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Definitions
In order to understand what I shall present, some prior definitions are needed. Following Koneczny, I shall be using the term "civilisation" to mean the major division of humanity. The word "culture" will be reserved for smaller divisions within civilisations. These two words are often used interchangeably. Here, they will be used hierarchically. Thus, within the Latin civilisation, there are such cultures as British, Spanish, Polish and others. Within the Jewish one, we can find the Sephardic, the Hassidim, the Karaim and other cultures. This is nothing more than a convention that will be used here for the purposes at hand.
Civilisation is a product of the human spirit. It is defined by the norms of communal life that a given community accepts as proper for its functioning. These norms are often transgressed because we have a fallen nature but nonetheless they do exist and it is the identification of these norms that is the purpose of the study of civilisations.
Civilisation then, pertains to the norms according to which a society is organised. It is the method of organising communal life. Culture is a way of adapting this method to a specific community of people. In such a community, both a university professor and an illiterate person belong to the same civilisation and culture. The ability to use technical innovations such as cars, telephones and computers has nothing to do with civilisation in the sense used here.
For a method of communal life to be considered a civilisation, it has to function for several generations. Various experiments in organising communal life that did not survive the experimenter do not merit the claim to represent a new civilisation. In other words, a civilisation has to be historical.
Reality pertains to five categories;
| truth | beauty | prosperity |
| goodness | health |
Search for truth requires reason. Goodness is a quality of the will. These two categories are spiritual. Prosperity and health are material aims. The need for beauty is both material and spiritual. All human actions are related to at least one of these categories. Attitude towards these categories determines civilisational differences.