Roger’s Rules

By Roger Kimball

Bio

Get Updates From Roger Kimball
A Comment About

Thoughts on July 4, America, and multiculturalism

July 4, 2008 - 5:47 am - by Roger Kimball
Porkov
2008-07-05 04:05:57

Some would have you believe that there are two approaches to such questions. There are those who, in order to understand something, would have you split it into its smallest elements and describe each of these components. Then there are those who would lump them all together and describe the trajectory of the composite. On the one side splitters, on the other, lumpers. My question is, how can there be a calculus of our culture without both differentiation and integration? The important thing is to remember the nature of the problem. Cultures don’t believe – culture is an abstraction comprised of a group of individuals who, each in his own fashion, believes.