The Importance of Investigation of Turkish Culture from the Point of View of Cultural Pride

Abstract

Honor is one’s worth in one’s own eyes and in the eyes of others. It is expressed as having two components: inner and outer honor. Among Mediterranean and South American honor cultures, it is observed that outer pride is much more important than inner pride. Social Interdependence (includes social bonds such as hospitality or generosity), Collective Honor (priority of family honor), Feminine Honor (includes values such as modesty, hiding one’s sexuality by wearing discreet cloths, and protecting one’s chastity) and Masculine Honor (includes the likeability of such characteristics such as physical power and courage) are among the characteristics of these honor cultures. Another characteristic of honor cultures is that the pride is objectified and perceived as a possession. When the honor is lost it is perceived as being added to the honor of the offender. Thus the individual who is attacked needs to restore his or her honor and acts violently in return. In this course engaging in revenge and committing violence to restore pride are to bee seen frequently. On the other hand, misuse and bribery are offenses yet again frequently seen in these cultures. This situation, which may perhaps be related to the relative insignificance of the inner pride, becomes an important problem. The overdose of pride may lead both individuals and societies to be vulnerable to manipulation in times of crisis. Thus, the aim of this paper is to emphasize the importance of cultural pride and to discuss the importance of studying Turkish society in this domain of interest along with a presentation of a review of the issue in this respect.