BASIC CONCEPTS

CULTURE:
- Means beautiful, refined or interesting.
Definitions
E.B. Taylor:
• Complex whole including
• Knowledge, belief, art, morals, laws and customs
• any other capabilities acquired by man
• As member of society
Redfield:
• Organized body of conventional
understanding
• Manifest is art, artifact
• Persisting through tradition
Joseph Pieper:
• Quintessence of all natural good of the world
• Those gifts and qualities
• Lie beyond immediate sphere of his needs.
White, L.A
• Culture is a symbolic, continuous
• Cumulative, progressive process.
Culture
• All that man acquired in mental and
intellectual sphere
Maciver and Page
• Realm of styles, of values, emotional
attachment, intellectual adventures
• Antithesis of civilization
• Expression of nature in modes of living
thinking in every day inter course in art,
literature, recreation and enjoyment
Essential Characteristics
1. It includes all those elements which man
created
2. Novel elements increases complexity
3. Communicated from one generation to
another
4. It is found only in human society
Factors concerning nature of culture
1. Culture is an acquired quality
• Traits learned through socialization, habits and
thoughts.
2. Culture is communicative
• Communicated from generation to generation
3. Culture is social not individual
• It includes ideal patterns, norms
• Socially transmitted
4. Culture is idealistic
• It includes ideal patterns, norms
• Society accepts these ideals, norms, patterns
5. Culture fulfils some need
• Culture fulfils ethical and social needs
• Without fulfilling these need, culture cannot
exist
6. Culture has the characteristic of adaptation
• Culture undergoing change and adapted to
external forces
7. Culture has the quality of becoming
integrated
• Its various parts are integrated with each
other.
Culture complex
• Cultural trait – unit of culture
• Bunch of collected traits – culture complex
• Culture complexes – food habits, different
occupations
• Culture complexes in India – caste system,
joint family, karma etc.
• Some culture complexes more effective
Culture civilization
• Civilization – more evolved form of culture
(J.K. Gillin, J.P. Gillin)
• Culture becomes civilization, when it acquires
written language, science, philsophy,
technology ( A.W. Green)
Weber
• Civilization includes material objects
• Culture consists of ideals, values
Maciver and Page
• Civilization includes basic technology type
writer, press, motor etc.
• Culture includes religion, art, literature