郎尼根討論人對文化的理解有轉變，即從文化的規範意念轉變成文化的經驗意念。文化的規範意念意指文化具有一組正確的意義與價值，這組意義與價值是所有文化的規範。文化的經驗意念是指它知道有許多的文化，它研究、比較不同的文化，它了解文化是人造成的，且文化會有發展與衰退。文化的經驗意念領悟到有許多的文化，如同有許多不同組的意義與價值。再者，郎尼根認出文化意義的掌控有三階段：原始、古典與現代階段。文化掌控意義的原始階段是意義與價值活在人們的生活中，但卻沒有加以反省。文化掌控意義的古典階段是透過詢問意義的意義和價值的價值，批判性地檢視文化。文化掌控意義的現代階段是關心具體的、個別的，存在主體的抉擇，人類、社會和文化的歷史。

Lonergan argued that the understanding of culture has shifted from the normative notion of culture to the empirical notion of culture. The normative notion of culture means that the culture possesses the right set of meanings and values that are normative to all cultures. The empirical notion of culture is the culture that knows many cultures, that studies and compares them, that knows they are all man-made and subject to development and to decay. The empirical notion of culture realizes that there are as many cultures as there are distinct sets of such meanings and values. In addition, Lonergan recognized that there were three stages of controlled meaning of culture: primitive, classical, and modern stages. The primitive stage of controlled meaning of culture is that the meanings and values are lived in people’s lives, but without reflection upon them. The classical stage of controlled meaning critically examined the culture by questioning the meaning of meanings and the value of values. The modern stage of controlled meaning of culture is concerned with the concrete and the particular, the existential subject’s decision and the history of peoples, societies, and culture.