Values

Beliefs Language

Rituals Manners of

Thoughts
CULTURE interacting

Communication
Relationships
Expected
Roles behaviours
Practices Customs
 CULTURE IN
ANTHROPOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE
◇ The most celebrated definition of culture is that
of English anthropologist Edward B. Tylor.

◇ According to him, culture is “a complex whole

which includes knowledge, beliefs, law, arts,
moral, customs, and other capabilities and habits
acquired by man as a member of the society”.

◇ Anthropologist believe that culture is not innate

among humans but is acquired and is learned
from a person’s environment.
MODES OF ACQUIRING
CULTURE

◇Imitation
◇Formal Teaching
◇Conditioning
Imitation
◇A child’s formative years is crucial in determination of
what kind of person will he become when he grows up.
Parents and other significant persons in a child’s life serve
as role models that a child can imitate.

Example:
◇Filipino culture traits like saying “po” and “opo” and
kissing an elder’s hand or cheeks were passed on to us
because it was modelled to us by our parents and relatives
since we were young.
Formal teaching
◇ Some aspects of our culture were taught to us
through formal teaching. Institutions like the
government, school, and the church were in
charge of instilling in our minds with certain
cultural practices we must live up to a member of
the society.

Examples:
❑ Doing sign of the cross while passing on the church
❑ Pausing for Lupang Hinirang
❑ Segregating Garbages
Conditioning

◇Rewards and punishments are a result of

satisfaction or dissatisfaction about the way of
a person executes a cultural practice.
Through rewards and praises, a person
realizes the value of goodness and thus will be
conditioned to act a certain behavior or action
expected in his culture.
 CULTURE IN
ANTHROPOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE
“culture is the expression of our nature
in our modes of living and our thinking;
intercourse in our literature, in religion,
in recreation and enjoyment” –
Maciver,1931
“culture is the sum total of human
achievements, material as well as non-
material, capable of transmission,
sociologically, by tradition and
communication vertically as well as
horizontally” –H.T. Mazumadar, 1966
“culture is the handiwork of man and the
medium through which he achieves his
ends” –Malinowski, 1944
“culture is the sum total of integrated
learned behaviour patterns which are
characteristics of the members of the
society and which are therefore not the
result of biological inheritance” –E.A
Hobel, 1958
 CULTURE IN
SOCIOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE
◇ The notion of culture as a social phenomenon and of
the relationship between culture and society reflect on
how ideas were made public and shared by the society.
◇ Griswold argues that all cultural objects must have
people who receive and make meaning of them.
◇ Culture provides meaning and order through the use of
symbols, whereby certain things designated as cultural
objects are endowed with significance over and above
their material utility.
◇ Symbols are not limited to tangible objects, they also
include practices or the way we do things.
 CULTURE IN
SOCIOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE
◇ According to Joseph Fichter, “a person may escape
society for a while but he can never escape culture”

◇ A typical example of this is how Filipinos living

overseas still insist on their own indigenous habits like
“pagmamano,” eating tuyo, bagoong and balut, and
thinking of the right pasalubong for their loved ones back
home.

◇ Thus, sociologists see the important role of culture in

shaping the human society.
CULTURE?
◇ Sociologists and anthropologists viewed culture
in a different light. For them, every person is
considered to be cultured. Cultured is considered
as a “blueprint for living, a pattern to follow”

◇ Since culture is diverse and varies based on

many factors (geography, race, age, gender, etc)
there is no superior, international or universal
morality, that the moral and ethical rules of all
cultures deserve equal respect.
 INSECTS FOR
STREET FOOD:
THAILAND
◇Discovering Legacies reveals that in
Thailand, it’s commonplace to consume
insects. They are served in different ways as
street food. When you come from a country
that is mostly disgusted by insects, this can
be hard to overcome!
 IMPOSSIBLE ROAD
TRAFFIC: EGYPT
◇ Egypt isn’t alone in having insane road traffic,
but it is definitely one of the countries where the
craziness on the roads stands out.
◇ Many western travellers come from countries
where it’s customary to cross the road at the
lights. In Egypt, however, it doesn’t really work
like that. You just have to find a way to cross
when you can.
◇ Cars aren’t afraid to speed right past you, so it
isn’t the best place to take a risk when crossing
the road.
 MIND YOUR
MANNERS: JAPAN
◇ Japan is one of the nations that tend to shock western
travellers the most. There are lots of customs to get
used to that westerners have never heard before, and
one of them is the absolute dedication to politeness
while out in public.
◇ If you’re going to travel by public transport in Japan,
it’s considered bad manners to make any noise. Travel
Talk Mag explains that it’s even considered rude to
answer your phone on the train. Put all your devices on
silent until you’re in private so you don’t disturb other
commuters.
 LEAVE FOOD ON
YOUR PLATE: CHINA
◇ The etiquette around dining tends
to vary from country to country.
Visitors to China can often be left a
little bamboozled after being
expected to leave food on their
plates. If you eat everything on your
plate in China, it looks like you’re
still hungry, which can be offensive
to the host.
 AVOIDING USING
RED INK: SOUTH
KOREA
◇ Based on their history and
customs, red ink was used to
write down names of dead
people. It is therefore
considered a taboo to write
someone’s name in red.
 INITIATION
CUSTOM: BRAZIL
◇ It is strange how young boys prove their bravery
and strength. In the Satare Mawe tribe they
showcase the courage by placing hands in a
basket filled with angry bullet ants. The bites are
real pain.
 THE POLTERABEND
CUSTOM: GERMANY
◇ Just before couples are wed, their families
and close friends meet for an informal affair.
Then, all guests are requested to break
things such as dinner wares and flower
vases, anything except glasses. As soon as
the entire place is in disarray, the couples
should clear up the broken things.
◇ This tradition shows the couple the
significance of being united and of hard
work, which is necessary to make their
marriage work.
 TYPES OF CULTURE
MATERIAL
NON-MATERIAL
CULTURE
CULTURE

Physical objects or artifacts Consist of intangible properties and

elements of society

Concrete and things that man

creates and uses Language, beliefs, values, attitudes,
ideas, and norms
Tools, weapons and implements, clothing,
wooden chair, book and other concrete
elements
 COMPONENTS OF
CULTURE
1. NORMS
2. VALUES
3. LANGUAGES
4. FASHION, FADS AND
CRAZES
 COMPONENTS OF
CULTURE
1. NORMS
- Guides or models of behaviour which tells us
what is proper and which are not.
- Norms are cultural expectations on how to
behave in a given situation.
- Norms are usually in the form of rules,
standards, or prescriptions followed by
people who follow certain standards or roles.
 Social norms
regarding public
behaviour
COMPONENTS OF
Social norms while
using the phone
Social norms when
dining out
Social norms on
elevators
Social norms in the
classroom and
school
Shake hands when
you meet someone.
Say hello when
answering and
goodbye before you
CULTURELeave a tip for the
waiter or waitress.
Never push extra
buttons, only the one
for you.
Do not use cell
phone during class.

hang up.
Make direct eye Don’t take a phone Do not talk when Acknowledge others Come to class
contact with the call during dinner, your mouth is full. in the elevator with a prepared with book,
person you are either in public or at simple nod or hi. paper & pen.
speaking with. home.
If someone sneezes Put your phone in Do not belch loudly Stand facing the Ask the teacher if
near you, say “bless silent if you are in a at the table. front. Do not turn you can be excused
you”. meeting or at around and face during class to use
church. other passenger. the restroom.
Say “please” when Do not lie or hang up Chew with your Come to school on
asking for something if someone has the mouth closed and time.
and say “thankyou” wrong number. avoid making loud
when someone does Inform them their sounds while
something for you. mistake. chewing.
 COMPONENTS OF
CULTURE
2. VALUES

- Represent the abstract standards in a

community that define the ideal principles
of what is good, just, and desirable.
- The values of a society shape its
normative system and guide the
behaviour of its people.
 COMPONENTS OF
CULTURE
In a study about Filipino values, Jaime
Bulantao, SJ, discovered the following
values held highly by the Filipinos.
1. Emotional closeness and security in the family
2. The authority value
3. Economic and social betterment
4. Patience, suffering, endurance
Other value orientations such as love, truth, social
responsibility, nationalism and global solidarity.
 COMPONENTS OF
CULTURE
3. LANGUAGE
- System of symbols that have specific
and arbitrary meaning in a given
society.
- Symbolic communication or language
that sets human beings apart from
other species.
 COMPONENTS OF
CULTURE
4. FASHION, FADS, CRAZES

- Short-lived social norms which people are

expected to comply with.
- Examples of these are new styles of clothes,
bags, shows and hairdo.
- They may also include new styles of houses,
cars, appliances, and even music.
“Culture makes people understand each other
better. And if they understand each other
better in their soul, it is easier to overcome the
economic and political barriers. But first they
have to understand that their neighbour is, in
the end, just like them, with the same
problems, the same questions” – Paul Coelho
ACTIVITY #5
Cite at least three
unique cultural
practices around the
world.