Anthropology - Culture According to White\'s \"Energy

Anthropology - Culture

According to White's "Energy and the Evolution of Culture," culture is a multifaceted dynamic which operates on a few different levels. Quite literally, the author proposes the notion that there are three primary facets of culture and its expression. These are the technological, sociological, and the ideological parts of culture. However, the writer makes a point of noting that despite the fact that these different modes of culture are interrelated and both act upon and react to the forces of one another, they do not do so equally. White believes that the technological aspect of culture is the most dominant one, and effectively asserts its influence on the other two realms the most. Consequently, the author believes that culture evolves in accordance to technology and the technological aspect of culture.

Essentially, culture evolves because of technology's effect upon it. At the core of this notion advocated by White is the reality of what technology ultimately enables man to do. White, like many in Western society, believes that culture is a way for man to take care of his "animal" qualities -- his basic necessities such as feeding, clothing, and sheltering himself. Additionally, he believes that technology enables man to protect himself, as though there is no other way to live than to constantly endanger and have the need to fear others. Both of the other areas of culture (the ideological and the social) are impacted by technology and reflect technology's influence.

Thus, as technology refines itself and progresses, culture allegedly does as well. For instance, the fact that once horses were the main mode of transportation and are now replaced by cars (which are considered a technological advancement) is indicative of an evolution of culture. That evolution is considered better than the previous manifestation of culture supposedly because it allows people to consume more, to base an ideology on a more sophisticated expression of culture, and to kill more people in man's eternal need for protection.

If one were to base the evolution of United States culture since the 1950's strictly on the point-of-view advanced by White in "Energy and the evolution of culture," it has become much more sophisticated due to its increasing reliance on technology. Its applications of technology have diversified and become increasingly more pervasive. For instance, communication is much more effective now than it was during the 1950s when landline telephones and mail carriers were still the most advanced form of technology. Today's reliance on mobile devices and the internet certainly trump those, regardless of the fact that the instant connectivity and accessibility enabled by such contemporary technologies have devalued facets of communication and replaced long-awaited, heartfelt sentiment with catch phrases and tweets.