CULTURE, SOCIETY AND

POLITICS AS CONCEPTUAL
TOOLS
 As Concepts:

They exist in the realm of ideas

and thoughts
They cannot be seen or touched
and yet they influence the way
we see and experience our
individual and collective lives as
social beings.
Concepts are invented as icons
to capture phenomena
 As Concepts…
they can be used as a tool to
explore not only social experiences
and phenomena, but their
“organizing effects” in making
sense of social realities
As conceptual tools, they allow us
to form other concepts, or relate
concepts to each other, or even
deconstruct old ones and replace
them with something new.
Weber: “concept is one of the great
tool of all scientific knowledge”.
Social Realities: Behavior & Phenomena
Istambay, Lagay, Food Taboos, Same sex
Partnership, use of a go-between/padrino

Values and Beliefs as Behavior Motivators

VALUES- a person’s or a collectivity’s
principles or standards of behavior and are
considered as judgment of what is important
in life.
They are important and lasting beliefs or ideals
shared by the members of a culture about what is
good or bad and desirable or undesirable.
They have major influence on a person’s behavior
and attitude, and they serve as broad
guidelines in behavior in all
situations.
Values are the criteria people use in
assessing their daily lives, arranging
their priorities, and choosing
between alternative courses of
action.
BELIEF- is something one accepts
as true or real. It takes a form of
firmly held opinion or conviction
Beliefs
May be based on tradition, faith,
experience, scientific research, or
some combination of these.
Both values and beliefs are
commonly shared by a particular
culture.
 The SOCIAL SCIENCES:
Sociology, Anthropology & Political Science

A. Date Retrieval Chart (DRC)

Name Background contribution in the dev’t

of sociology

1. Emile Durkheim
2. Karl Marx
3. Max Weber
4. Charles Horton Cooley
5. George Herbert Mead
 B.(5 columns)

1.Social Sciences- Sociology,

Anthropology,Pol Sci.
2.Definition
3.Main Concerns
4.Historical Dev’t
5.How can the discipline provide explanation
and address social inequality, cultural
diversity and social diversity
 The Social as “Driver of Interaction”
Three Ways to Study Society:
1. By mapping the social forces impinging on
social actors as their lives intersect in
society;
2. By rehearsing the structures and
components of cultural practices and
traditions;
3. By exposing the asymmetrical power
distributions among members of social
communities and organizations.
> to understand the dynamics of social
interactions in society
These Attempts to Understand?
Notably in the academe, they are
formally referred to as
DISCIPLINES because of their
specific perspective or focus.
If the perspective highlights the
external influences that facilitate or
constrain human actions, the
discipline is called SOCIOLOGY.
If the perspective underlines the
role of cultural structures in
organizing human interactions, the
These Attempts to Understand…
Discipline is referred to as ANTHROPOLOGY

 If the perspective zeroes in on power

relations and how these produce layered
modalities of opportunities among social
actors, then the discipline is called
POLITICAL SCIENCE.

> They are complementary perspectives as

they provide different ways of making sense
of social dynamics.
 SOCIOLOGY
What is Sociology?
> is a behavioral science that deals
with the study of society. The origin,
evolution, characteristics and
functions, dimensions and basic social
institutions are studied in sociology.
The word was derived from two terms:
“logos” , which means study or
science and :socius:, which means
group or partners.
 Anthropology
What is Anthropology?
 Is a behavioral science that deals with
the study of culture. The components,
characteristics,functions, modes of
adaptation of culture as well as cultural
value and practices are studied in
anthropology.
 It is derived from two Greek words
“logos” which means study and
“anthropo”, which means man.
 POLITICAL SCIENCE
What is Political Science?
 Deals with the study of politics or
government. It also deals with the
foundation of the state and the
principles of government.
 In political science, the way people
govern themselves; the various
forms of government, their
structures and their relationship to
other institutions in society are
studied.
RELATIVITY OF THE THREE MULTI-
DISCIPLINES

Anthropology Sociology
Culture Society

Man

Political Science
Political Institution
Significance of Studying Culture

How should the Church foster social

transformation and assist the little people in
bringing about harmony and “kaayusan” in
their lives?
How should the Church announce the
Kingdom of Justice, Peace and Love in the
context of great social, economic, political
and cultural imbalances?
How can we, as a community of the Lord’s
disciples, be a leaven of social
transformation?
Significance of Studying Society
Our struggle to build the Kingdom of God is a
pilgrim journey, a journey to truth and
justice, to love and peace, a journey to full
life.
In the poverty and underdevelopment of our
nation, in its conflicts and divisions,
we see the hand of human sinfulness,
particularly the grasping paws of greed for
profit and power.
It is sinfulness that is the root of our
socio-economic and political
problems, and we need to name
the problems by their true name
of sin.
Significance of Studying Politics
“Structures of sin” or social sins, which
consist of situations, collective
behavior, or structures that cause
and perpetuate social injustices.
the all-consuming desire for profit,
the thirst for power, with the intention
of imposing one’s will upon others
 Societal Features and Cultural
Elements
1. Size – a society is relatively large in
term of number of members.
2. Territory- all societies occupy a
definite area or space on the planet.
Such space is physically bound in
such a way that members can identify
and locate the specific geographic
area where their society is found.
3. Common culture- shared by its
members or a way of living
otherwise they would not be able
to coherently relate and interact
with one another.
4. Sense of belongingness- is a
result of patterned interactions by
society’s members in many
different ways and instances over
time.
5. Common Historical Experience-
society’s members engage in and
share a common historical
experience and the feeling that
everyone in the particular society
has a common destiny.
. Common or major language that
everyone understands and uses
as part of its national patrimony
or heritage.
6. Autonomy- expressed in a
society’s capacity to sustain its
existence vis-à-vis other societies
Cultural Elements
through social institutions that organize, manage and
regulate it from within.

Common Elements in Culture that all Societies Have:

1.Symbols
2.Language
3.Values
4.Norms
5.Rituals
6.Forms of Expressions
7.Artifacts
Cultural Elements…
The Social Doctrines of the Church

Integral Development: Human dignity

and solidarity
For development to be integral it must
serve the total person in all
dimensions including the interior, that
is the spiritual dimension and eternal
salvation of human person.
Universal Purpose of Earthly Goods
and Private Property
God destined the earth and all it
contains for all men and all peoples so
that all created things would be shared
fairly by all humankind under the
guidance of justice tempered by charity.
Social justice and love
Development cannot be achieved unless
it is thoroughly imbued with justice and
love
Peace and active non-violence
The Kingdom of God proclaimed by
Jesus is not a Kingdom to be imposed
by the force of arms. It is a Kingdom to
be built by love, the love of the suffering
servant.
Peace is a harmony in the human heart
and in the social order brought about by
justice, requiring respect for human
dignity and human rights, the promotion
of the common good by one and all, and
the constant practice of solidarity.
Love of Preference for the Poor
The common good dictates that more
attention must be given to the less
fortunate members of the society.
Eternal salvation depends on the living
out of love of preference for the poor
because the poor and the needy bear
the privileged presence of Christ.
The Value of Human Work
A just development would have to give
full recognition to the dignity of human
work.
Jesus worked as a carpenter
The human person is the subject of work
and must not be treated as an
instrument of production. The person
has primacy over things.
Integrity of Creation
A true and just development must
fundamentally be concerned with a passionate
care of our earth and our environment
The sovereignty granted to us by the Creator is
not a license to misuse God’s creation. We are
but stewards of creation, not its absolute
master. And stewards are accountable to the
Creator and giver of all good things.
People Empowerment
No social transformation is genuine and
lasting where people themselves do not
actively participate in the process.
Persons are the active and responsible
subjects of social life.
People’s participation is a recognition of
God’s fundamental gifts of freedom and
responsibility.
The building of God’s Kingdom begins,
after all, on earth and depends on
human cooperation with the grace of
God,
Empowering people is thus a
prerequisite in the renewal of our
country. Without it, our destiny as a
people would remain in the hands of the
few.