APPROACHES TO DEFINING THE FIRE AS A PHENOMENON OF CULTURE: BETWEEN THE NATURE AND THE CULTURE
UDC index:
008.001
DOI: 10.31773/2078-1768-2019-48 -32-37.
Article ID in the RSCI: https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=39198383
Article file: Download
Information about authors: Blinova Sofiya Anatolyevna, Postgraduate of Department of Culturology and Sociology, Chelyabinsk State Institute of Culture (Chelyabinsk, Russian Federation). E-mail: murre@mail.ru
Annotation: Humanity has been confronting with fires throughout its history. The struggle and interaction with the fire element is one of the significant stages of anthropogenesis and cultural genesis. The use of fire, the primary source of which was a natural fire, allowed us to get a significant evolutionary advantage to our species, which was reflected in culture. Fire, as a component of the holistic concept of fire and its source, is associated with a variety of cults and beliefs. For a long time, the fire was investigated as a natural phenomenon and a physico-chemical process in the natural science field but the fire phenomenon from the point of view of the social sciences and humanities was not sufficiently developed. The article reflects the analysis of various definitions of the term “fire” with regard to historical dynamics. This analysis revealed the semantic basis of the existing definitions, which is the combustion process and the potential damage that this phenomenon can bring to society. Such a perception is distinguished by its one-dimensional nature and is focused exclusively on the negative connotations of this phenomenon – its destructive, damaging component. This approach prevents penetration into the essence of the phenomenon of fire to go beyond its natural environment. The term fire is often replaced by similar concepts, such as “flaring,” “burning,” “arson,” etc. The boundary between the terms “flame,” “burning,” “ignition” and, in fact, the “fire” is very conditional and runs through the prism of human assessment. A divergent criterion is proposed to prevent substitution and identify the specificity of each concept. It can be said that such a criterion is the degree of spontaneity and the degree of control over the combustion process. The article formulates and presents its own definition of the phenomenon of fire from a cultural point of view.
Keywords: fire, burning, flaming, cultural genesis, ignition.
DOI: 10.31773/2078-1768-2019-48 -32-37.
Article ID in the RSCI: https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=39198383
Article file: Download
Information about authors: Blinova Sofiya Anatolyevna, Postgraduate of Department of Culturology and Sociology, Chelyabinsk State Institute of Culture (Chelyabinsk, Russian Federation). E-mail: murre@mail.ru
Annotation: Humanity has been confronting with fires throughout its history. The struggle and interaction with the fire element is one of the significant stages of anthropogenesis and cultural genesis. The use of fire, the primary source of which was a natural fire, allowed us to get a significant evolutionary advantage to our species, which was reflected in culture. Fire, as a component of the holistic concept of fire and its source, is associated with a variety of cults and beliefs. For a long time, the fire was investigated as a natural phenomenon and a physico-chemical process in the natural science field but the fire phenomenon from the point of view of the social sciences and humanities was not sufficiently developed. The article reflects the analysis of various definitions of the term “fire” with regard to historical dynamics. This analysis revealed the semantic basis of the existing definitions, which is the combustion process and the potential damage that this phenomenon can bring to society. Such a perception is distinguished by its one-dimensional nature and is focused exclusively on the negative connotations of this phenomenon – its destructive, damaging component. This approach prevents penetration into the essence of the phenomenon of fire to go beyond its natural environment. The term fire is often replaced by similar concepts, such as “flaring,” “burning,” “arson,” etc. The boundary between the terms “flame,” “burning,” “ignition” and, in fact, the “fire” is very conditional and runs through the prism of human assessment. A divergent criterion is proposed to prevent substitution and identify the specificity of each concept. It can be said that such a criterion is the degree of spontaneity and the degree of control over the combustion process. The article formulates and presents its own definition of the phenomenon of fire from a cultural point of view.
Keywords: fire, burning, flaming, cultural genesis, ignition.
