Page 32 - Contribution To Phenomenology

REFLECTION ON THE CULTURAL DISCIPLINES 25

c The Axiotic Disciplines.

That there are theoretical and practical disciplines that can be considered
cultural qua combinations of skilled practices bearing on objects that are
neither naturalized nor formalized is probably not difficult to accept, but
as the sketch of landscape architecture in relation to amateur and crafty
engagements in lawn-mowing above intimates, there seem to be cultural
disciplines of a third sort that culminate neither in cognition nor in action
but rather in valuing and values. These may be called **value disciplines"
on occasions when the more technical-sounding "axiotic disciplines" would
not communicate as well. Analogously, there may be occasions when it
is better to speak of "knowledge disciplines" and "action disciplines."
Disciplines of aU three sorts are combinations of cultural practices
themselves as well as related to cuhural matters. Thus, while the mowing
of lawns is not a practice that the landscape architect performs, it is a
practice, specifically a maintenance practice, necessary, for some, to a
beautiful landscape, so that a landscape including lawns in a lawn-appre-
ciating society is less beautiful if maintenance of this sort is not
performed and hence the architect needs to know about, value, and plan
for it in her landscaping projects. Cultural discipUnes combine many
cultural practices.
Enough may have been conveyed above positively about how there are
positive and negative values that can also be intrinsic or extrinsic, how
these are constituted in the pathic or valuing stratum of intentive Ufe,
how this stratum is a non-self-sufficient positional part of the pertinent
intentive process or concrete cultural practice, and how values can be
reflectively differentiated and described when objects as intended to are
reflectively observed. This analysis may help any who hesitate about an
approach that takes axiotic crafts and discipUnes seriously and notes that
they relate not only to refined appreciation by esthetes but also to
enjoyment, pleasure, even fun, etc., and additionally the negative and
neutral opposites of them. "Positive valuing" is a more technical term
than "liking," negative valuing is disliking, and then there is apathy. And
an enormous amount of valuing, whatever the modaUty, is deeply habitual
or, in other words, cultural. (It also deserves mention that the value
characteristics of objects as they present themselves are not the same as
the monetary prices that some objects have in commerce.)
For many, *Value" is what talk about "culture" chiefly connotes. From
within a social group values often seem all utterly unlearned or "natural"