The concept of “basic culture” in Lester Embree

Abstract

The present paper aims to expose the concept of "basic culture", fundamental in Lester Embree’s phenomenology. In the first part the biographical context of that text is explained. In the second one, the first advance made by Lester Embree is described, and in the third one the fundamental article about it will be focused on. The core of the concept is in relation to the difference that Lester Embree establishes between experience and the positionality of use, valuation and belief. These are characteristics or cultural determinations that constitute the human world, which therefore is always a cultural world. This basic culture also occurs, at least, in some non-human animals. Although problematic points of that theory are alluded to, these problems are not fully developed.