Civilization and Culture

A current and major difficulty in civilizational studies is how to deal with the concepts of “civilization” and culture.” As these terms are simultaneously distinct and overlap, arose through a historical process that was key to modernity and are also at the root of a variety of disciplinary connections, they constitute a perfect case of semantic entanglement. Confusion has resulted from this entanglement and would be exacerbated should we not attempt to clarify them. Without clarification, the two concepts have already or will further become interchangeable in meaning and the use of both terms will depend to a great extent on what stance or perspective those engaged in this field of study adopt. Understandably, those engaged in civilizational studies feel free or even obliged to make up their own definition of the terms, often confounding them. If the two terms are interchangeable and their meaning confounded, it is difficult to see how we will understand the ubiquitous phenomenon of cultural appropriation or the ever closer interactions that happen daily everywhere in this increasingly globalizing age between the major geopolitical and economic powers such as America, China, Europe, the Arab world, India, Russia, and Japan. Hence, it is necessary to clarify the possible meanings of civilization and contrast them with the various meanings of culture. To achieve this, especially when there is already much confusion, the best procedure is to attempt a description rather than a definition of civilization. We may start simply by asking: What is a civilization?