A Normative Theory of Culture

The time has come for forthright consideration of a rapprochement between the humanist and social science concepts of culture.This is needed, not only to overcomeone version of the "two-cultures"split, but also to provide a better theoretical foundation for the sociology of culture. It is arguedthat this outcome may be achieved in a theory that stresses (a) the psychic source of culture in the quest for person-centered meanings and authentic experience; (b) symbolic elaborationas a major resource for, and product of, this quest for meaning; and (c) the esthetic potential in symbolization as well as in consummatory experience. Thus culture is viewed as expressive symbolism and any social product,including language, contributes to culture insofarr as it sustains symbolic experience. A proper theory of culture is normative in the sense that it permits diagnostic evaluation of both symbolism and symbolic experience.