Ideational And
Sensate Culture
Pitirim A Sorokin classified
societies according to their cultural development, which can be ideational, sensate
or a mix, with the most notable mix being idealistic. According to Sorokin
(1957), major civilizations evolve from an ideational to an idealistic, and
eventually to a sensate mentality...
The two basic opposite cultural
patterns are hence sensate which is materialistic and ideational which is
spiritual. A society is hence always in a materialistic or spiritual period, or
in a transitional, mixed period between faith and pure empiricism. Civilizations
tend to regularly alternate among these periods in a predictable manner. The
transition period between the two basic cultural patterns usually depicts a
notable increase in the prevalence of such crises as wars, inflation and moral
decadence (Brown, 2007). On the other hand, the idealistic state may depict a
harmonious synthesis among faith, reasoning and the senses e.g. in Greece
between 4th-5th centuries.
Sorokin observed that the
contemporary Western civilization, which is in an overripe sensate culture state
following the domination of this culture over the past five centuries, is
experiencing its most significant crisis. Yet the end of this culture is not in
sight, though Sorokin prophesied its fall into decadence and the subsequent
emergence of ideational or idealistic culture (Sorokin, 1957). The unfathomable
crises evident in this culture span politics, agriculture, commerce, industry,
environment, religion, justice, science, art, morality…
This essay will look at the
transitional causes from an ideational to a sensate culture, how the transition
has affected American culture and the outcome of the transition.
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Transitional causes
from ideation culture to sensate culture
The major cause for transition
from ideation to sensate is that either of the cultures is a half-truth, hence
an untruth. Once the false part of ideation grew to become the basis of culture
and social life in America, it got out of kilter eliciting strong opposition
(Nieli, 2006). Consequently, there was change and disintegration of ideation
with the society shifting towards sensate culture. When the sensate culture
exhibits its limitations, the pendulum will swing towards ideation culture
again, via such transition modes as idealistic.
Another cause is...
How this transition has
influenced American culture
There is a lack of conscience in the social, political and economic
lives of Americans, with special interest groups having a field day. This is
occasioned by a blurring
of lines between right and wrong, beautiful and ugly, and even true and false
(Nieli, 2006). There is a lot of fraud in the Western civilization as witnessed
in the Panama Papers scandal, with power being used to protect vast properties,
often ill-gotten property...
The family has disintegrated, being relegated to a convenience...
The sensate culture curtails freedom further via human trafficking, gun violence,
racism and wars...
The outcome of
transition from sensate culture
Notably, the vestiges of religious subcultures still linger despite most of the populace wallowing
in the sensate culture. If these subcultures hold on to their convictions, they
may provide models to guide the society to better tidings after the decadent
sensate culture (Sorokin, 1957).
Apart from religion, the irrepressible human spirit will realize the
“hollowness of the declining sensate culture” and hence rebel against the decadence (Nieli, 2006). Sorokin
(1957) observes that when...
References
Brown, Harold O. J.
(2007). The Sensate Culture: Western
Civilization between Chaos and Transformation. Eugene: Wipf & Stock
Publishers.
...
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