Culture and Anarchy by Mathew Arnold

Culture and Anarchy by Mathew Arnold

Introduction

Culture and anarchy is a notorious philosophical work written by the celebrated Victorian poet and critic Mathew Arnold. This essay was first published in ‘Cornhill Magazine’ during 1867-’68. Its full name is “Culture and Anarchy: An Essay in Political and Social Criticism”.

What is culture and anarchy?

Frist we can define what is the meaning of Culture. Here are some definitions of Culture.

Culture....,

In Latin, Culture had a range of meanings…………

Inhabit

Cultivate

Protect

Honour with worship etc.

Later on, culture began its complicate modern history etc. Culture was a new social and intellectual movement.

· Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving.

· A culture is a way of life of a group of people

· Culture is a collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.

· The term ‘Culture’ which originally meant the Cultivation of human mind and soul.

Arnold’s Views on Culture

According to his views, he says that,

“Culture is a study of perfection”

Culture is the process, means it is always going on. And also it is not static but it is changeable. It is study of social and moral perfection. And Arnold says that culture is internal thing. As power of God remains within, similarly culture also remains within.

Arnold sees culture as a study of perfection. 

He says:

“To conceive of true human perfection as a harmonious perfection, developing all sides of our humanity; and as a general perfection, developing all parts of our society. For if one member suffers, the other member must suffer with it; and the fewer there is that follow the true way of salvation. The harder that way is to find.”

Arnold considers that one should see the moral, social and beneficent characters in culture. Culture remains within us in the form of manner. The culture is the only thing that differentiates human from animal. It makes perfect our humanity. Culture has nothing to do with religion or God. But at some they are a part of the culture. One cannot possess culture but surely one can have personal mental growth by culture. Culture conceives perfection.

Culture as the folk-spirit having a unique identity, and culture as cultivation of waywardness or free individuality. The first meaning is predominant in our current use of the term "culture," although the second still plays a large role in what we think culture should achieve, namely the full "expression" of the unique or "authentic" self. Culture is music, literature, painting and sculpture, theater and film. A Ministry of Culture refers to these specific activities, sometimes with the addition of philosophy, scholarship, history.

Culture is not the frivolous or useless thing, but it has a very important function to fulfill for mankind. Here Arnold says about the purpose of the culture. That is to keep the mark of human perfection. According to Arnold “Culture is harmonious perfection, developing all sides of humanity as a general perfection”

Culture: sweetness and light

Arnold considers that, Culture is also connected with the idea of Sweetness and Light. The Greek word ‘aphuia’ means well grown or graceful. He connects the idea of culture with sweetness and light. He explains the idea with the help of Greek words ‘aphuia’ and ‘euphuia’. Here the man ‘euphyes’ is going towards ‘sweetness and light’

 Anarchy

· A state of society without government or low.

· A state without any government control.

· Freeform government society

.

· Anarchy refers to a society, entity, group of persons or single person without recognition of authority.

· A state of lawlessness or political disorder due to absence of governmental authority.

Anarchy- According to Arnold

Anarchy means “utopian societies of individuals who enjoy complete freedom without government.” the term ‘anarchy’ refers to a society without a publicly enforced government or violently enforced political authority. When we use in this sense, anarchy may or may not be intended to imply political disorder or lawlessness.

Arnold in this chapter he talks of one’s freedom. And this freedom is sung very much by Englishmen. But yet, they never thought about end of such freedom for which it is to be desired. Arnold accepts the idea of personal freedom, but he tells about complete freedom. Arnold thinks in this way:

Arnold and three classes: 

 

He has divided the society of England into three classes and analyzes them with their virtue and defects. His scrutiny of three classes of his time proves him good critic.

1:- The barbarian

• Free minded

• Liberty

• Rich class people

• Fashionable

• Free to live and think

• More Civilized

The barbarian or we can say that the aristocratic class. They are champion of personal liberty and often anarchical in their tendencies yet they have their own individualism field, sport and manly exercises are a fashion with them. Their external styles in manners, accomplishments and powers are inherited from the Barbarians.

2:- The Philistine

• Money-Makers

• Commerce

• Idea about business

• Industrialist

• Tea-meeting etc.

The middle class, known by their wisdom, expert of industry and found busy in industrialization and commerce. Their eternal inclination is to the progress and prosperity of the country by building cities, railroads and running the great wheels of industry. They have produced the greatest mercantile navy. So, they are Empire builders. In this material progress, the working class is with them.

3:- The Populace

• Hard working

• Narrow minded

• Bad activity

• Poverty

• Slum area

• Orthodoxy

• Rigidity

This class is known raw and half developed because of poverty and other related diseases. This class is mostly exploited by the barbarian and philistine. The author finds democratic arousing in this class because they are getting political consciousness and are coming out from their hiding places to assert an English man’s heaven born privilege of doing as one likes, meeting where he likes, breaking what he likes.

“Doing as one likes” is an outcome of middle and working class. But at some extent it brings chaos and anarchy in society. He says that business and trade is highly represented by our middle and working class. They do too much hard work.

Arnold considers that their people are rough and uncultivated. And so, there must be system of law and discipline. In short Arnold says that freedom or personal freedom is necessary, but not on the shoulder of chaos or anarchy. Arnold’s point is that, one must think in proper, right way. One must have clear sight to see things in their real forms.

There are also other forms of anarchy that attempt to avoid the use of coercion, violence, force and authority, while still producing a productive and desirable society. Anarchy is also a technical issue of economic science.

The idea of personal freedom is brought up by Englishman. And with it they have the concept of anarchy inherently. In politics the slogan of middleclass was this:

There were two sides in politics also. They two were giving different ideas or concepts of personal liberty. On one side this personal freedom privileged aristocracy. And the middle class people were tempted by the political idea of personal freedom. The mass put blind faith in it and the modern spirit of anarchical tendency took shape. So, the MASS, the working classes of Arnold’s time started asserting their right to do what they like, meet where they like and enter where they like.

Hebraism and Hellenism

Arnold talks about the great idea to know and the great energy to act. Both are the most potent forces, and they should be in harmony by the light of reason. So, they are Hebraism and Hellenism.

Hellenism

•  Spirit of mind
• Spirit of Greek
• Open minded
• Knowledge
• Thought for Practical
• Follow the platonic Idea etc.

Hebraism

• Spirit of thought
• Spirit of Bible
• Narrow mindedness
• Religious
• Thought only for God
• Follow the biblical idea

The final aim of Hellenism and Hebraism is the same as man's perfection and salvation. Arnold further discusses that,

“The supreme idea with Hellenism or the Greek Spirit is to see things as they really are, and the supreme idea of Hebraism or the Spirit of Bible is conduct and obedience.”

Hebraism and Hellenism both are directly connected to the life of human beings.

“Hellenism keeps emphasis on knowing or knowledge,

Whereas Hebraism fastens its faith in doing.”

The aim of both is the partaking of divine life with knowledge and action. He describes that the Bible reveals the truth which awards the peace of God and liberty. Hellenism face to face with Hebraism. Hebraism was renewed and purged, but Hellenism of Renaissance lost its moral character. One thing must be viewed that Hellenism is of Indo-European growth and Hebraism is of Semitic growth. Those who belonged to Indo-European stock showed their natural affinity to Hellenism.

“Hellenism acquires spontaneity of consciousness with a clearness of mind, and Hebraism achieves a strictness of conscience with its clarity of thought. In brief, Hebraism shows stress on doing rather than knowing, and follows the will of God. Its primary idea is absolute obedience to the will of God.”

Arnold talks about the idea of immortality as illustrated by St. Paul, the Christian saint and Plato, the Greek philosopher, but the both have left something unexplained. So, the problem of human spirit is still unsolved in both Hebraism and Hellenism.

Renaissance re-established Hellenism and man's intellectual impulses in Europe and Puritanism embraced the blessings of both Hellenism and Hebraism. The defeat of Hellenism by early Christianity and the defeat of Hellenism by Puritanism was the result of Renaissance stress on the progress of humanism and science.

Conclusion

In the essay Matthew Arnold categorizes six different terms such Culture, Anarchy, Sweetness, Light Hellenism and Hebraism so with the help of these different terms he has described his views on Culture in which he also says that Culture and Anarchy both are different thing and at last he also explains the difficult terms like Hellenism and Hebraism.