The Influence of Literature on Culture through the Framework of the Four Causes

Introduction: Carelessness in defining "culture" and its confusion with similar concepts is a common error in cultural studies, which has also impacted the analysis of the relationship between literature and culture. This research is conducted to establish a correct perspective through conceptual precision and to determine the logical relationship between these two categories to properly explain how literature influences culture.
Objective: The main question of the research is whether culture is affected by literature and how this influence can be examined within the framework of the "Four Causes" (efficient, final, material, and formal) of an object's existence.
Methodology: This study is conducted using a rational and philosophical approach. The primary tool for the research is conceptual analysis and the determination of the logical relationship based on the "Four Relations" (Nesab-e Arba'eh) in logic.
Findings: The findings show that the logical relationship between culture and literature is "Contrast" (Tabayon). Literature directly and deeply influences the "existential" causes of culture (providing identity to the human community and depicting the desired life-world) and its "essential" causes (changing insights, character, actions, and the modification of the cultural structure and geometry).
Conclusion: The final conclusion indicates an "interactive and elevating" relationship between the two; although literature draws from cultural elements, it acts as a factor for the growth, strengthening, and transformation of that culture. This research is applicable in the fields of "Indigenous Literary Theory" and "Cultural Engineering".