UCSP Chapters 2 and 3 Notes

Lesson 1: The Interpretative

Dynamics of Society - Society has an effect in our daily and routine
actions and behavior. Everything that we do,
Society as a concept
think, and are capable of doing and thinking
- Tool to grasp the complexity of the all emanate from society.
phenomenon it represents and a way to - Controls the laws made and to be made and
explore the various dimensions hidden by even the law makers
its normative use - Has the capacity to rob us of our
- Archetype that depicts the progression freedom/free will
structure and dynamics of the cultural and - We cannot expect in life but we are given
social realm. different routes to be able to pursue our
- “society” was coined by social scientist to dreams.
facilitate their exploration of social
phenomena.
What Makes Society Possible?
Society as a Facility
- Sociological approach: explained through a
- It was formally defined as constituting a
theoretical nature
fairly large number of people who are living
➢ Question is not asking the
in the same territory (dependent within
historical origins of society but
their area and participate in common
instead asks how and why a
culture)
society is formed and how it is
• Society is limited and limiting by
possible regardless of the time
definition:
frame.
a. Limited – belittles the most
- There are Three Theoretical
important component of this
Perspectives/Classical Theories of Origin:
phenomenon – interactions.
b. Limiting – interpretive tradition of
sociology provides a more coherent
A. Structural Functionalism and Social order
definition of society
- Looks at the social order
➢ Society is an outcome of
- Formed through cooperation and
multiple interactions of people
interdependence
upon which succeeding
- Views society as a system with parts, and
interactions are made
these parts have their respective functions
meaningful and possible.
to perform or system with different parts
➢ Society only exists if there are
doing their own function
people interacting
- Gives overemphasis on functions proven to
- Bear in mid the twin concepts of social
be providential to the structural-functional
forces and social facts: mechanics of
perspective.
operation of society as a factual entity.
- School though also states that it might also
Society as a Deity – society can be associated be the cause of division in society
with a deity or God as it possesses the tripartite B. Conflict Theory and Conflict
or this can be called “In God Metaphor”: - Sees society as an arena and is opposite to
order
a. Omnipotence (all-powerful) –
Coup d’etat – ➢ Rather than emphasizing on the
agents and control and runs the
sudden change chaos from the “arena” it views
machinery of social control
of the conflict as an advantage or in a
b. Omniscience (all-knowing) –
government or positive manner to make
overthrowing of it’s a “library” it keeps all possible
change and dynamism
a government knowledge and collects memories of
- Sees conflict in a positive, advantageous,
by a small group people.
and progressive way
c. Omnipresence (everywhere) –
- Conflict brings new relations thus with this
its “spies” are scattered in the four
it emphasizes on the process instead of the
corners of the world.
interdependence of society.
 C. Symbolic Interactionalism and Meaning-
Making
- Does NOT deal with either order or conflict
- Focuses on generating meaning in society’s
environment
- Explores on the issues of meaning-making
and why this is crucial in understanding
order and conflict as a process that brings
about society.
- The definitions and meanings affect what a
person acts upon their actions and
interactions.
• Meaning – basis of actions towards or
against a specific element of the
environment. It cannot be derived easily
as it is ascribed and lodged on symbols
that represents something.
• Symbols – interpreted intersubjectively
by social actors
Rules: Invisible Hand of Society
• Rules – guides in the performances of
roles and in everyday actions and
interactions
- Provide order in a system characterized by
the presence of many actors with different
businesses and agendas to pursue.
- Essential in the everyday conduct of every
person.
- Set of customs, traditions, and values of a
society or community
- May scale from small or large groups of
people, culture is what shapes these groups.
- Used to describe specific practices within a
subgroup of a society.
Culture and Society
Ralph Linton – stressed the relationship
between society, culture and personality
- “A society is an organized group of
individuals. A culture is an organized group
of learned responses. The individual is a
living organism capable of independent
thought, feeling, and action, but his
independence, is limited and all his
resources are profoundly modified by
contact with the society and culture which
he does develop”.
- Society cannot exist apart from culture; it is
ALWAYS made up of persons and their
groupings.
- No culture can exist except as it is
embodying in a human society; no society
can operate without cultural directives.

Written Rules Unwritten Rules

- Easily seen and are easily - These are based on the
observed and obeyed morals a person
- Makes difficult situations possesses
easier. - Give invaluable insights
- Made and are legalized by into the nature of social
the government or behavior
established by authorities - You may not know the
rule exists

Culture as a Concept

- E.B. Taylor says that culture “is that complex

whole which includes knowledge, belief, art,
morals, law, customs, and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by man as a
member or society”.
- Central concept of anthropology
- Used to denote complex networks of
practices that humans do
- It is what makes us who we are, from
relationships, kinships, language,
knowledge, practices, arts and etc.
 Lesson 2: Aspects of
Culture
Culture – people’s way of life
E.B Taylor or Edward Burnett Taylor said that
culture is “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 society.”
- understanding a part of culture can only be
possible if you understand the other relation
parts of culture.
The What, How, and Why of Culture
- Culture is interconnected directly or
indirectly with each other.
- Without the What of culture we cannot
have the How and the Why of culture.
What of Culture – actions, artifacts, language
and behavior that characterize a given culture.
- This is WHAT encompasses a culture or
what’s within the culture
How of Culture – processes that guarantee the
transmission and dissemination of the contents.
– the process in which how culture is learned,
communicated and shared within the
community.
Why of Culture – pinpoints the reasons why
individuals comply and the mechanisms that
facilitate the performance of expected behavior.
- Explains WHY our actions or experience are
so.
*Culture CANNOT be done in isolation*
Enculturation and Third Culture Shock
Enculturation – counterpart concept of
socialization
- The gradual acquisition of the
characteristics of a culture by another
culture.
- We adapt a characteristic of a culture that is
not ours.
- Starts with the exposure to another culture
and the duration and extent a person is
exposed to it.
- It is NOT pervasive as socialization
Culture Shock – example of enculturation, due
to an unfamiliar culture we tend to be
“shocked” to it
- People who have stayed for a good portion
of their lives in a foreign culture may be
shocked once they go back to their birth
culture
- Shock from birth culture is a product of
enculturation from the second culture we
have experienced
Aspects of Culture
- E.B Taylor: the first to coin “culture” in the
18th century
- Culture and society go together thus
studying the society will not be complete
without culture
- Culture: the unique possession of man,
unique quality of man that separates him
from the lower-class animals. This includes
all the acquired needs of man
Definitions of Culture
There are many definitions of culture and
according to:
Bronislaw Malinowski – “the handiwork of man
and the medium through which he achieves his
ends”
Robert Redfield – “an organized body of
conventional understandings manifest in art
which persisting through tradition, characterizes
a human group”
V. de Robert – “the body of thought and
knowledge, both theoretical and practical,
which only man can possess”.
The one who captured the full essence of what
culture is, is:
Edward Burnett (E.B.) Taylor who said that:
“that complex whole which includes knowledge,
belief, art, morale, laws, customs, and any other
capabilities and habits as acquired by man as a
member of society. “
Culture
- Exists in the minds or habits of the
members of society and is the people’s
shared ways or doing and thinking.
- We cannot see culture as such we can only
see human behavior.
Characteristics of Culture
- Reflects the features of culture
- Culture means: “way of life” or “design for
living”, as the daily routines and activities
are mostly influenced by culture
Kluckhohn and Kelly defined culture as:
“A culture is a historically derived system of
explicit and implicit designs for living, which
tends to be shared by all or specially designed
members of a group.”
Implicit Explicit
- Exist in the - Similarities in
abstract forms words and
which are not actions that CAN
obvious or be DIRECTLY
cannot be observed
directly observed Example:
Cultural behavior of
adolescence: they
way teens dress and
present themselves.
Characterization of culture revolves around
these three essences:
a.) Super-organic – something superior to
nature because nature serves as the
ingredient of any cultural productions
- Different phenomenon from a cultural point
of view (worshipping a tree etc.)
b.) Integrated – all cultures are connected
with each other.
- It being integrated makes culture pervasive.
c.) Pervasive – touches every aspect of life
and is manifested in two ways:
1. Provides unquestioned context,
touching not only the emotional
action but relational actions as well
2. Pervades social activities and
institutions
Ruth Benedict: “a culture, like an individual, is a
more or less consistent pattern of thought and
action.”
7 Characteristics of Culture:
1. Culture is Social because it is the
product of behavior.
- Culture does not exist in isolation but is a
product of SOCIETY
- Without associating with each other man
cannot learn culture since culture is a
product of behavior
- As people behave, there are changes that
occur in them, certain behaviors then will
not be present now or they GROW OUT of
their previous behavior.
- The experience of other people influences a
person as he or she grows up.
2. Culture Varies from society to society
- Culture in every society is unique to them
- Cultural elements: traditions, customs,
morals, values, and beliefs are not uniform
and is different for every society.
- Culture also varies from time to time
- Culture is a human product thus explains
the variations of culture.
- It is not a force that acts on its own but
culture is dependent of humans, as culture
does NOT move on its own.
3. Culture is shared
- Not an individual possesses but is shared by
a group of people
- Patterns in behavior are not only produced
by one person but it is possessed by few
persons usually a larger group
- However, people may share unequal parts
of culture,
- Differences and similarities in a group is still
part of culture (Catholics and
Christians/Protestants)
- Agreements are largely unnoticed but
disagreements are noticed
4. Culture is learned
- It is NOT inborn, it is learned
- Culture is often termed as “learned ways of
behavior”
- Cultural behaviors like shaking hands,
bowing, saying thanks are learned
- unlearned behaviors are NOT culture.
- Some behaviors are seen while some are
unseen
- Not all behaviors are learned but MOST of it
is learned like: combing hair, standing in
line, telling jokes etc.
- The learned behavior of people is Patterned
- As a general rule: behavior is somewhat
integrated or organized with the related
behavior of other persons.
5. Culture is transmitted among members
of society
- Learned from person to person
- Handed down from generation to
generation
- Transmission of culture is made possible by
language,
➢ Language: main vehicle for
culture, makes it possible for
the present generation to know
and understand the old
generation
- Someone cannot learn culture
spontaneously but they learn it from
someone
- Specialized Language Pattern: serves as a
common bond to the members of a society.
6. Culture is continuous and Cumulative
- It exists as a continuous process and in its
historical growth it become cumulative
- Culture varies from society to society and
group to group within each society creating
subcultures (related to general culture but
distinguishable)
- Culture is an unending change
- It does not remain constant or changeless
- Responsive to the conditions of the physical
world making it dynamic
Ralph Linton: called culture “the social heritage
of man”
7. Culture is gratifying and idealistic
- Our needs and desires are fulfilled in
cultural ways
- Determines and guides various activities of
man and it embodies ideas and norms of a
group.
- Both biological and social needs are
touched by culture
- Culture embodies the norms and ideas of a
group.
4 Functions of Culture
- Has functions for both the individuals and
the society:
1. Defines Situations
- Culture has subtle cues which define each
situation
- Each society has its insulting and fighting
words
- The cues (hints) which define situations
appear in infinite variety.
- People can misread cues if they move from
one place to another due to unfamiliar
culture.
2. Defines Attitudes, Values and Goals
- Each person learns his/her culture what is
good, true, and beautiful
- Attitude: tendencies to feel and act in a
certain way
- Values: measure of goodness or desirability
- Goals: attainment which our values define
as worthy
- Culture channels individual ambitions
- Culture determines the goals of life.
3. Defines Myths, Legends, and the
Supernatural
- Myths and legends are important parts of
every culture, as it showcases or inspire and
reinforce effort, sacrifice and bring comfort
to those who are in agony.
- Provides the individuals with a ready-made
view of the world with these stories and
sayings.
- Ghosts are real to people who believe they
are and are not to those who believe they
are not.
- Religious Traditions: gives answers to the
major questions of life and prepares
individuals to meet life’s crises.
4. Provides Behavior Patterns
- Find ready-made set of patterns for them to
follow and learn
- To secure a mate, one does not need to
wonder as he/she already knows based on
their culture
- These ready-made patterns are made so
individuals don’t need to go through trial
and errors to know how to act.
- Culture imposes LIMITS on humans and
their activities
➢ Provides order and restricts
disorderly behavior
➢ Society without rules or norms
is like a busy street without
traffic lights.
Ethnocentrism
- Came from the Greek word “Ethno” which
means people, nation, or cultural grouping
and Latin word “centric” which refers to
center
- Tendency of each society to place its own
culture patterns at the center of things
(thinks his/her culture is far more superior
than others)
- To judge other cultures based on your own
culture
- Coined by William Graham Sumner
- Universal human reaction found in all
known societies
Ethnocentrism is taught either indirectly and
unintentionally or deliberately and is considered
a fact of life.
Functions of Ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism:
1. Encourages the solidarity of a group
- The belief in the superiority of one’s ways
encourages a “we” feeling
- Strengthens values of loyalty and
preservation of the basis of superiority
- Promotes the status quo; discourages
change
- It negatively discourages change
2. Hinders understanding and
cooperation between groups
- There is a little effort to interact with
inferior groups
- Suspicion, disdain, and hostility will soon
rise and result in conflict.
- Extreme ethnocentrism can result to
conflict
3. Through conflict, leads to social change
- Becomes a vehicle for the promotion of
social change
- The encouragement of peaceful evolution
will arise
Signs of Ethnocentrism:
1. Judge the behavior and beliefs of
people that are different from yours
- Way out: stop judging others whoa re
different from you.
2. When you believe that there are
primitive cultures especially if their
way of life is different from yours.
- Way out: Unlearn that your culture is
superior and others are inferior
3. When you believe that some cultures
are backward if they lack the
technology and consumerism of your
own culture
- Way out: Remember that there are no
backward cultures and each culture provide
all human needs to its members.
Cultural Relativism
- All norms, beliefs, and values depend on
cultural context
- A component is the awareness of not being
neutral
- The belief that equality and difference do
not translate to superiority or inferiority
- Also, it is a research method.
- The function and meaning of a trait are
relative to its cultural setting.
- The interpretation of other cultures in light
of THEIR motives, habits, and values
- NOT all customs are equally valuable; some
might be dangerous and we must provide a
substitute for the culture to be preserved
- Certain traits are right, while others are
wrong in particular settings.
- Appreciation of other cultures come from:
➢ Acquisition of sufficient
knowledge
➢ Direct exposure to other
cultures
Xenocentrism and Xenophobia

Culture as Heritage