WHAT IS EUROPEAN CULTURE?

The article focuses on European culture. The whole story of mankind seems to have been one unbroken chain of such attempts, many of which admittedly failed, or instead of producing rapid and successful results, led to involved detours by which something was eventually improved, whilst many succeeded only in creating new difficulties. Nowadays the contexts in which the term "European" seems appropriate are legion, not only in the economic field, but also in the closer cultural sphere. The fact that there exists something that can only be described as "European culture" is after all proved by the existence of such splendid institutions as Europe House in London. There certainly is something, which may be called a European mentality or European way of thinking. One does not dispute the existence of something merely because it is difficult to define and can be viewed from many different aspects. Moreover, the nationalism of individual Europeans does not conflict with a European cultural consciousness any more than it conflicts with the idea of the human race or a common humanity encompassing the whole world. It is a proof merely of the validity of a cultural area wider than the individual nations but smaller than all mankind.