Understanding Culture, Society and Politics

 The term culture was first used by the

English anthropologist Edward B.
Tylor in his book, Primitive Culture.
According to Tylor, (1920), culture is
“that complex whole which includes
knowledge, belief, art, law, morals,
customs, and any other capabilities
and habits acquired by man as a
member of society.”
 belief

morals law

CULTURE
acquired by
man as a
member of
society

knowledge art

customs
 Culture denotes acquired behaviors and habits
that are shared by and transmitted among groups
of people as a result of their interaction with one
another.

Acquired Shared by
behaviors and CULTURE
and habits transmitted
Viewed as a complex web of relationships
existing out of man’s interaction with one
another.

relationship interaction
August Comte, the Father of Sociology, saw society as a social
organism possessing harmony of structure and function.
Talcott Parsons, an American sociologist, conceives as system
comprised of the interactions of many individuals within a
situation through commonly understood cultural norms of
generalized symbols and associated meanings.
G.D.H. Cole, an English political theorist and economist, views
the society as a complex of organized associations and
institutions with a community.
Robert Maclver and Charles Page, social scientists, a system
of usages and procedures of authority and mutual aid of many
groupings and divisions, of controls of human behavior and
liberties.
 SOCIETY IS VIEWED AS GROUP OF
PEOPLE WITH A SHARED CULTURE
INTERACTING WITHIN GROUPS AND
INSTITUTIONS.
Interrelated concepts
Merton (1938), sociologists distinguish
society and culture primarily analytical
purposes: it allows sociologist to think about
societal development independent and
cultural change even though societal change
and development are contingent upon culture
Require the interaction of people with one
another
Culture is distinct from society in that it adds
value, merit, and meanings to created
relationship
For instance, manifestations of culture include
language, arts, music, festivals, literature etc.
Meanwhile, examples of society include
villages, cities, districts, municipalities,
religious groups, professional organizations,
educational institutions and the like.
 Anthropology Sociology

The What The How The Why

Refers to the contents of Refers to the processes Refers to the reasons for compliance and the
culture that guarantee the mechanisms that facilitate performance
transmission of the
contents
Actions Learned Through socialization/enculturation:
 Individuals are exposed to and experience lessons
in everyday interactions. The lessons are practical
and addresses their basic social needs

Language Through conformity:

Shared  Actions of individuals are routinized and
institutionalized in contexts like family, church,
schools and government. In time they become part
of their habits.

Attitude Through Social control

 Conformity, or its absence thereof, is meted out
through the system of giving rewards and imposing
of punishments
Communicated
∗With the advent of globalization and increasing virtual
interaction, society and culture is becoming even more
interrelated than ever.
1. Material culture is the visible part. It may be
the food we eat, your cars, your houses or
anything that members of society make, use
and share.
2. Non-material culture is intangible but this
influences our behavior like our language,
beliefs
 1. Technology is one component that makes our life easier. We can have
volume production of goods that can be used by us through this component.
 2. Symbols are cultural representations of reality. They give meanings to
events and things like a statue, handshake, college ring, flag etc.
 3. Language is the most powerful of all human symbols as it allows us to
communicate with one another. It also conveys our beliefs and culture.
 4. Values are ideas. They determine our character. They are the standards
by which we assess goodness, acceptability, beauty or desirability.
 5. Norm is a rule that guides our behavior. It gives concrete terms how we
should behave – what we should do and what we should not do.
 1. Mores distinguish right from wrong.
 2. Folkways distinguish between right and rude. They are
referred as customs. They are measurements of behavior
but not approved by society.
 3. Laws are written rules of conduct enacted and enforced
by government.
 4. Taboo is an activity that is forbidden or sacred based on
religious beliefs or morals. Breaking a taboo is extremely
objectionable in society as a whole. Around the world, an
act may be taboo in one culture and not in another.
 Examples are:
 1. Mores laws: child abuse, rape, carnapping, etc.
 2. Folkway laws: jaywalking, counterflowing, etc.
 3. Law: Driving while drunk, theft, murder, and trespassing
are all examples of laws. If violated, the person violating
the law could get reprimanded, pay a fine, or go to jail.
 4. Taboos: abortion, addiction, cannibalism, offensive
language, slavery, etc.
Learned
Shared
Integrated
Adaptive and Dynamic
Abstract
Symbolic
Social
Varies from society to society
Transmitted among members of society
Continuous and cumulative
Gratifying and idealistic
 Culture is not innate in person. It is also not biological in
nature which means that it is not something that is
physically or genetically inherited.
 Infants are predisposed to acquire specific cultural traits
such as language.
 It takes a while for culture to be acquired and developed
 Example: a child may grow up eating with bare hands
because that is customary to his region. On one hand,
another child may grow up eating with spoon and fork
because that is what his parents do.
 Culture is not possessed by a single person
alone.
 Large groups of people would usually share
similar behavior patterns over time.
 Example: within the Filipino society,
different religious beliefs are practiced
such as Roman Catholic, Islam,
Protestantism
 Different cultural practices may exist within a single
society but ultimately culture remains to be holistic in
nature.
 Different cultural manifestations in a given country create a
specific society that distinguishes it from all others.
 Culture possesses a systematic order that allows the
various parts and elements to be integrated into a single
whole.
 Example: people across different regions of the
Philippines may have varied food preferences and
religious practices but taken together to make up the
entire Filipino nation
 Culture adapts to various environmental and
geographical conditions as witnessed throughout
the context of the history of the world.
 Ancient people survived on hunting skills which
eventually evolved into agriculture, trade, and now
globalization.
 All cultures are bound to change at some point
otherwise problems adapting to a changing
environment would occur.
 There is no single tangible manifestation that can
take the form of culture itself.
 It embodies the ideals, norms, and behavioral
patterns existing within a society.
 Culture in its purest, most abstract form is learned
and inherited from generation to generation
through enculturation.
 All cultures in the world are driven by symbols
that stand for something.
 Symbols in the society are only validated when
people in a specific society agree on what the
symbols stand for.
 One way of expressing symbolic meanings of
culture is through language.
 It allows people to understand and transmit
abstract concepts and ideals to the next
generation.
It 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
Every society has a culture of its own that
differs from other societies
The culture of every society is unique to itself.
Cultures a re not uniform
Culture varies from time to time.
 Many of our culture are “handed-down” by elders,
parents, teachers, and others while other cultural
behaviors are “handed up” to elders.
 It is transmitted from one generation to another. It is
made possible by language. Language is the main
vehicle of culture.
No culture ever remains constant or
changeless.
It is responsive to the changing conditions of
the physical world.
 Culture provides proper opportunities for the
satisfaction of our needs and desires.
 Culture consists of the intellectual, artistic and
social ideals and institutions which the members of
society profess and to which they strive to conform.
Culture defines situations
Culture defines attitudes, values and goals
Culture defines myths, legends and the
supernatural
Culture provides behavior patterns
Ethnocentrism
 Leads people to believe
the inherent superiority of
one’s culture over the
other.
 Making false assumptions
about the ways of others
based on our own limited
experience (Barger 2014)
 People tend to judge other
people based on standards
set by their own cultural
associations.
Cultural
Relativism
 Promotes the idea that no
culture is superior to other.
 Views all culture as worthy in
their own right and are equal
value.
 Neutral perspective
 Commonly define as a
concept that widely accepts
that cultural values and
norms derive their meaning
from a specific context.
XENOCENTRISM
 Refers to a preference for
the foreign
 It is the exact opposite of
ethnocentrism
 Characterized by a strong
belief that one’s own
products, styles or ideas are
inferior to those which
originate elsewhere
XENOPHOBIA
 The fear of what is perceived
as foreign or strange.
 It may include fear of losing
identity, suspicion of the other
group’s activities, aggression,
and the desire to eliminate
the presence of the other
group to secure a presumed
purity.
 According to the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO), cultural heritage is
a legacy of physical artefacts and intangible
attributes of a group or society that are
inherited from past generations, maintained
in the present and bestowed for the benefit
of future generations.
 CULTURE AND SOCIETY ARE INTRICATELY WOVEN
TOGETHER. KNOWING THAT INDIVIDUAL ACQUIRE
CUSTOMS, HABITS, AND PRACTICES IN THE LARGER
CONTEXT OF RELATIONSHIPS CREATED OUT OF HUMAN
INTERACTIONS IS CRUCIAL IN DEVELOPING AN
UNDERSTANDING OF HOW CULTURE AND SOCIETY ARE
RELATED TO ONE ANOTHER.
By: Khyati Mehta
About the author:
Khyati Mehta is an adventurous travel
freak who is always on the lookout for
unique experiences and doesn’t mind taking
the road less travelled.
Make a story about what have you learned from
the lesson. The story should have a minimum of
thirty (30) sentences and forty (40) sentences
maximum.

Today, I’ve learned_____________________