Published : 2025-11-06

Culture between “to be” and “to have”

Andrzej Zwoliński



Abstract

The issue of the relationship between theory and practice, much like that between “to have” and “to be”, is fundamental to anthropology. It sets the framework for the ethical and metaphysical dimension of praxis. Practice is the domain of the human being, it originates from him, and therefore one must conclude that for any human action to make sense, it must first have a theoretical foundation. One cannot formulate sound, that is practically true and theoretically justified, norms of action without first thoroughly addressing the question: who is the human being? This reveals the dynamic dependence of action on the existence of the acting subject. Man is not only the cause of events and things (facts) but also a conscious agent of duty-bound action. Duty is in fact the properly human, personal dimension of factuality, that is, of human praxis. On a broader scale, reflection on culture requires that the aspect of “being” permeate the entire perspective of “having”. For centuries, Christianity has warned against the exclusion of spiritual values from culture. It has called for an integral vision of culture – that is, the full development of man in both his “being” and his “having”.

Keywords:

man, be, have, culture, anthropology, theory, practice



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Zwoliński, A. (2025). Culture between “to be” and “to have”. Społeczeństwo, 35(2), 84–105. https://doi.org/10.58324/s.453




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