The Concept of Culture
The concept of culture encompasses the values, beliefs, institutions, languages, arts, customs, and capabilities that characterize a group of people. The term may also refer to a particular way of life or art, or to the system of social control that supports cultural production and distribution. The culture of a society is often a source of its power and self-image. The emergence of a distinct culture often marks an important milestone in the evolution of a human civilization.
The term culture has 15 meanings in the Oxford English Dictionary, from a scientific definition of a group of cells or bacteria that are isolated from the rest and grown in a petri dish to a more general use of the word to refer to a person’s habits, attitudes, and outlook on life. It is the latter meaning which has most often been applied to history.
From an anthropological perspective, culture is the totality of a population’s ways of life, including beliefs and practices that vary from one society to another, but also within societies. It is a combination of mental, social, and physical patterns that distinguishes a species from other animals and that defines a human being’s identity in the world.
Humans are social beings, and their instinctive behavior is strongly influenced by the cultures they inhabit. A culture can stifle a person’s natural curiosity, or it can promote the expression of his or her own creativity. It can encourage premarital chastity, or it might drive a person to disembowel himself to wipe out a stain of dishonor.
Cultures are transmitted from generation to generation, and they develop in response to both the environment and the expectations of the group that produces them. In this way, they serve a function similar to genes in that they are an evolutionary factor that contributes to the biological stability of a person.
The study of culture is often called cultural history, although the discipline encompasses many different areas of inquiry. In general, historians of culture search for the origins and development of beliefs and ideas, as well as everyday attitudes, assumptions, and prejudices that shape a person’s perception of the world and his or her interactions with it.
A related field, called material culture, focuses on the tangible objects that comprise a person’s culture. These range from buildings and technological gadgets to music, literature, film, and art. Material culture is often considered to be more “fun” than its intellectual counterpart.
The term “culture” has a wide scope, and it is not unusual to encounter an argument about the proper interpretation of any given aspect of it. For example, the theory of “cultural hegemony” prompted by Italian marxist Antonio Gramsci proposes that culture functions as a tool to neutralize resistance and allow ruling classes to dominate populations through consent. The work of other scholars, such as Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer, suggests a more critical view of the role of culture in capitalist societies.
The concept of culture encompasses the values, beliefs, institutions, languages, arts, customs, and capabilities that characterize a group of people. The term may also refer to a particular way of life or art, or to the system of social control that supports cultural production and distribution. The culture of a society is often a source of its power and self-image. The emergence of a distinct culture often marks an important milestone in the evolution of a human civilization. The term culture has 15 meanings in the Oxford English Dictionary, from a scientific definition of a group of cells or bacteria that are isolated from the rest and grown in a petri dish to a more general use of the word to refer to a person’s habits, attitudes, and outlook on life. It is the latter meaning which has most often been applied to history. From an anthropological perspective, culture is the totality of a population’s ways of life, including beliefs and practices that vary from one society to another, but also within societies. It is a combination of mental, social, and physical patterns that distinguishes a species from other animals and that defines a human being’s identity in the world. Humans are social beings, and their instinctive behavior is strongly influenced by the cultures they inhabit. A culture can stifle a person’s natural curiosity, or it can promote the expression of his or her own creativity. It can encourage premarital chastity, or it might drive a person to disembowel himself to wipe out a stain of dishonor. Cultures are transmitted from generation to generation, and they develop in response to both the environment and the expectations of the group that produces them. In this way, they serve a function similar to genes in that they are an evolutionary factor that contributes to the biological stability of a person. The study of culture is often called cultural history, although the discipline encompasses many different areas of inquiry. In general, historians of culture search for the origins and development of beliefs and ideas, as well as everyday attitudes, assumptions, and prejudices that shape a person’s perception of the world and his or her interactions with it. A related field, called material culture, focuses on the tangible objects that comprise a person’s culture. These range from buildings and technological gadgets to music, literature, film, and art. Material culture is often considered to be more “fun” than its intellectual counterpart. The term “culture” has a wide scope, and it is not unusual to encounter an argument about the proper interpretation of any given aspect of it. For example, the theory of “cultural hegemony” prompted by Italian marxist Antonio Gramsci proposes that culture functions as a tool to neutralize resistance and allow ruling classes to dominate populations through consent. The work of other scholars, such as Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer, suggests a more critical view of the role of culture in capitalist societies.