Alternative Enlightenment and Theology of Culture:A New Critic of Matthew Arnold's Theory of Culture
Matthew Arnold's theory of culture,as a unique kind of humanistic and political thought,can be further clarified only if it is placed in the whole genealogy of modern Western intellectual history.Arnold's theory of culture is deeply influenced by the European Enlightenment spirit,and at the same time,it is closely associated with the current social situation and historical tradition of Britain,thus can be viewed as an"alternative enlightenment".However,culture defined by Arnold cannot replace religion in essence,and may even be constructed as a new kind of religion.The ancient Greek culture advocated by Arnold is by no means the absolute and eternal spiritual utopia of human civilization.More importantly,Arnold has evaded and prevaricated the issue of the distribution of power,which is the most acute and critical.All these defects eventually reduced Arnold's theory of culture to a"theology of culture".Nevertheless,Arnold's thoughts on"what should culture do",can still provide valuable inspiration for today's contemporary culture studies.
Matthew Arnoldtheology of cultureculture studiesWestern modern thoughts
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