The power of tradition.(culture and society)

Lee Harris, "Traditional, and Therefore Right: The Future of Tradition," Policy Review, June & July 2005 (policyreview.org)

Culture wars proved disastrous both for Periclean Athens and for the French and German enlightenment eras. Sophists and philosophes attacked traditional values in the name of reason, and destroyed brilliant cultures. The American "intellectual," says Lee Harris, author of Civilization and Its Enemies: The Next Stage of History, is currently doing this to America. If we are to avoid the fates of our Hellenic, French, and German predecessors, Harris argues, we must find a way to defend tradition.

Harris finds that discussions of tradition tend to fall victim to what he calls the "declarative fallacy," whereby traditions are thought of as empty statements. Actually, most traditions emerge from experience. The code of tradition, says Harris, "is like the DNA of the community: It tells us what behavior must be passed on through the social emotions of shame, honor and pride."

Tradition is like a recipe for society. Whether a tradition is justifiable on intellectual grounds is meaningless: "Is Julia Child's recipe for bouillabaisse true or false?" One may prefer certain recipes, just as one may prefer certain traditions, and indeed entire cultures may reject the traditions of the past just as pigeon pie is no longer a staple. Yet this is a question of preference, not of rationality.

Moreover, when such changes occur, it is important to pass on to future generations knowledge of why the preference changed. The family, Harris argues, is fundamental to this process, passing on the civilization itself. This is especially true, he ...