CULTURE

The popular notion of culture is that of state of refinement, of being well-versed in the arts, philosophy and languages. However, this is only a limited view of culture because according to social scientists, every member f the society is cultured.

The classic definition of Culture was given by Edward Tylor, an English anthropologist, who stated, “Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, laws, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of the society.”

Culture
- people’s social heritage
- the total and distinctive way of life or designs for living of any society
- encompasses learned behaviors, beliefs, attitudes, values, and ideal characteristics of certain societies - system of ideas, values, knowledge, norms, customs and technology shared by almost everyone in a particular society - a society’s system of common heritage

SUB-CONCEPTS RELATED TO CULTURE Culture is so complex and diverse that people develop certain procedures, perspectives, evaluations and interpretations about their own culture and that of others. People develop particular ways of looking at culture. These perspectives include the following:

1. Cultural Relativism – states that cultures differ, so that a cultural trait, act, or idea has no meaning or function by itself but has a meaning only within its cultural setting. Culture is relative, and no cultural practice is good or bad by itself. Hence, the elements of a culture should be viewed on their own terms rather than in terms of some assumed universal standard that holds across cultures. Example: Marriage is monogamy among the Christians but polygamy among the Muslims. Polygamy is considered immoral and sinful among the Christians but moral and appropriate among the Muslims.

2. Culture shock – refers to the feeling of disbelief, disorganization and frustration one experiences when he encounters cultural patterns or practices which are different from his. He becomes so accustomed to his cultural milieu that he finds himself disgusted unsettled, troubled, and disoriented when he enters another society with a different culture. Example: when a typical religious person enters a nudist camp, he may experience shock and show disbelief.

3. Ethnocentrism – refers to the tendency to see the behaviors, beliefs, values, and norms of one’s own group as the only right way of living and to judge others by those standards. It is the feeling of superiority for one’s own culture and to consider other cultures as inferior, wrong, strange or queer. Example: belief in the superiority of the white race, extreme Japanese nationalism

4. Xenocentrism – refers to the idea that what is foreign is best and that one’s lifestyle, products or ideas are inferior to those of others. We call this case reverse ethnocentrism. Example: mania for imported goods and foreign lifestyles, colonial mentality

5. Noble Savage Mentality – refers to the evaluation of one’s culture and that of others based on the romantic notion that the culture and way of life of primitives or other simple cultures is better, more acceptable, and more orderly. Example: some urbanity say that rural lifestyle is better because they have simple needs, fresher air, food and sunshine and youngsters are not exposed to numerous crimes and temptations, which abound in the city.

6. Subculture – refers to smaller groups which develop norms, values, beliefs and special languages which make them distinct from the broader society. They arise as society becomes more complex and industrialized. These subgroups may be based on age, social class, occupational, political, educational, or religious affiliations, regions, nationality or ethnicity. Example: Tagalogs, Ilokano, Catholics, Protestants, teen-agers, senior citizens, urban dwellers, squatters

7. Counterculture or contra culture – refers to the subgroups whose standards come in conflict with and oppose the conventional standards of the dominant culture. These subgroups became a threat to the dominant society and are considered social problems. Example: deviants, such as criminals, juvenile delinquents, racketeers, drug addocts, prostitutes, and terrorists

8. Culture Lag – refers to the gap between the material and non-material culture. Material culture advances more rapidly and is more readily accepted by people such that the non-material culture lags behind. Example: The Muslims readily accept modern means of transportation and communication but remain steadfast in the religious faith; a new invention is introduced before the skills to utilize it are developed.

9. Cultural Universal – refers to broad areas of social living found in all societies. They refer to features and elements common to al culture rather than to the special culture traits. Wissler identifies eleven broad areas of social life which constitute the universal patterns of culture. These are speech or language, material traits, art, mythology, scientific knowledge, religious practice, family, social systems, property, government and war.

10. Cultural Diversity – refers to differences and variety of belies, practices, values, and meanings to each culture universal by the members of a society or by different cultural groups.

Elements of Culture

Introduction: The term “culture” means different things to different people. To some, it is associated with activities.

ELITE CULTURE refers to the life style of the wealthy, affluent, or upper classes. POPULAR CULTURE is viewed as the culture, particularly the leisure time, of the common people.

A. A CULTURE is a system of ideas, values, beliefs, knowledge, norms, customs, and technology shared by almost everyone in a particular society. A SOCIETY is a group of people who share a common culture. The existence of culture depends on people’s ability to create and understand SYMBOLS, things that are used to represent something else.
1. SYMBOLS are arbitrary designations that are collective creations; most sociologists believe that the ability to use symbols is uniquely human.
2. Success or failure in many relationships, both personal and professional, often depends upon our ability to communicate symbolically.

B. LANGUAGE, the systematized usage of speech and hearing to convey or express feelings and ideas, is the most important set of symbols.
1. Language is uniquely human and is one of the basic distinctions between human beings and other forms of life, as demonstrated by the comparative studies of infants and chimpanzees.
2. Regular use of words over time and place, and the widespread use of certain words, indicate that language is an integral and universal part of culture. Linguistic symbols are learned and shared just like other cultural traits.
3. In addition to a verbal and written language, every culture develops a “silent language” of gestures, expressions, and mannerisms; knowledge of this nonverbal language can be very useful to those who must deal with people from different cultures.
4. The SAPIR-WHORF HYPOTHESIS suggests that our perceptions of reality and consequent behaviors are significantly influenced by the grammatical forms, labels, and categories provided by our language.

C. VALUES are shared ideas of what is important and worthwhile by the people in a society. Values often are emotionally charged and learned early in life.

1. Most values have both positive and negative counterparts.
2. When basic values conflict with one another, a person may experience guilt or mental stress and attempt to resolve the guilt by pursuing alternative courses of action.
3. Despite the social diversity of the United States, Robin M. Williams (1970) described 15 major value orientations that are shared in our culture, including belief in achievement and success, external conformity, and democracy.
4. Williams states that most conflicts between value systems in the United States occur between values centering around individual personalities and values organized around categorical themes or conceptions. Group discrimination and racism, for example, are contrary to other central values of our society.
5. An understanding of value systems can be useful for many people in their work. The ability to recognize and deal with competing value systems leads to better management.

D. Social NORMS are rules of conduct or social expectations specifying how people should or should not behave in various social situations. Norms are either prescriptive or proscriptive.
1. William G. Sumner identified two types of norms, FOLKWAYS and MORES, and distinguished between them by (1) the degree to which group members are compelled to conform to them, (2) their importance, (3) the severity of punishment if they are violated, and (4) the intensity of feelings associated with adherence to them.
2. FOLKWAYS are learned customs or conventions that are passed down from one generation to the next; violation tends to be punished mildly, if at all.
3. MORES are considered more important than folkways; reactions to their violations are more serious. They tend to involve clear-cut distinctions between right and wrong and are more closely identified with society’s important values. Mores that prohibit something, that state “thou shalt not,” are called TABOOS. To care for one’s child is called a MOS (singular for MORES), while committing incest is a TABOO.
4. LAWS are formal, standardized expressions of norms enacted by legislative bodies to regulate particular types of behaviors. Laws state the punishment for their violation and are enforced by a group designated for that purpose.
5. When a law does not reflect folkways and mores, its enforcement is likely to be ignored or given low priority.
6. Cultural norms are not always beneficial to the society, group, or individual that follows them. Some may actually be harmful in what Erich Fromm calls the “PATHOLOGY OF NORMALCY.”
7. The process of violating norms beyond the range of group acceptability is termed deviance; the process of applying sanctions to obtain social conformity is known as social control.

E. TECHNOLOGY is the practical production and application of material techniques and products to maintain a culture’s standard of living; it includes social customs and practical techniques for converting raw materials into finished products.
1. ARTIFACTS are physical objects that reflect a society’s technology. Artifacts provide clues to a society’s level of technological development, but the presence of more sophisticated technology in one culture as opposed to another culture should not be used as scientific criteria for evaluating the two. It is a mistake to dismiss a culture’s technological system because it appears to be less developed or complex than our own.

F. CULTURAL LAG takes place when changes in technology and material culture occur more rapidly than changes in nonmaterial culture (such as beliefs, values, and laws); cultural lag is inevitable in rapidly changing societies.