The Interpretation of Cultures

Causal-functional integration refers to the form of integration that characterizes social structure, where “all the parts are united in a single causal web; each part is an element in a reverberating causal ring which ‘keeps the system going’” (145). In Chapter 6, its distinction from logico-meaningful integration supports Geertz’s revision of functional theory through the demonstration that social and culture systems have different forms of integration, and thus are often incongruent. Such tension clarifies the relationship between religious belief and practice, and secular life.

Cockfighting is a blood sport in which two specially bred and groomed roosters are placed in a pit to fight one another until one dies or is injured beyond the ability to continue fighting. Geertz argues that in Balinese culture, cockfighting is a form of deep play, in which status rivalries among competing social factions are symbolically represented.

In Chapter 2, Geertz defines consensus gentium as “a consensus of all mankind” (38), i.e. universals that are believed to apply to every human. Seeking a consensus gentium in Enlightenment and alternative anthropological views of the concept of culture has obscured that what defines humanity is the variety and particularity of culture systems.

Cultural relativism is a 19th century anthropological theory that tries to universally define the human. Developed on the basis on Darwinian evolutionary theory, cultural evolution holds that social change arises from the change of cultural information, which is capable of directing individual’s behavior. Geertz takes issue with the theory, noting that the concept of what of the human is becomes “engulfed in one or another of the terrible historical determinisms” (37).

Cultural relativism is a theory that holds that another individual’s customs and beliefs cannot be measured against one’s own, but rather are to be understood within the context of that individual’s culture. First articulated by Franz Boas in the late 19th century, cultural relativism became popular in the mid-20th century. Geertz finds it an inadequate approach to dealing with the concept of man, since it dissolves an individual “without residue, into his time and place” (37) in the search for universals that define the human.

In general understanding, culture refers to the collective customs, beliefs, social institutions, arts, and habits of a particular society. However, in anthropology and other social sciences, culture refers to a variety of analytical concepts applied to the study of human societies. In The Interpretation of Cultures, Geertz provides a conception of culture that serves his analysis of various facets of human society: For him, culture is “interworked systems of construable signs” (14) that orient the individual to their given society.

Deep play, a concept coined by English 18th century philosopher Jeremy Bentham, refers to a game in which the stakes are so high that it is irrational to participate. The concept is central to Geertz’s analysis of Balinese cockfighting in Chapter 15, as he demonstrates what is at stake symbolically and how Balinese men come to rationalize their participation in cockfighting.

The Enlightenment refers to a period of intellectual and philosophical development in 17th and 18th century Europe, characterized by an emphasis on rationality, positive science, and the separation between traditional forms of power, such as religious and paternal rule, and the civil structure of the state. The Enlightenment was also characterized by ideals of freedom, progress, tolerance, and fraternity among men. Chapter 2 addresses the impact of the Enlightenment’s concept of culture on the concept of man.

Epochalism describes an emphasis on “"The Spirit of the Age” (240), or the “general outlines of the history of our time, and in particular to what one takes to be the overall direction and significance of that history” (240), to define the identity and contents of the national polity. In Chapter 9, Geertz demonstrates how epochalism’s tension and intermingling with essentialism appears in nationalist ideologies.

Essentialism describes an emphasis on “The Indigenous Way of Life” (240), i.e., the “local mores, established institutions, and the unities of common experience” (240), like tradition and culture, to define the identity and contents of the national polity. In Chapter 9, Geertz discusses the tension between and the intermingling of essentialism with epochalism in the nationalism of newly independent states.

Ethnography refers to the branch of anthropology that deals specifically with culture. In Chapter 1, Geertz asserts that ethnography is defined by thick description that simultaneously describes and interprets the construable signs/symbols of a specific object of study to make those signs/symbols legible to the reader.

All three terms refer to an approach within anthropology that conceives culture as “composed of psychological structures by means of which individuals guide their behavior” (11). In Chapter 1, Geertz argues that this approach, the idea that one can write a systematic set of rules for a culture and then follow them to appear native to a culture, obscures the aim of anthropology, which is not to become or mimic natives, but rather to seek to converse with them.

Ideology refers to a set of ideas and ideals brought together into a comprehensive doctrine to give meaning to political belief and practice. It is the primary subject and point of analysis in Part 4 of The Interpretation of Cultures, in which Geertz discusses the role and articulation of nationalist ideology in newly independent nation-states. For Geertz, ideology is a culture system that “make[s] an autonomous politics possible by providing the authoritative concepts that render it meaningful” (218). In Chapter 8, Geertz’s demonstrates how evaluative conceptions of ideology in the social sciences render empirical analysis ineffective; he argues that conceiving of it as a cultural system in non-evaluative terms allows the social scientist to understand how it arises and how it functions as a sociopolitical process.

Logico-meaningful integration refers to “a unity of style, of logical implication, of meaning and value” (145) that characterizes the way a culture system forms a whole out of its symbolic elements. Geertz discusses logico-meaningful integration in Chapter 6. Its distinction from causal-functional integration serves his conceptual revision of functional theory.

Geertz’s concept of mind refers to “a class of skills, propensities, capacities, tendencies, habits” (58), making it “neither an action nor a thing, but an organized system of dispositions which finds its manifestation in some actions and some things” (58). For Geertz, conceiving the mind in dispositional terms allows a more comprehensive and concurrent analysis of biological, psychological, sociological and cultural determinants of mental life, in addition to establishing a psychic unity of mankind through exploration of cultural specificities.

Nationalism is an ideology that emphasizes identification with one’s nation and its interests. In Part 4, Geertz’s discusses its development and manifestations (including its failure) in the move towards independence and in the aftermath of formal independence in newly independent nation-states. Nationalism is most concretely discussed in Chapter 9.

In Weberian theory, rationalized religion refers to more logically coherent, generalized, and abstract beliefs and practices that are less intertwined with the details of secular daily life. It is featured in Chapter 7 as the starting point for Geertz’s analysis of internal conversion of Bali’s traditional religious system.

In Chapter 4, Geertz provides a definition of religion:

(1) a system of symbols which acts to (2) establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by (3) formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and (4) clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that (5) the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic (90)

The numbers denote the phrases in the definition that he unpacks to develop the cultural dimension of religion and demonstrate how religious belief and practice attune one’s idea of a cosmic order and one’s human experience in both sacred and secular settings to one another.

Semiotic is an adjective describing something that is characterized by signs and symbols that give meaning. It applies to the nature of culture, which consists of meaningful signs and symbols that orient the individual to the social environment.

In Chapter 2, Geertz defines a symbol as “anything, in fact, that is disengaged from its mere actuality and used to impose meaning upon experience” (45). In Chapter 4, he restates this definition as “any object, act, event, quality, or relation which serves as a vehicle for a conception” (91) of meaning. The term is significant throughout Geertz’s discussion: Symbolic structures define culture.

Teknonymy is a system of naming people by describing whose parents they are. For example, “mother-of” or “father-of” are teknonym. Coined by anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor, teknonymy is of interest in Chapter 14, where Geertz identifies it as one of the person-definition orders in Bali that holds clues about Balinese conceptions of personhood, time, and social behavior.

Thematic analysis refers to an approach to qualitative data that looks for common themes, even if the subjects/topics appear variant and unrelated. Geertz advocates its use for theoretical development on a specific culture.

Tjogjog is a Javanese concept that refers to the congruence between two elements that allows them to give meaning to each other. In Chapter 5, Geertz articulates the relationship between ethos and world view in religious belief and practice through tjogjog, translated as “to fit” (129), because “between the approved style of life and the assumed structure of reality, there is conceived to be a simple and fundamental congruence such that they complete one another and lend one another meaning” (129)

Traditional religion, in the Weberian conception, refers to a religion characterized by rigid, established social practices that are “thoroughly intertwined with the concrete details of ordinary life” (171). In Chapter 7, Geertz uses Weber’s polar conception of traditional religion versus rationalized religion to discuss the internal conversion of Bali’s traditional religious system.

The Varna System is a Hindu method of hierarchical social classification. It includes four descending classes of Brahmana, Satria, Wesia, and Sudra, each defining and characterized by the public roles that people in that class can/should occupy. Geertz discusses the Varna System in Chapter 14, as it plays a significant role in the Balinese person-definition orders of status titles and public titles.