The culturological twist in modern science and practical activities implies the clarification of the essence of culture. Turning to the history of the philosophical thought, it is possible to trace the transformation of the understanding of culture, the origins of the current discontinuity between the rational cognition and the life-purpose positions, which are discovered in the renaissance anthropocentrism and metaphysics of the practical reason of the Modern period. The article addresses the perspective of the Kantian interpretation of culture, which examines the reason with regard to its origin and highest maxims.