culture depends on developed individual man

‘I agree,’ said Orage, ‘but, according to Gurdjieff, the inner development of individual man does not depend on culture, though culture may provide a background. On the contrary, culture depends on developed individual man, or rather a group of men working together. The flowerings and blossomings of culture which occur from time to time in history, apparently for no reason—the building of the Gothic cathedrals, the Renaissance, Shakespeare’s plays - are examples of the results of a group of men working consciously.

Nott - Teachings of Gurdjieff p.30