveal much of Eagleton’s approach – his critique of an excessive attachment to an ill-defined sense of ‘culture’ alongside his willingness to argue for a generalisable sense of identity as human, for a non-naturalistic sense of human nature, and in the spirit of Williams to advocate a common culture based not on the superficialities of telephone boxes, sporting events, and cups of tea but on a fundamental social change designed to transform the limits of cultural life and its whole way of being drawing on the playwright David Edgar to argue for four concepts of culture – as civility, as identity, as commercialism and as radical politics – and calling for us to step beyond the limits of identifying small acts of resistance in everyday engagements with the commercial to build a transformative politics of culture.
It is a fine analysis – not one that I agree with in every detail but one that makes a compelling and largely convincing case for removing ‘culture’ from its pedestal, while not falling into the trap of prescribing how that should be done. A fabulous, highly readable (even when dealing with big ideas of western thinking) and engaging book.
This is the issue Eagleton confronts in this fabulously argumentative and polemical manifesto on ‘culture’, challenging the reification and objectification of culture’s explanatory, almost deterministic, power where there is a sense that it explains all. Eagleton sees a need for a much more nuanced relationship between nature and culture, between culture and its material forms (such as the equation of culture and nation-state), reminds us of the powerful and profound differences between cultural politics and the politics of culture while lamenting the failure of many to recognise or remember the distinction, teases out the distinctions between culture as ‘civility’ and culture as ‘civilisation’, and argues, in the end, that “culture can be too close for comfort. This very intimacy is likely to grow morbid and obsessional unless it is set in an enlightened political context, one which can temper these immediacies with more abstract, but also in a way more generous, affiliations. We have seen how culture has assumed a new political importance. But has grown at the same time immodest and overweening. It is time, while acknowledging its significance, to put it back in its place.” (p 131)
These, the book’s final sentences, reveal much of Eagleton’s approach – his critique of an excessive attachment to an ill-defined sense of ‘culture’ alongside his willingness to argue for a generalisable sense of identity as human, for a non-naturalistic sense of human nature, and in the spirit of Williams to advocate a common culture based not on the superficialities of telephone boxes, sporting events, and cups of tea but on a fundamental social change designed to transform the limits of cultural life and its whole way of being drawing on the playwright David Edgar to argue for four concepts of culture – as civility, as identity, as commercialism and as radical politics – and calling for us to step beyond the limits of identifying small acts of resistance in everyday engagements with the commercial to build a transformative politics of culture.
It is a fine analysis – not one that I agree with in every detail but one that makes a compelling and largely convincing case for removing ‘culture’ from its pedestal, while not falling into the trap of prescribing how that should be done. A fabulous, highly readable (even when dealing with big ideas of western thinking) and engaging book.
May 16, 2012
Nem sequer vou tentar acabar de ler isto que já estou com um pó, do tamanho deste universo e outro, à cadeira para a qual tenho de ler isto!
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April 3, 2015one of the greatest books abt how culture can bring up closeness to people , yet bring conflict .
November 4, 2024
foi uma leitura desafiadora e continua sendo uma “digestão” difícil, tendo em vista que essa obra foi minha primeira inserção nos “Estudos Culturais”. gostei muito de ter começado esse estudo, fazia um tempo que eu vinha flertando com o tema. como eu ainda não tenho capacidade pra escrever uma resenha sobre a leitura e eu uso muito esse aplicativo para consulta de leituras feitas, vou copiar a orelha do livro, porque está excelente.
“Neste livro, Terry Eagleton propõe a superação das definições antropológica e estética do conceito de cultura, cujo amplo uso nos prende a uma noção de cultura "debilitantemente ampla e outra desconfortavelmente rígida". Antes, mostra-nos a transição histórica da palavra, de sua denotação inicial de um processo material para as "questões do espírito", e como o termo codifica "questões filosóficas fundamentais".
Eagleton entende que a ideia de cultura significa uma rejeição "tanto do naturalismo quanto do idealismo", ressaltando a tensão "entre fazer e ser feito, racionalidade e espontaneidade, que censura o intelecto desencarnado do iluminismo, tanto quanto desafia o reducionismo cultural de grande parte do pensamento contempo-râneo". Também ressalta sua função de extrair da diversidade a identidade unitária que permite o estabelecimento do Estado moderno, destacando a relação dos termos cultura e civilização, que de sinônimos passam a ter significados antagôni-cos. O autor aborda o problema da crise contemporânea da ideia de cultura, que difere das crises anteriores por sua afirmação de uma identidade específica no lugar da sua transcendência, já que todas essas identidades "veem a si mesmas como oprimidas, aquilo que era antes concebido como um reino de consenso foi transformado em um terreno de conflito". Ou seja, "cultura" deixou de significar um espaço de valores no qual podíamos encontrar outro ser humano, um meio para resolver rivalidades políticas, para se transformar no "próprio léxico do conflito político".
A obra discute também os choques culturais como "parte da forma que assume a política mundial do novo milênio". Chamando a atenção para o fato de que não é o conteúdo da alta cultura o que está em jogo, mas os significados de seu uso, Eagleton lembra que é "uma leitura obtusa da cultura ocidental tratá-la simplesmente como o registro de uma experiência específica, culturalmente limitada". Igualmente, parte para uma leitura do problema da identidade, salientando que a "disputa entre alta cultura, cultura como identidade e cultura pós-moderna não é uma questão do cosmopolita versus o local", mas uma questão geopolítica, o confronto "entre a civilidade ocidental e tudo aquilo com que ela defronta em outros lugares".
No contexto desse amplo panorama conceitual, Eagleton debate a dialética da natureza e da cultura, além de estabelecer um diálogo profícuo com Marx, Nietzsche e Freud sobre as forças que com ela interagem. Resgatando o conceito das vulgatas que permeiam muitos dos discursos sobre o problema da cultura, ele possibilita uma nova e aprofundada visão sobre questões centrais do mundo contemporâneo, como a homogeneização da cultura de massas, a função da cultura na estruturação do Estado-Nação, a construção de identidades e sistemas doutrinários. A ênfase no significado de cultura torna-se vital para entendermos sua nova função política.”
“Neste livro, Terry Eagleton propõe a superação das definições antropológica e estética do conceito de cultura, cujo amplo uso nos prende a uma noção de cultura "debilitantemente ampla e outra desconfortavelmente rígida". Antes, mostra-nos a transição histórica da palavra, de sua denotação inicial de um processo material para as "questões do espírito", e como o termo codifica "questões filosóficas fundamentais".
Eagleton entende que a ideia de cultura significa uma rejeição "tanto do naturalismo quanto do idealismo", ressaltando a tensão "entre fazer e ser feito, racionalidade e espontaneidade, que censura o intelecto desencarnado do iluminismo, tanto quanto desafia o reducionismo cultural de grande parte do pensamento contempo-râneo". Também ressalta sua função de extrair da diversidade a identidade unitária que permite o estabelecimento do Estado moderno, destacando a relação dos termos cultura e civilização, que de sinônimos passam a ter significados antagôni-cos. O autor aborda o problema da crise contemporânea da ideia de cultura, que difere das crises anteriores por sua afirmação de uma identidade específica no lugar da sua transcendência, já que todas essas identidades "veem a si mesmas como oprimidas, aquilo que era antes concebido como um reino de consenso foi transformado em um terreno de conflito". Ou seja, "cultura" deixou de significar um espaço de valores no qual podíamos encontrar outro ser humano, um meio para resolver rivalidades políticas, para se transformar no "próprio léxico do conflito político".
A obra discute também os choques culturais como "parte da forma que assume a política mundial do novo milênio". Chamando a atenção para o fato de que não é o conteúdo da alta cultura o que está em jogo, mas os significados de seu uso, Eagleton lembra que é "uma leitura obtusa da cultura ocidental tratá-la simplesmente como o registro de uma experiência específica, culturalmente limitada". Igualmente, parte para uma leitura do problema da identidade, salientando que a "disputa entre alta cultura, cultura como identidade e cultura pós-moderna não é uma questão do cosmopolita versus o local", mas uma questão geopolítica, o confronto "entre a civilidade ocidental e tudo aquilo com que ela defronta em outros lugares".
No contexto desse amplo panorama conceitual, Eagleton debate a dialética da natureza e da cultura, além de estabelecer um diálogo profícuo com Marx, Nietzsche e Freud sobre as forças que com ela interagem. Resgatando o conceito das vulgatas que permeiam muitos dos discursos sobre o problema da cultura, ele possibilita uma nova e aprofundada visão sobre questões centrais do mundo contemporâneo, como a homogeneização da cultura de massas, a função da cultura na estruturação do Estado-Nação, a construção de identidades e sistemas doutrinários. A ênfase no significado de cultura torna-se vital para entendermos sua nova função política.”
May 4, 2025
empezó muy aburrido con la etimología 🥱😴🛏️pero del capítulo 2 al 5 está todo genial, me encanta sus reflexiones sobre cómo se aborda el cuerpo en el arte desde distintas posiciones políticas
September 3, 2014
يبدو ان مفاهيم مثل المواطن العالمي والعولمة والثقافة المشتركة والهوية والقومية الثورية فرضت نفسها على جدول اعمال الكوب في الثلاثة عقود الاخيرة
يتعرض الكاتب في الكتاب لقضايا ويوضح ان معظمها لم يحسم بعد مثل ازدواجية الثقافة وعدم تماهيها مع نفسها وعلاقتها للطبيعة ويناقش المذاهب التي تناولت الثقافة منذ نشأة التيارات اليسارية والانسانية والتأسيسية الراديكالية وحتى نشؤ نظرية مابعد المودرنزم ويعرض ما إذا كانت الثقافة قد تقد ترايقا للسياسة وينتقد بعض المثقفين الراديكالين والذين توجهوا الى الثقافة العليا كي تمثل نفسها في الثقافات الشعبية مالم يكن لهم اهتمام اصلا بذلك المجال
وهنا نحب نوجة كلمة لوزير الثقافة الدكتور المحترم علاء عبد العزيز ... فشل الراديكاليون في ضرب جذور الثقافة العليا في اعماق الثقافات الشعبية ولم تترك اي تاثير كل كتابات الراديكالين في العقود الماضية ...اشبع بيها يا برنس ! الثقافات لا تأخون !
يتعرض الكاتب في الكتاب لقضايا ويوضح ان معظمها لم يحسم بعد مثل ازدواجية الثقافة وعدم تماهيها مع نفسها وعلاقتها للطبيعة ويناقش المذاهب التي تناولت الثقافة منذ نشأة التيارات اليسارية والانسانية والتأسيسية الراديكالية وحتى نشؤ نظرية مابعد المودرنزم ويعرض ما إذا كانت الثقافة قد تقد ترايقا للسياسة وينتقد بعض المثقفين الراديكالين والذين توجهوا الى الثقافة العليا كي تمثل نفسها في الثقافات الشعبية مالم يكن لهم اهتمام اصلا بذلك المجال
وهنا نحب نوجة كلمة لوزير الثقافة الدكتور المحترم علاء عبد العزيز ... فشل الراديكاليون في ضرب جذور الثقافة العليا في اعماق الثقافات الشعبية ولم تترك اي تاثير كل كتابات الراديكالين في العقود الماضية ...اشبع بيها يا برنس ! الثقافات لا تأخون !
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January 11, 2014Terry in his book "The idea of culture" (2000), presents several meaning of cultural. He explains the culture as sense of identity, loyalty and ethics. He distinguishes the different meaning and history of culture during several centuries. In addition, he tries by different ways to introduce to general reader the modernity argues around culture. In one chapter he talks about the complex relation between culture and nature; also explains the possibilities for creating common culture. In addition, the author analysis cultural theories from social and political point of view. Terry highlights the variety of culture, culture position in crisis and the way to have a common culture.
Book name: The Idea Of culture
Author: Terry
Book name: The Idea Of culture
Author: Terry
June 21, 2015
Honestly, I'm confused. There's some brilliant stuff in there, but then chapter 4 happens, and it's all downhill from there. All of a sudden, the book gets shallow and prejudiced, and Mr Eagleton starts sounding like a frustrated old man, full of anger. First part of the book - great, second part - sad.
A bit of a disappointment.
Također, hrvatski prijevod je kriminalno loš, gramatičkih grešaka tona, naročito onih na osnovnoškolskoj razini (č/ć, ije/je), toplo preporučam izdavačkoj kući Jesenski i Turk da investiraju u lektore, jer je ovo strašno.
A bit of a disappointment.
Također, hrvatski prijevod je kriminalno loš, gramatičkih grešaka tona, naročito onih na osnovnoškolskoj razini (č/ć, ije/je), toplo preporučam izdavačkoj kući Jesenski i Turk da investiraju u lektore, jer je ovo strašno.
May 4, 2017
I have to re read it for deeper understanding.
December 10, 2025
To be honest, Terry Eagleton’s book is somewhat difficult to read and understand, partly because of his Marxist–dialectical style of writing. One moment you think he is advancing a particular argument, and the next moment he immediately overturns the very point he just made. As a result, for much of my reading, I was trying to figure out what position he ultimately wanted to express.
Overall, in this book Eagleton criticizes T. S. Eliot’s “elitist common culture,” as well as postmodern culturalism, identity politics, and cultural relativism (the tendency to reduce all issues to cultural differences, which risks obscuring structural social problems). Eagleton affirms Raymond Williams’s democratic notion of a “common culture,” which conceives of culture as the whole way of life of humanity. For Eagleton, ideology forms the core of culture, and cultural criticism is fundamentally the analysis of the ideologies embedded in cultural practices and texts. Its task is to deepen our understanding of the nature of culture and thereby serve as a path toward human emancipation and revolutionary transformation.
He begins with etymology, tracing the historical and philosophical development of the word culture, re-anchoring the concept in material conditions and economic structures. He then identifies three semantic shifts in the term culture from the nineteenth century onward—since the Industrial Revolution and the rise of modernity—as it gradually came to signify: (1) a critique of capitalism, (2) a notion of an entire way of life, and (3) a concept increasingly restricted to the arts. Eagleton argues that these three meanings are not independent of one another; rather, they overlap and permeate each other at different historical moments. In this way, culture becomes a discourse that critically engages modern civilization.
Eagleton emphasizes the internal divisions within culture—between Culture and culture, between universal culture and particular cultures. This opposition, he argues, is an illusion: the two are in fact isomorphic and interconnected. Their relationship resembles that between particularity and universality. Although they appear opposed, they are structurally similar, mutually entangled, and together they suppress what Eagleton calls the “concrete particular.” Universality works by capturing a historically specific experience and projecting it as an eternal truth—for instance, elevating the particular history of the West into a universal narrative of human history.
Eagleton also highlights the dialectical relationship between culture and nature. Just as consciousness can shape bodily responses, consciousness is itself constrained by the body. Nature is not simply the Other of culture; it is a kind of inert force internal to culture. Likewise, culture is not constructed through purely cultural means—it is also conditioned by nature. Human beings stand at the crossroads of nature and culture: we cannot fully reside in nature, nor can we fully settle into any stable cultural identity. It is precisely this permanent symbolic dislocation that makes history possible. At the end of the book, Eagleton warns readers that we must place culture back into an “enlightened political context,” so as to “restore culture to its proper place,” lest our intimacy with culture become “pathological and obsessive.”
However, the book also has limitations. Eagleton writes from an elitist standpoint and does not examine marginal cultural forms. At times, culture is not merely a matter of difference; certain cultural practices possess genuine value because they manifest contradictions and struggles. We should therefore recognize the agency, resistance, and autonomy present in some marginal cultures.
Another limitation is the ambiguity of Eagleton’s solutions. Although he offers a strong critique of culturalism, he does not provide a clear alternative. If we are not to approach culture through culturalism, then how exactly should we engage with culture?
Overall, in this book Eagleton criticizes T. S. Eliot’s “elitist common culture,” as well as postmodern culturalism, identity politics, and cultural relativism (the tendency to reduce all issues to cultural differences, which risks obscuring structural social problems). Eagleton affirms Raymond Williams’s democratic notion of a “common culture,” which conceives of culture as the whole way of life of humanity. For Eagleton, ideology forms the core of culture, and cultural criticism is fundamentally the analysis of the ideologies embedded in cultural practices and texts. Its task is to deepen our understanding of the nature of culture and thereby serve as a path toward human emancipation and revolutionary transformation.
He begins with etymology, tracing the historical and philosophical development of the word culture, re-anchoring the concept in material conditions and economic structures. He then identifies three semantic shifts in the term culture from the nineteenth century onward—since the Industrial Revolution and the rise of modernity—as it gradually came to signify: (1) a critique of capitalism, (2) a notion of an entire way of life, and (3) a concept increasingly restricted to the arts. Eagleton argues that these three meanings are not independent of one another; rather, they overlap and permeate each other at different historical moments. In this way, culture becomes a discourse that critically engages modern civilization.
Eagleton emphasizes the internal divisions within culture—between Culture and culture, between universal culture and particular cultures. This opposition, he argues, is an illusion: the two are in fact isomorphic and interconnected. Their relationship resembles that between particularity and universality. Although they appear opposed, they are structurally similar, mutually entangled, and together they suppress what Eagleton calls the “concrete particular.” Universality works by capturing a historically specific experience and projecting it as an eternal truth—for instance, elevating the particular history of the West into a universal narrative of human history.
Eagleton also highlights the dialectical relationship between culture and nature. Just as consciousness can shape bodily responses, consciousness is itself constrained by the body. Nature is not simply the Other of culture; it is a kind of inert force internal to culture. Likewise, culture is not constructed through purely cultural means—it is also conditioned by nature. Human beings stand at the crossroads of nature and culture: we cannot fully reside in nature, nor can we fully settle into any stable cultural identity. It is precisely this permanent symbolic dislocation that makes history possible. At the end of the book, Eagleton warns readers that we must place culture back into an “enlightened political context,” so as to “restore culture to its proper place,” lest our intimacy with culture become “pathological and obsessive.”
However, the book also has limitations. Eagleton writes from an elitist standpoint and does not examine marginal cultural forms. At times, culture is not merely a matter of difference; certain cultural practices possess genuine value because they manifest contradictions and struggles. We should therefore recognize the agency, resistance, and autonomy present in some marginal cultures.
Another limitation is the ambiguity of Eagleton’s solutions. Although he offers a strong critique of culturalism, he does not provide a clear alternative. If we are not to approach culture through culturalism, then how exactly should we engage with culture?
February 1, 2023
"Cuanto más vital es, más difícil es que cumpla una función conciliadora; y cuanto más conciliadora es, más ingrata se vuelve". "La cultura sugiere una dialéctica entre lo artificial y lo natural, entre lo que hacemos al mundo y lo que el mundo nos hace a nosotros". "No somos ninguna maravillosa síntesis de naturaleza y cultura, de materialidad y sentido, sino, más bien, seres anfibios a medio camino entre los ángeles y las bestias"
Terry Eagleton se propone, como dice al final del libro, "poner en su sitio a la cultura". Para ello, da unas coordenadas básicas de la cultura en cinco capítulos: habla del desarrollo del término cultura y de su crisis en el contexto de "guerras culturales" en que vivimos ("la cultura es un campo de batalla" dice varias veces), pero también de su relación con la naturaleza (qué es natural qué es cultural etc) y de si podría convertirse en algo relativamente plural sin morir en el intento. La cosa es que son muchas perspectivas diferentes para una cuestión compleja y por eso da la sensación de que solo las sobrevuela dando ideas básicas de diferentes autores pero sin mojarse mucho. Me han gustado el segundo, el tercero y el quinto capítulo, pero el que es una locura es el segundo porque se la saca hablando de los dos problemas fundamentales del concepto cultura (su extensión y el dilema sobre si es argumental o necesaria). Eagleton, además de ser un señor con una cara muy simpática y de abuelo que daría pan a las palomas y a los patos en el parque de Manchester suele muy lúcido argumentando, pero este libro no me ha sorprendido tanto; a veces me daba la sensación de que daba vueltas en torno a lo mismo y de que sacaba una jeta que no le pega con esas facciones bonachonas para pasarse por alto los problemas que no sabe resolver. Hay ideas interesantes y que me han aportado mucho: la cultura se parece a la naturaleza en que puede a veces negar nuestra autonomía pero a la vez se diferencia de ella en que podemos intentar modificarla y tenemos aún algún margen de maniobra. En definitiva, "la cultura es, a la vez, concreta e impalpable". Obra que dibuja muy bien problemas interesantes pero que no se atreve a darles respuesta, ni siquiera a intentarlo, por eso creo que no es la mejor de Eagleton. Pero no pasa nada, está bien escrita y es agradable de leer por lo que a lo tonto me la he devorado enterita, sobra alguna cosa, aunque bueno, nos da una visión lúcida y moderna, tal vez algo ambiciosa por tratar demasiados temas.
Terry Eagleton se propone, como dice al final del libro, "poner en su sitio a la cultura". Para ello, da unas coordenadas básicas de la cultura en cinco capítulos: habla del desarrollo del término cultura y de su crisis en el contexto de "guerras culturales" en que vivimos ("la cultura es un campo de batalla" dice varias veces), pero también de su relación con la naturaleza (qué es natural qué es cultural etc) y de si podría convertirse en algo relativamente plural sin morir en el intento. La cosa es que son muchas perspectivas diferentes para una cuestión compleja y por eso da la sensación de que solo las sobrevuela dando ideas básicas de diferentes autores pero sin mojarse mucho. Me han gustado el segundo, el tercero y el quinto capítulo, pero el que es una locura es el segundo porque se la saca hablando de los dos problemas fundamentales del concepto cultura (su extensión y el dilema sobre si es argumental o necesaria). Eagleton, además de ser un señor con una cara muy simpática y de abuelo que daría pan a las palomas y a los patos en el parque de Manchester suele muy lúcido argumentando, pero este libro no me ha sorprendido tanto; a veces me daba la sensación de que daba vueltas en torno a lo mismo y de que sacaba una jeta que no le pega con esas facciones bonachonas para pasarse por alto los problemas que no sabe resolver. Hay ideas interesantes y que me han aportado mucho: la cultura se parece a la naturaleza en que puede a veces negar nuestra autonomía pero a la vez se diferencia de ella en que podemos intentar modificarla y tenemos aún algún margen de maniobra. En definitiva, "la cultura es, a la vez, concreta e impalpable". Obra que dibuja muy bien problemas interesantes pero que no se atreve a darles respuesta, ni siquiera a intentarlo, por eso creo que no es la mejor de Eagleton. Pero no pasa nada, está bien escrita y es agradable de leer por lo que a lo tonto me la he devorado enterita, sobra alguna cosa, aunque bueno, nos da una visión lúcida y moderna, tal vez algo ambiciosa por tratar demasiados temas.
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June 20, 2020
"The very notion of liberating cultural difference implies that this is a good all round, which in turn implies a politics of universal equality. To this, ironically, many devotees of identity politics are either hostile or indifferent."
"But no culture can be entirely negative, since just to achieve its vicious ends it must foster capacities which always imply virtuous uses. Torture requires the sort of judgement, initiative and intelligence which can also be used to abolish it"
"Art is fatally compromised by a society which enthuses over it only in the auction room, and whose abstract logic strips the world of sensuousness. It is also tainted by a social order for which truth has no utility, and value means what will sell"
"... Since the 1960s, however, the word 'culture' has veered upon its axis to mean almost exactly the opposite. It now means the affirmation of a specific identity - national, sexual, ethnic, regional - rather than the transcendence of it. Ans since these identities all see themselves are suppressed, what was once conceived of as a realm of consensus has been transformed into a terrain of conflict"
"A literary education has many virtues, bust a systematic thought is not "
"Americans use the word 'America' much more than Danes use the word 'Denmark' or Malaysians 'Malaysia'. No doubt this is what happens when your view of other countries is for the most part through a camera lens or from a bomber"
"... culture is more the product of politics than politics is the dutiful handmaiden of culture."
July 22, 2024
Terry Eagleton foi um dos primeiros escritores acadêmicos que eu li mais seriamente e que me fez gostar desse tipo de escrita e buscar sempre mais e mais conhecimento em livros de não-ficção. Ao longo dos anos acabei lendo outros livros do autor além do primeiro: Teoria da Literatura, uma Introdução. Mas este A ideia de cultura sempre me provocou uma reação ambígua. Se por um lado me dava vontade de ler, pelo tema, a cultura, por outro eu fazia vista grossa porque poderia ser mais uma daqueles livros que jogam a sua armadilha com um título enganador. Bem, no final das contas é um livro legal, principalmente para quem- diferente de mim - está começando a discutir cultura. Ele trata sobre a origem da origem da palavra "cultura" e suas três principais acepções, além de tratar um capítulo sobre Guerras Culturais. Bom, mas poderia ter entregado mais, principalmente sabendo do histórico de Eagleton como acadêmico e ensaísta.
February 13, 2020
Yazar post modernizm eleştirisi yapacağım. Kapitalizm ile komünizmi Dövüştüreceğim. Ve kapitalizm içerisinde yaşayan kültürü perişan edeceğim diye bu kitapta kafayı yakmış. Dolayısıyla benimle kafa mı yaktı epey. Daha önceki kitaplarında çok başarılı olduğuna şahit idim Teddy Eagleton'ın Bu sebeple bir yıldız vermeye elim gitmedi.
September 11, 2018
Das definições mais amplas até as mais restritas, a obra recupera caminho histórico, numa forte abordagem dos estudos culturais, com um diálogo constante com a obra de Raymond Williams.
November 30, 2018
Great ideas regarding culture! worth reading and pondering on his ideas
November 22, 2020
غير سلس العبارة الترجمة مفهومة نوعا ما.
April 3, 2023
Primer capítulo magnífico. A partir del tercero se fue metiendo en una senda que me interesó mucho menos.
7/10
7/10
August 29, 2024
“Culture is not only what we live by. It is also, in great measure, what we live for.”
November 24, 2013
Terry in his book "The idea of culture" (2000), presents several meaning of cultural. He explains the culture as sense of identity , loyalty and ethics. He distinguish the different meaning and history of culture during several centuries. In addition, he tries by different ways to introduce to general reader the modernity argues around culture. In one chapter he talks about the complex relation between culture and nature; also explains the possibilities for creating common culture. In addition , it analysis cultural theories from social and political point of view. Terry highlights the variety of culture , culture position in crisis and the way to have a common culture.
January 8, 2009
"Though culture, as we shall see, is still not politically sovereign, it is intensely relevant to a world in which the joint wealth of the three richest individuals is equal to the combined wealth of the 600 million poorest. It is just that the culture wars which matter concern such questions as ethnic cleansing, not the relative merits of Racine and soap operas."
February 1, 2013
Um, stavila sam "rating" iako i dalje nemam u sebi tu mogućnost percipiranja sviđa li mi se nešto ili ne ako je to nešto ujedno i ispitna literatura. (potpuno nepotrebno objašnjenje, ali eto, što sad.)
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April 18, 2007Accessible, illuminating, good read.
September 10, 2016
A small book about culture but a difficult want that needs to be read many times before one understands it
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