The article proposes an interpretation of the cultural project by E.A. Orlova. Its theoretical significance is to remove the dilemma of nature sciences and the sciences of culture. The liberal model of culture is based on the fact that society exists for a person who is concerned about how best to live his life. This is met with resistance from the ideologues of conservatism, who call for a bandoning the mercantile order and returning to a society aimed at achieving spiritual values. Some believe that man is good, while others claim that the world is ruled by evil and strong people. From here, works on the themes of sacrifice, violence, sacral, numinous, etc. Model of culture, built by E.A. Orlova, based on data of biology, ethology and achievements of semiotics, are becoming more popular. Organic and functional approaches are connected on this basis, an effective conceptual apparatus for the analysis of modern society has been developed. It provides the ability to analyze non-verbal media, which are increasingly widely used.