Culture and Innovation

Status Quaestionis

Abstract

The article uses agent, problem solving and symbolic capacity as fundamental terms for a conceptual framework in describing and explaining culture in a transdisciplinary perspective, and presents also a possible account for cultural phenomena. The origin of culture lies in the intentional nature of the human mind which is capable of attributing meaning to actions and events and is thus capable of creating a symbolic world. From this perspective, culture is a complex, symbolic problem-solving capacity of individual and collective agents, and cultural change and innovation are due to the discovery of new problems and significant new solutions. In this way, religious phenomena - as partially cultural manifestations - may function as problem solving capacities. The charism of Chiara Lubich is analysed from this perspective.