Chapter 1 Development and Humans as c.

Cultural interest and hobbies

Social Actors d. Economic status of peers and relatives

Environment and history are two of the primary In the Philippine setting, we have different social
factors that shape the behavior of human groups. status/classes and these are:

Nationality and Ethnicity a. the low-income class

b. the middle-income class, and the
 Nationality is the identity that is tied to being c. high-income class.
part of a nation or country. (Ex: Filipino, 3. Political Identity – as a social category
Chinese, Japanese) refers to the set of attitudes and practices than
 Ethnic Groups within the nation these are the an individual adheres to in relation to the
smaller cultural groups
political system and actors within his society.
Social Differences Example: Gabriela, Ang ladlad.
1. Gender Vs. Sex 4. Religion – religious group s gransmits definite
Gender – this refers to the socially construed political preferences to their practitioner.
roles, behaviours, activities and attributes that Churches help develop strong belief systems
a given society considers appropriate for men that guide a persons view on social policies
and women. such as abortion as well as a larger world
Types of Gender: view.
a. Heterosexual – a person with this gender is
Anthropology and study of Culture
inclined to be sexually attracted to a person of
Humans studying humans. This is the field of
the opposite sex. (male to female)
anthropology. Unlike other disciplines of social
b. Homosexual - Homosexuality is romantic
science, anthropology promotes a holistic
attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior
study of humans.
between members of the same sex. Example:
This derived from 2 Greek words antropos
gay and lesbian
(human) and logos (study), this seeks to
c. Bisexual
answer the primary question: What does it
Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual
mean to be a human?”
attraction, or sexual behavior toward both
5 Disciplines of Anthropology
males and females or to more than
1. Archeology - examines the remains of
one sex or gender.
ancient and historical populations to
d. Asexuality - Asexuality is the lack of sexual
promote an understanding of how humans
attraction to others, or low or absent interest
adapted to their environment and
in or desire for sexual activity.
developed.
e. Polysexuality - is the sexual attraction to
2. Cultural Anthropology - promotes the
many, but not all, genders.. For example, a
study of a society’s culture through their
polysexual person could be attracted to all
belief systems, practices and possessions.
genders except men.
3. Linguistic Anthropology – examines
f. Transgender – the sexual orientation is not
language of group of people and its relation
related to their genitalia, which allow them to
to their culture.
identify with any other type of gender as
4. Physical Anthropology - looks into
heterosexual, homosexual and the like.
biological development of humans and their
g. Transsexual - the discord between the
contemporary variation.
internal gender and the gender role that they
5. Applied Anthropology - attempts to solve
have to perform can be addressed through
contemporary problems through the
medical sexual reassignment.
application of theories and approaches of
Sex - this refers to the biological characteristics of the discipline.
human such as male, female.
Culture - is the characteristics and knowledge
of a particular group of people, encompassing
2. Socioeconomic class - Socioeconomic status language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music
is the social standing or class of an individual
and arts.
or group
Determinants of Social status 7 characteristics of Culture1

a. Income
b. Value of assets and savings 1
1. CULTURE IS EVERYTHING – It is what a environment is change and culture has
person has, does and thinks as part of remained the same.
society. 7. CULTURE CHANGES – The final
a. Material Culture – includes all characteristic of culture it is never static.
tangible and visible parts of This dynamism of culture is due to changing
culture. Example: clothes, foods needs of humans as they interpret and
and even buildings survive in their environment.
b. Nonmaterial Culture – includes Theories on Culture
all intangible parts of culture. Theories are perspective that are essential
Example: values, ideas and in shaping an analysis about a particular
knowledge. issue. In the field of anthropology, one of
2. CULTURE IS LEARNED – culture is set of the key points of discussion is the concept
beliefs, attitudes and practices that an of culture.
individual learns through his or her family,
school, church and other social institutions. Theory Perspective on
a. Enculturation – is a process of Culture
learning your own culture. Cultural Evolutionism “Cultural evolution” is
Ex. When you interact with your the idea that human
cultural change––that is,
peers or parents, you learn values
changes in socially
and accepted behaviors in your transmitted beliefs,
society. knowledge, customs,
b. Acculturation - is a process of skills, attitudes,
accommodating desirable traits from languages, and so on––
other culture. can be described as a
Ex. Music may be one of the Darwinian evolutionary
process that is similar in
most transferred form of culture
key respects (but not
from one society to another. identical) to
c. Deculturation – culture has been lost biological/genetic
and even cultural trait itself is in the evolution.
process of being forgotten. Diffusionism All societies is unique as
Ex. The culture of “pagmamano”, a result of cultural
this has already been forgotten by borrowing from one
another.
the children due to technologies and
Historicism The theory of historicism
environment. focuses on a specific
3. CULTURE IS SHARED – This implies that context, such as a local
a particular behavior cannot be considered culture, historical period,
as a culture if there is only one person or geographical place
practicing it and examines a society
4. CULTURE AFFECTS BIOLOGY – Humans using the concept of
cultural relativism.
are born into cultures that have values on
Moreover, historicism
beauty and body. As such, they alter their gives a better
bodies to fit physiological norms that are explanation for cultural
dictated by their culture. Example: tattoos change and its
of cordillerians in the Philippines, lotus feet influences.
in China. Functionalism Society is thought to be
5. CULTURE IS ADAPTIVE – Culture is a like a biological
organism with all of the
tool for survival that humans use in
parts interconnected.
response to the pressures of their Existing institutional
environment. Both the material and non- structures of any society
material parts of culture are influenced by are thought to perform
the goal of humans to address their needs indispensable functions,
as dictated by their environment and their without which the
biology. society could not
continue.
6. CULTURE IS MALADAPTIVE – Culture
Psychological Personality is largely
can also cause problems for the people who Anthropology seen to be the result of
subscribe to it. These problems arise when learning culture
 Neo Evolutionism Culture is said to be
shaped by
environmental and
technological conditions.
Cultures evolve when
people are able to
increase the amount of
energy under their
control.
Materialism Culture is the product of
the material conditions
in which a given
community of people
finds itself.
Elements of Culture2
1. Symbol - Every culture is filled
with symbols, or things that stand for
something else and that often evoke various
reactions and emotions. Some symbols are
actually types of nonverbal communication,
while other symbols are in fact material
objects.
2. Language -It is a primary means used to
transmit information and ideas.  which help in reinforcing the organization’s
3. Norms - Cultures differ widely in their
norms, or standards and expectations for
behaving. Norms are often divided into two
types, formal norms, and informal norms.
a. Formal norms, also called mores
and laws, refer to the standards
of behavior considered the most
important in any society.
b. Informal norms, also called
folkways and customs, refer to
standards of behavior that are
considered less important but
still influence how we behave.
4. Religion - The spiritual beliefs of a society
are often so powerful that they transcend
other cultural aspects.
5. Values - are a society’s ideas about what is
good or bad, right or wrong – such as the
widespread belief that stealing is immoral
and unfair. Values determine how
individuals will probably respond in any
given circumstances
6. Attitude - a persistent tendency to feel and
behave in a particular way. Actually it is the
external displays of underlying beliefs that
people use to signal to other people.
7. Rituals - are processes or sets of actions
that are repeated in specific circumstances
and with specific meaning. They may be
used in such as rites of passage, such as
when someone is promoted or retires.
8. Customs and Manners - are common and
establish practices. Manners are behaviors
that are regarded as appropriate in a
particular society. These indicate the rules
2
of behavior which enforce ideas of right and
wrong. They can be the traditions, rules,
written laws, etc.
9. Material Culture - another element of
culture is the artifacts, or material objects,
that constitute a society’s material culture.
It consists of objects that people make.
Like-
- Economic infrastructure
(transportation, communication
and energy capabilities)
- Social infrastructure (Health,
housing, and education systems)
- Financial infrastructure (Banking,
insurance and financial services)
10. Physical Artifacts - these are the tangible
manifestations and key elements of
organizational culture.
11. Stories, Myths, and Legends - these are, in
a way, an extension of organizational
language. They epitomize the unwritten
values and morals of organizational life.
12. Ceremonies and Celebrations - these are
consciously enacted behavioral artifacts
cultural values and assumptions.
13. Food - food is a part of culture where it is
being passed from one generation to
another generation.
Importance of Culture
Culture is the lifeblood of a vibrant society,
expressed in the many ways we tell our stories,
celebrate, remember the past, entertain ourselves,
and imagine the future. Our creative expression
helps define who we are, and helps us see the
world through the eyes of others
Political Science and Study of Politics
Politics refers to the practice and theory of
influencing other people, which often times is
directed towards decision making or policy
formulation but at times result in conflict or conflict
ridden situations.
Political Science is a social science
discipline that deals with system s of government
and the analysis of political activity and political
behaviour.
Fields and subfields of Political
Science.
 Domestic politics is generally the most
common field of study; its subfields include
public opinion, elections, national
government, and state, local, or regional
government.
  Comparative politics focuses on politics
within countries (often grouped into world
regions) and analyzes similarities and
differences between countries.
 International relations considers the
political relationships and interactions
between countries, including the causes of
war, the formation of foreign policy,
international political economy, and the
structures that increase or decrease the
policy options available to governments.
International relations are organized as a
separate department in some universities
(for example in V.N. Karazin Kharkiv
National University is Department of
international economic relations and tourist
business).
 Political theory includes classical political
philosophy and contemporary theoretical
perspectives (e.g., constructivism, critical
theory, and postmodernism).
 Public administration studies the role of
the bureaucracy. It is the field most
oriented toward practical applications within
political science and is often organized as a
separate department that prepares students
for careers in the civil service.
 Public law studies constitutions, legal
systems, civil rights, and criminal justice
(now increasingly its own discipline).
 Public policy examines the passage and
implementation of all types of government
policies, particularly those related to civil
rights, defense, health, education, economic
growth, urban renewal, regional
development, and environmental protection.
Government - it is the institution through which
a society makes and enforces its public policy.
Classifications of Government
As to the Geopolitical Distribution of Power
A. Unitary System – the power to govern is
given to the national or central government.
Example: Philippines
B. Federal System – the power is shared
between the national, state, and local
levels. There exist a central government but
there are also autonomous states.
Example: United States
C. Confederation – a loose organization of
independent states held together by a weak
central government. This is a union of
political units for common action in relation
to other units. Usually created by a treaty
but often later adopting a common
constitution.
As to who possess the power to govern
1. Autocracy – any system of government in
which the power and authority to rule are in
the hands of a single individual. Historically,
this is maintained by the ruthless use of
military or police power.
Examples are, Totalitarian Dictatorship of
Fidel Castro and Adolf Hitler and also, the
dictatorial rule of Ferdinand Marcos.
2. Monarchy - traditionally ascribed to the
power to govern given to kings, queens,
emperors, czars, sultans, and the like.
2 Types :
a. Absolute - monarchs have complete and
unlimited power to rule their people.
b. Constitutional/ Limited – the monarch does
not possess the real power to govern. Serves
mainly as ceremonial leaders of their
government. The power to govern is normally
vested to the President or Prime Minister.
Note: Philippines was once under this kind of
government during the Spanish Era, where King
Felipe was the King of the Philippines and the
power to govern was given to the Gobernador
General.
3. Aristocracy - form of government that
places power in the hands a small privileged
ruling class. This is the rule of the best.
4. Oligarchy – system of government in which a
small group holds the power. It exists here
the rule of the wealthy whose policy frame
work are directed against the poor and
marginalized. This is ruled by a despotic
power exercised by a small and privileged
group for a corrupt and selfish purpose.
5. Democracy – system of government in which
the rule is by the people. According to
Lincoln, it is a government of the people, by
the people, and for the people. It a
government which the sovereign power is
vested in the majority of the people.
2 types:
Direct Democracy – the people govern
themselves by voting on issues individually as
citizens.
Representative Democracy – the people elect
representatives and give them the power to
make laws and conduct government. This is
considered as the most efficient way to
ensure the rights of the individual citizen.
HUMAN EVOLUTION AND CULTURE
Culture – that complex whole which encompasses
beliefs, practices, values attitudes, laws norms,
artifacts, symbols, knowledge, and everything that
a person learns and shares as a member of the
society (Tylor 2010).3
3
 - It is by product of the attempt of humans to
survive their environment to compensate for
their biological characteristics and limitations.
- In order for us to understand culture we need
to know the following:
a. Biological capacity of Humans to culture
b. Place of humans in the animal Kingdom
c. How humans came to develop early forms of
culture.
Biological Capacity for Culture
The need to scrutinize human anatomy to
understand culture is indispensable. Physical and
cultural anthropologist argue that we could trace
how culture became possible by understanding the
biological makeup.
1. Thinking Capacity – the primary biological
component of humans that allowed for
culture is the developed brain. It has the
necessary parts for facilitating pertinent
skills such as speaking, touching, feeling,
seeing, and smelling.4
a. Frontal lobe and motor cortex –
for cognition and motor abilities
b. Parietal lobe – allows for touch
and taste abilities
c. Temporal lobe – allows for
hearing skills.
d. Occipital lobe - allows visual
skills
Compared with other primates, humans
have a larger brain, weighing 1.4 kg. Due to
the size of the brain and the complexity of
its parts, humans were able to create
survival skills that helped them adapt their
environment and outlive their less adaptive
biological relatives
2. Speaking Capacity
as the brain is the primary source of
humans’ capacity to comprehend sound
and provide meaning to it, the vocal tracts
as the mechanism by which sounds are
produced and reproduced to transmit idea
and values. The longer the vocal tracts
means that there is a longer vibration
surface, allowing humans to produce a
wider array of sounds than chimpanzees.
The tongue of a humans is also more
flexible than that of chimpanzee, allowing
for more control in making sounds.
3. Gripping capacity
The hand of a human has digits that are
straight, as compared with the curved ones
of other primates. Notice that the thumb of
4
the human is proportionately longer than
those of the primates. This characteristic of
a human hand allowed for two types of
grips:
a. Power grip – enabled human to wrap
the thumb and fingers on an object. It
gives us capacity to hold tools firmly fir
hunting and other activities.
b. Precision grip – enabled humans to hold
and pick objects steadily using fingers.
The capacity was crucial for tool making
activities.
4. Walking and Standing capacity5
Primates have two forms of locomotion:
a. Bipedalism – capacity to walk and stand
on two feet.
b. Quadropedalism – uses all four limbs.
Although apes are semi bipedal, humans are the
only fully bipedal primates. Being bipedal, humans
gained more capacity to move while carrying
objects with their free hands. This is an important
trait, as it gave humans more productivity with
their hands. Humans also gained more locomotion
suitable for hunting and foraging.
Human Origin and the Capacity for Culture
Our evolution toward humanity as we know it has
been long journey of survival against the elements
of the environment and against competing species.
As our ancestors evolved biologically in response to
their environment, they have also developed
cultural technologies that aided them to efficiently
obtain food and deter predators. Archeologist refer
to these early traditions as stone tool industries
instead of culture, as the material products of these
period merely display the methods used by early
humans in creating tools and the modern context
by which we define it.
Different Industries in the early times:
A. Oldowan industry - toolmaking tradition
characterized by crudely
worked pebble (chopping) tools from the early
Paleolithic, dating to about 2 million years ago
and not formed after a standardized pattern
B.Acheulean industry, Acheulean also
spelled Acheulian, first standardized tradition
of toolmaking of Homo erectus and
early Homo sapiens.
C.Mousterian industry, tool culture traditionally
associated with Neanderthal man in Europe,
western Asia, and northern Africa during the
early Fourth (Würm) Glacial Period (c.
40,000 BC).
D. Aurignacian culture, toolmaking industry
and artistic tradition of Upper
5
 Paleolithic Europe that followed the Mousterian stors who, as monarchs, were appointed to serv
industry e by God. 
E.Magdalenian culture, toolmaking industry and 2. Social Contract Theory
The theory that morality is a manifestation of the m
artistic tradition of Upper Paleolithic Europe,
utual consent of all persons involved in a societ
which followed the Solutrean industry y. For example, murder is wrong according to so
F. Process of Cultural and Socio Political cial contract theory because society hasgenerally 
Evolution6 agreed that it would not be conducive to prosper
ous relations, and not because it is wrong in and 
Characteristi Paleolithic Neolithic of itself. Social contract theory is used in govern
c ment as one of the foundations of the modern st
Tools small and handy Included a ate. "Government by consent of the governed," 
for mobile life wider array one of the most fundamental ideas of democrac
style of small y, has its origins in social contract theory.
and bigger 3. Force Theory
tools due The force theory is the idea that government
to originates from taking control of the state by
sedentary force and is often found in a dictatorship—a type
life style of government characterized by one-person or
Personal Limited to Included one-party authoritarian rule. Historically, this has
properties personal structures been achieved in some cases through forcible
accessories and decorative invasion or occupation when a more dominant
small tools that ornaments, people or state takes control of the political
could easily be large system of a less powerful people or state,
carried around containers imposing its governmental system on that
Art Small and limited Included group. New governments can also be formed by
to personal the force during revolutions or coups within a
ornaments, bigger creation or country. A coup is the overthrow of an
artwork were art works established government, and the resulting leader
done but not that or dictator is most often a military figure. An
within a long time required a example of the force theory occurred in Cuba in
frame longer 1959, when revolutionary Fidel Castro and a
length of small force of guerrilla soldiers defeated the
time and a national army and took control of the
greater government. In some cases, governments
number of created by force take on some characteristics of
people a monarchy, with government power handed
Subsistence Foraging Agriculture down within the dictator's family. Examples are
Leadership Not rigid, based Semi rigid, the Assad regime in Syria and the Kim regime in
on age and based on North Korea.
knowledge legitimacy 4. Natural Theory
( religious It holds that the state was a natural
beliefs, institution and not an abstract of artificial
social being. The state is a man writ large. This
status) theory is called the organic theory referring
Social divisions Non communal Elite vs. to the perspective of the ancient Greeks
life style working that the state is man writ large.
class 5. Patriarchal Theory
Population size Small (30-50) Large (in The state arose through process of
thousands) evolution. At the beginning the state
evolved from the smallest unit of society the
family to clan, from clan to tribe, form tribe
Early Civilization and the Rise of the State to nation and lastly from nation to state.
Democratization of Early Civilization7
There are 5 primary theories on how the state
The early states were governed by limited
rose.
few who ascended to power through
wealth, birth right or religious dogma.
1. Divine Right Theory
It is believed that an Athenian statesman
The concept of the divine right of kings, as post
named Cleisthenes proposed demokratia as
ulated by the patriarchal theory of government,
a political ideology that aimed at dispersing
was based upon the laws of God and nature. Th
power from the monopoly of the elites to
e king's power to rule was derived from his ance
the masses.
6 7
The Legacy of Early Humans to
Contemporary Population8
Cultural Heritage – is not limited to material
manifestation, such as monuments and objects that
have been preserved overtime. This notion also
encompasses living expressions and the traditions
that countless groups and communities worldwide
have inherited from their ancestors and transmit to
their descendants, in most cases, orally.
2 Types of Heritage
1. Tangible
a. Movable – pieces are often
removed from the sites where
they were found and transferred
to museums for safe keeping
and maintenance.
b. Immovable – pieces are often
left to elements of nature which
makes them vulnerable to decay
and corrosion.
2. Intangible – these are in the form of
literature, oral traditions, concepts, and
values.
Museum – are the repository of archeological
finds that allow people from the contemporary
period to reconstruct the culture and environment
of their ancestors.
Sociology and the Study of Society
Sociology - a social science that studies human
societies, their interactions, and the processes that
preserve and change them. It does this by
examining the dynamics of constituent parts of
societies such as institutions, communities,
populations, and gender, racial, or age groups.
Sociology also studies social status or
stratification, social movements, and social change,
as well as societal disorder in the form of
crime, deviance, and revolution.
French philosopher Auguste Comte is recognized
for having coined the term sociology.
Theories in Sociology 9
1. Conflict theory looks at society as a
competition for limited resources. This
perspective is a macro-level approach most
identified with the writings of German
philosopher and sociologist Karl Marx
(1818–1883), who saw society as being
made up of individuals in different social
classes who must compete for social,
material, and political resources such as
food and housing, employment, education,
and leisure time. Social institutions like
government, education, and religion reflect
this competition in their inherent
8
9
inequalities and help maintain the unequal
social structure.
2. Functionalism, also called structural-
functional theory, sees society as a
structure with interrelated parts designed to
meet the biological and social needs of the
individuals in that society. Functionalism
grew out of the writings of English
philosopher and biologist, Hebert Spencer
(1820–1903), who saw similarities between
society and the human body; he argued
that just as the various organs of the body
work together to keep the body functioning,
the various parts of society work together
to keep society functioning (Spencer 1898).
The parts of society that Spence referred to
were the social institutions, or patterns
of beliefs and behaviors focused on meeting
social needs, such as government,
education, family, healthcare, religion, and
the economy.
3. Symbolic interactionism is a micro-level
theory that focuses on the relationships
among individuals within a society.
Communication—the exchange of meaning
through language and symbols—is believed
to be the way in which people make sense
of their social worlds. Theorists Herman and
Reynolds (1994) note that this perspective
sees people as being active in shaping the
social world rather than simply being acted
upon.
4. Constructivism is an extension of
symbolic interaction theory which proposes
that reality is what humans cognitively
construct it to be. We develop social
constructs based on interactions with
others, and those constructs that last over
time are those that have meanings which
are widely agreed-upon or generally
accepted by most within the society. This
approach is often used to understand
what’s defined as deviant within a society.
5. Criticism Research done from this
perspective is often scrutinized because of
the difficulty of remaining objective. Others
criticize the extremely narrow focus on
symbolic interaction. Proponents, of course,
consider this one of its greatest strengths.
Sub discipline of Sociology
1. Social organization – this involve social
structures such as institutions, social
groups, social stratification, social mobility,
and ethnic group.
2. Social Psychology – study of impact of
group life to a person’s nature and
personality.
 3. Social change and disorganization –
inquires on the shift in social and cultural
interactions and the interruption of its
process through delinquency, deviance and
conflicts.
4. Populations – inquires on the
interrelationship between population
characteristics and dynamics with that of
political, economic and social system.
5. Applied Sociology – uses sociological
research and methods to solve
contemporary problems.
6. Human ecology – pursues studies that
relate human behavior to existing social
institutions.
Methods of Sociology
1. Positivist – perceives society as a
quantifiable subject from which objective
conclusions can be made.
2. Anti – positivist – promotes a subjective
approach wherein social phenomena are
understood through individual experiences.
Types of societies
1. Hunting and gathering societies - rely
primarily or exclusively on hunting wild
animals, fishing, and gathering wild fruits,
berries, nuts, and vegetables to support
their diet.
2. Pastoral societies - nomadic group of
people who travel with a herd of
domesticated animals, which they rely on
for food. The word 'pastoral' comes from
the Latin root word pastor, which means
'shepherd.
3. Horticultural societies - an organization
devoted to the study and culture of
cultivated plants. Such organizations may
be local, regional, national, or international.
Some have a more general focus, whereas
others are devoted to a particular kind or
group of plants.  build social capital, the glue that holds
4. Agricultural societies - also known as an
agrarian society, is a society that
constructs social order around a reliance
upon farming. More than half the people
living in that society make their living by
farming
5. Industrial societies - a society driven by
the use of technology to enable mass
production, supporting a large population
with a high capacity for division of labour.
6. Post-industrial societies – stage
of society's development when the service
sector generates more wealth than the
manufacturing sector of the economy.
Role of Culture to Human
Culture is the lifeblood of a vibrant society,
expressed in the many ways we tell our stories,
celebrate, remember the past, entertain ourselves,
and imagine the future. Our creative expression
helps define who we are, and helps us see the
world through the eyes of others.10
Individual and Social Benefit of Culture 11
1. Intrinsic Benefit - Participating in culture
can benefit individuals in many different
ways, some of which are deeply personal.
They are a source of delight and wonder,
and can provide emotionally and
intellectually moving experiences, whether
pleasurable or unsettling, that encourage
celebration or contemplation. Culture is also
a means of expressing creativity, forging an
individual identity, and enhancing or
preserving a community’s sense of place.
Cultural experiences are opportunities for
leisure, entertainment, learning, and
sharing experiences with others.  From
museums to theatres to dance studios
public libraries, culture brings people
together.
2. Improved learning and valuable skills
for the future - In children and youth,
participation in culture helps develop
thinking skills, builds self-esteem, and
improves resilience, all of which enhance
education outcomes. For example, students
from low-income families who take part in
arts activities at school are three times
more likely to get a degree than those who
do not.
3. Better health and well-being - Participation
in culture contributes to healthy populations
in several ways. Creativity and cultural
engagement have been shown to improve
both mental and physical health.  Culture is
being integrated into health care
4. Vibrant communities - Culture helps
communities together. By bringing people
together, cultural activities such as festivals,
fairs, or classes create social solidarity and
cohesion, fostering social inclusion,
community empowerment, and capacity-
building, and enhancing confidence, civic
pride, and tolerance.  The social capital
created through culture increases with
regular participation in cultural activities. 
Cultural engagement also plays a key role in
poverty reduction and communities-at-risk
strategies. Culture is important to the vitality
of all communities.
Cultural Relativism
10
11
 Cultural Relativism - Cultural relativism is the 1. Denial: People in the denial stage do not
ability to understand a culture on its own terms recognize the existence of cultural
and not to make judgments using the standards of differences. They are completely
one’s own culture.  ethnocentric in that they believe there is a
correct type of living (theirs), and that those
- is the idea that a person's beliefs, values, and who behave differently simply don’t know
practices should be understood based on that any better. In this phase, people are prone
person's own culture, rather than be judged to imposing their value system upon others,
against the criteria of another. believing that they are “right” and that
others who are different are “confused.”.
Goal of Cultural Relativism: 2. Defense: Those in the defense stage are
no longer blissfully ignorant of other
The goal of this is promote understanding of
cultures; they recognize the existence of
cultural practices that are not typically part of one’s
other cultures, but not their validity. They
own culture. Using the perspective of cultural
feel threatened by the presence of other
relativism leads to the view that no
ways of thinking, and thus denigrate them
one culture is superior than
in an effort to assert the superiority of their
another culture when compared to systems of
own culture..
morality, law, politics.
3. Minimization: People in the minimization
Categories of Cultural Relativism stage of ethnocentrism are still threatened
by cultural differences and try to minimize
1. Absolute - Everything that happens within them by telling themselves that people are
a culture must and should not be more similar than dissimilar. No longer do
questioned by outsiders. The extreme they see those from other cultures as being
example of absolute cultural relativism misguided, inferior, or unfortunate.
would be the Nazi party’s point of view
justifying the Holocaust.
2. Critical - Creates questions about cultural
practices in terms of who is accepting them
and why. Critical cultural relativism also
recognizes power relationships.
Examples of Cultural Relativism
1. Female genital cutting of Africa
2. Chinese culture and their process of feet
binding
Cultural Relativism in Philippine Settings:
Here in the Philippines, premarital sex is morally
unacceptable. If you go to another country,
teenagers want to lose their virginity at a young
age.

Here in the Philippines, we do not cease to debate

on the moral acceptability of contraceptives. In
other country, abortion is perfectly normal, more so
the use of artificial contraceptives

One society make any prohibition on women, while

another society allows women to have equal
opportunities and obligation as men.

Ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism - Ethnocentrism is the term
anthropologists use to describe the opinion that
one’s own way of life is natural or correct. Some
would simply call it cultural ignorance.
Ethnocentrism means that one may see his/her
own culture as the correct way of living. For those
who have not experienced other cultures in depth
can be said to be ethnocentric if they feel that their
lives are the most natural way of living.
3 Stages of Ethnocentrism12

12
Cultural Evolution

Cultural evolution is an evolutionary theory of social change. It follows from the definition

of culture as "information capable of affecting individuals' behavior that they acquire from other
members of their species through teaching, imitation and other forms of social transmission".
Cultural evolution is the change of this information over time.
Cultural evolution, historically also known as sociocultural evolution, was originally developed in the
19th century by anthropologists stemming from Charles Darwin's research on evolution. Today,
cultural evolution has become the basis for a growing field of scientific research in the social
sciences, including anthropology, economics, psychology and organizational studies. Previously, it
was believed that social change resulted from biological adaptations, but anthropologists now
commonly accept that social changes arise in consequence of a combination of social, evolutionary
and biological influences13

Approaches in Cultural Evolution

1. Dual inheritance theory (DIT) - also known as gene–culture coevolution or biocultural

evolution, was developed in the 1960s through early 1980s to explain how human behavior is
a product of two different and interacting evolutionary processes: genetic
evolution and cultural evolution.

Genes and culture continually interact in a feedback loop, changes in genes can lead to changes in
culture which can then influence genetic selection, and vice versa. One of the theory's central claims
is that culture evolves partly through a Darwinian selection process, which dual inheritance theorists
often describe by analogy to genetic evolution

2. Sociocultural evolution -  sociocultural evolutionism or cultural evolution are theories of

cultural and social evolution that describe how cultures and societies change over time.
Whereas sociocultural development traces processes that tend to increase the complexity of a
society or culture, sociocultural evolution also considers process that can lead to decreases in
complexity (degeneration) or that can produce variation or proliferation without any seemingly
significant changes in complexity (cladogenesis). Sociocultural evolution is "the process by
which structural reorganization is affected through time, eventually producing a form or
structure which is qualitatively different from the ancestral form". 14

3. Memetics - is the study of information and culture based on an analogy with Darwinian

evolution. Proponents describe memetics as an approach to evolutionary models of
cultural information transfer. Memetics describes how an idea can propagate successfully, but
doesn't necessarily imply a concept is factual
4. Cultural selection theory - is the study of cultural change modelled on theories of
evolutionary biology. Cultural selection theory has so far never been a separate discipline.
However, it has been proposed that human culture exhibits key Darwinian evolutionary
13

14
 properties, and "the structure of a science of cultural evolution should share fundamental
features with the structure of the science of biological evolution".
5. Unilinear Theory - under the theory of unilineal Cultural Evolution, all societies and cultures
develop on the same path
a. Cultural Particularism - used to be favoured in the sense that cultures were no
longer compared, but they were assessed uniquely.
b. Multilinear - there are no fixed stages (as in unilinear theory) towards cultural
development. Instead, there are several stages of differing lengths and forms.
Although, individual cultures develop differently and cultural evolution occurs
differently, multilinear theory acknowledges that cultures and societies do tend to
develop and move forward.

Stages of Cultural Evolution

Cultural
Divisions Traits Used by Morgan Archaeological "stages"
Stage

Monotheism, monogamy,
capitalism, industrialism, Civilization (ca. 5000 years ago) Traits
Civilization None democracy, social include intensive agriculture, social
classes, political state, stratification, political state, full-time
patriarchy occupational specialists.

Neolithic (ca. 12,000 ya) Traits include

dependency on domesticated plants and
Upper
Use of Iron animals; ie. horticulture; ground stone
Barbarism
tools; pottery. Eventually in certain areas a
Bronze Age and/or Iron Age developed as
Neolithic cultures added the use of metal.

Barbarism Animal
Middle domestication, patrilineal Same; Neolithic is not subdivided in
Barbarism clans; individual archaeology
ownership, polygamy

Plant domestication,
Lower pottery, matrilineal clans, Same; Neolithic is not subdivided in
Barbarism communal ownership; archaeology
clan exogamy

Savagery Upper Paleolithic (ca. 2 million years ago to

Bow and Arrow
Savagery 12,000 ya) Traits include dependency on
hunting and gathering, ie. foraging; flaked
Middle Fire, fishing, hunting, stone tools. The Paleolithic is divided into
 sibling marriage
Savagery
prohibited

Before fire; fruits and

Lower nuts; promiscuous Lower, Middle and Upper, but not based on
Savagery bands, indiscriminate Morgan's traits
mating; communistic

Cultural Symbol

Symbols - the basis of culture. A symbol is an object, word, or action that stands for something
else with no natural relationship that is culturally defined. Everything one does throughout their life is
based and organized through cultural symbolism. Symbolism is when something represents abstract
ideas or concepts. 15

- is a physical manifestation that signifies the ideology of a particular culture or that

merely has meaning within a culture.
- Cultural symbols can represent any aspect of the culture, including nationalism,
belief systems, traditions, language and values

Examples of Cultural Symbols

a. Nationalism

15
b. Belief system

c. Traditions

d. Language

e. Values
Symbolic culture - or nonmaterial culture, is the ability to learn and transmit behavioral traditions
from one generation to the next by the invention of things that exist entirely in the symbolic realm .16

Economic Symbols - it is used to represent a economical stand point. This symbolism can occur in
various media including stock exchange, money currency, gold and petroleum etc.

Examples:

Social symbols – perceived visible, external denotation of one’s social position and perceived
indicator of economic or social status. Status symbol is also sociological term – as part of social and
sociological symbolic interactionism – relating to how individuals and groups interact and interpret
various cultural symbols.17

Examples:

Significance of Symbols

Human cultures use symbols to express specific ideologies and social structures and to
represent aspects of their specific culture. Thus, symbols carry meanings that depend upon one's
cultural background; in other words, the meaning of a symbol is not inherent in the symbol itself but
is culturally learned. 18

Functions of Social Symbol19

1. To facilitate the transmission of culture from group to group

2. To facilitate the preservation of groups in all social regressions symbols are apt to play very
great part.
3. To promote the harmony of the group.

16

17

18
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbol#:~:text=Human%20cultures%20use%20symbols%20to,itself%20but%20is%20culturally
%20learned.
19
https://aap.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00048402508540718?journalCode=rajp19#.XzfvPSgzZPY