Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics

Lesson 3: Aspects of Culture

Culture – According to E.B Taylor culture is a complex hole, which encompasses beliefs, practices, values, attitudes,
laws, norms, artifacts, symbols, knowledge, and everything that a person learns and shares as a member of society.
Characteristics of Culture
1. Culture is social because it is the product of behavior. Culture does not exist in isolation. It is a product
of society. It develops through social interaction. No man can acquire culture without association with
others.
2. Culture varies from society to society. Every society has a culture of its own that differs from other
societies. The culture of every society is unique to itself. Cultures are not uniform.
3. Culture is shared. Culture is not something that an individual alone can possess. Culture, in a sociological
sense, is shared. For example, customs, traditions, beliefs, ideas, values, morals, etc. are all shared by
people of a group or society.
4. Culture is learned. Culture is not inborn. It is learned. Culture is often called “learned ways of behavior.”
Unlearned behavior is not culture. Unlearned behavior is not culture. Bust shaking hands, saying thanks are
cultural behavior.
5. Culture is transmitted among members of society. The cultural ways are learned by persons from
persons. Many of them are handed down by elders, parents, teachers, and others. While other cultural
behaviors are handed up to elders.
6. Culture is continuous and cumulative. Culture exists as a continuous process. In its historical growth, it
tends to become cumulative. Sociologist Linton called culture the social heritage of man. It becomes
difficult for us to imagine what society would be like without culture.
7. Culture is gratifying and idealistic. Culture provides proper opportunities for the satisfaction of our
needs and desires. Our needs both biological and social are fulfilled in a cultural way.
Functions of Culture
1. Culture allows man to adjust and adapt to be integrated with his environment through his creativity and
resourcefulness to survive.
2. Culture maintains its patterns of etiquette, protocols, manners, right conduct, and norms considered as
acceptable social behavior as established by the laws, mores, as well as folkways.
3. Culture sends its meanings through verbal and non-verbal communication, written and non-written language,
symbolism and various forms of expressions.
4. Culture creates man-made things such as clothing, tools, instruments, machines, equipment, structures, etc.
made possible by technological know-how.
5. Culture paves way to overall human satisfaction as ways to make life more enjoyable, more comfortable,
easier, and more rewarding such as recreational activities, leisure, entertainment and arts, etc. are made.
Elements of Culture
1. Knowledge refers to any information received and perceived to be true.
2. Beliefs – the perception of accepted reality.
3. Reality refers to the existence of things whether material or nonmaterial.
4. Social Norms – these are established expectations of society as to how a person is supposed to act
depending on the requirements of the time, place or situation.
Ethnocentrism
The word ethno comes from the Greeks and it refers to a people, nation, or cultural grouping. Centric, on the other
hand, comes from the Latin and refers to the “center.” The term ethnocentrism then refers to the tendency of
each society to take place its own culture patterns at the center of things. Ethnocentrism is the practice of
comparing other cultural practices with those of one’s own and automatically finding those other cultural practices
to be inferior.
Cultural Relativism
Cultural relativism is the idea that all norms, beliefs, and values are dependent on their cultural context and should
be treated as such. A key component of cultural relativism is the concept that nobody, not even researchers, comes
from a neutral position. The way to deal with our own assumptions is not to pretend that they don’t exist, but
rather to acknowledge them and then use the awareness that we are not neutral to inform our conclusions.
Culture as Heritage
Cultures have tangible (visible) and intangible (nonmaterial) components. The tangible ones are those that are
produced and created based on specific and practical purposes and aesthetic values while typical intangible
heritage may be associated with events.