Culture
Culture is important to Why This Way in many respects. Culture is hard to define, but the way the word "culture" is often used encompasses everything about human civilization or about groups of people which cannot be explained solely in terms of biology or other innate factors.
Our belief that all cultures have value
One of our core beliefs is that all cultures have value. These cultures include everything from large-scale cultures (like the culture of a whole country) to small cultures, like the subculture of a small group. Like our belief that all people are valuable, this belief does not imply that everything about every culture is good, only that there is some inherent value in any culture.
Some examples of the value we see in cultures include:
- Food culture and traditions, including both various techniques of cooking or prepared dishes, and practices of growing or cultivating food.
- Language, including both languages in and of themselves, and dialects or other localized uses of language specific to a subculture.
- Creative arts, including art, music, theater, written works, artistry evident in physical goods, and other sorts of creative works.
The culture of Why This Way
Why This Way can be seen as having a culture or subculture of its own. Many of our beliefs and practices have cultural implications, and the act of identifying certain ways of communicating or acting as healthy or unhealthy can be seen as a way of us deliberately shaping our own culture as well as seeking to influence the culture of the society in which we are a part.
The core beliefs and practices of Why This Way, especially our views on respectful communication spelled out in the rules of communication are directly related to culture. Some of the more specific aspects of Why This Way most directly related to culture, or with large potential impacts on culture, include our views on:
