Various sociologists have given the following definitions of civilization :-
- According to MacIver and Page , “……then by civilization we mean all the organization and work planned by human beings to control the conditions of their life. It is mechanical. It subsumes not only our methods of social organization, but also our techniques and material equipment.”
- According to Max Weber, “Civilization includes useful material things or methods of making them and using them. But on the contrary, culture consists of ideal values and mental and emotional aspects of a group.” Merton and Thurnwald etc. are also in favor of this view of Weber. But Sorokin has denied this.
- According to Ogburn and Nimkoff, “The form of civilization can be defined as the stage after the epiorganic culture.”
- According to A.W. Green, “A culture can become a civilization only when it has a written linguistics, a philosophy, a highly specialized department of labor, a complex technology and a political system.”
- According to Gillin and Gillin, “Civilization is a more complex and developed form of culture.”
Analyzing the above definitions, it is known that all the scholars have kept the physical form of culture in the category of civilization. All those things come under civilization, which fulfill the interests of the person. In simple words, we can say that civilization is that developed and advanced condition of human life which has been achieved by human beings on the basis of knowledge and intelligence.
Inter – relationship between Culture and Civilization:- In fact, the physical part of culture is called by the name of civilization. Both are dependent on each other and both influence each other. But in the modern age, culture is more dependent on civilization and civilization of a society influences culture more, as MacIver and Page have also written, “Civilization is the bearer of culture.”
On the other hand, culture also affects civilization. The subject of culture is our values and ideals, which either enhance civilization or hinder their path, but some sociologists consider culture to be more influential than civilization.
Difference between ‘Culture’ and ‘Civilization’:- Explaining the difference between ‘Culture’ and ‘Civilization’, Max Weber has said that the civilization of a society is mainly related to its gross and concrete outline and material level of the present time. Under this, the material things of the society and the methods, instruments and experiments used to make them should be included. Culture includes the emotional, spiritual, mental aspect of society and is primarily concerned with ideal values. Most sociologists like Merton and Richard Thurnwald support it.
To understand the difference between culture and civilization in more detail, it would be right to pay attention to the distinctions made by MacIver and Page.
- The form of culture is internal and it is the end while the form of civilization is external and it is the means:- Civilization is related to the external form of society. Culture is the soul of the society. Just as body and soul are related, similarly civilization and culture are related to each other. Civilization is the expression of culture. The values of culture are eternal, civilization is acceptable because it is useful. For example, motor, radio, telephone have value only because they are useful. But the value of Ramayana, Shakespeare’s drama, Jaishankar Prasad’s Kamayani or Kathak dance is due to its intrinsic qualities. Civilization is the expression of the feelings and inner voice of the society.
- Civilization can be given to the next generation without effort but this cannot happen with culture:- People of any country or society can imbibe civilization without effort because they are gross, tangible and their form is external. Culture is the internal tendency of the society, so it cannot be transferred to the next generation or to other societies in a short time, because it requires internal development and change, which takes more time.
- Civilization can be accepted without any change, but to accept culture, it has to be changed:- Like radio, telephone, cycle, hockey, cricket, rocket, atom bomb, etc can be adopted without any change in any part of the world but Hindu culture will not be acceptable to western Christians. Even if they want to accept it, they will have to make a lot of changes in it.
- There is a standard to measure civilization but culture cannot be measured:- Utility is the basis of civilization. In fact, the elements of civilization can be tightened on the test of usefulness. Television is more useful than radio, because apart from listening to the song and speech, the figure of the singer and the speaker is also visible. Similarly, jet planes are more useful than aeroplanes, because their speed is faster. Cultures are related to different times and eras. No universal scale can be made to measure cultures in changed values and beliefs.
- Civilization always moves forward but the development of culture does not always happen:- If we look at the development of human civilization, we will see that earlier man used to hunt, then animal husbandry and after that agriculture became his business and today his economy is mainly based on industries. In this way civilization has progressed materially but we cannot say the same for culture. Indian culture was of high status during the Vedic period because the Vedas were composed in that period, which are high quality texts. Books of Kalidas and Bhavabhuti and books like Gita and Ramayana are not being composed now. Even today these books are considered important.