The Definition of Culture
Culture is the totality of a people’s learned behavior, beliefs and attitudes that distinguish them from other people. It includes art, customs, language, laws, morals and rules, beliefs, and values that are shared by a particular group of people.
It is defined as the system of human behavior that is distinguished from subhuman animal behavior by the fact that it is learned rather than innate, that it is socially transmitted, and that it has its origin in man’s sense of history, which distinguishes culture from barbarism. The term “culture” is sometimes used interchangeably with the terms civilization and civility, although these concepts differ. Civilization is a neologism of the eighteenth century, coined by Voltaire to contrast with barbarism and designate the highest level of human cultural achievement.
The concept of culture is so pervasive that it has become the focus of a wide range of academic disciplines, from sociology and anthropology to psychology and law. It has also become the subject of heated debate, with a number of people arguing that it is an unchanging, immutable, universal phenomenon and others claiming that cultures vary greatly and change over time.
A central issue in the debate is whether or not culture can be defined empirically, as a set of behavioral characteristics that can be identified and measured. Some scholars have attempted to do so, with varying degrees of success. The key challenge is to avoid essentialist accounts of culture, in which certain key traits are viewed as defining culture and must be present for a people to be considered a member of that culture.
This issue has led to a proliferation of definitions, each with its own sets of assumptions and biases. Some of these are more logically consistent than others, and some are more useful in specific contexts than others. Nevertheless, it is important to keep in mind that there are no definitive, objectively valid definitions of culture and that any such definition must be treated as provisional.
The following definition of culture is taken from the book, People are Culture: A Conversation About the Meaning and Value of Culture, published by the World Crafts Council in 2006. It is a dialogic debate between the authors, 16 people from around the world who have spent their careers working in the realm of culture. These individuals represent the fields of anthropology; visual arts; education; history; crafts; literature; horticulture; social entrepreneurship; and museum management. In this dialogue, each author offers a unique perspective on the concept of culture based on their own experiences and the knowledge that they have gained throughout their careers. It is from these diversified backgrounds that we hope to gain a rich understanding of this ever-changing concept of culture. We have invited each of them to share their thoughts with us and we are pleased to present them here. They are all experts in their own right and we thank them for contributing to this discussion! Please click on the name of each individual to read their full comments.
Culture is the totality of a people’s learned behavior, beliefs and attitudes that distinguish them from other people. It includes art, customs, language, laws, morals and rules, beliefs, and values that are shared by a particular group of people. It is defined as the system of human behavior that is distinguished from subhuman animal behavior by the fact that it is learned rather than innate, that it is socially transmitted, and that it has its origin in man’s sense of history, which distinguishes culture from barbarism. The term “culture” is sometimes used interchangeably with the terms civilization and civility, although these concepts differ. Civilization is a neologism of the eighteenth century, coined by Voltaire to contrast with barbarism and designate the highest level of human cultural achievement. The concept of culture is so pervasive that it has become the focus of a wide range of academic disciplines, from sociology and anthropology to psychology and law. It has also become the subject of heated debate, with a number of people arguing that it is an unchanging, immutable, universal phenomenon and others claiming that cultures vary greatly and change over time. A central issue in the debate is whether or not culture can be defined empirically, as a set of behavioral characteristics that can be identified and measured. Some scholars have attempted to do so, with varying degrees of success. The key challenge is to avoid essentialist accounts of culture, in which certain key traits are viewed as defining culture and must be present for a people to be considered a member of that culture. This issue has led to a proliferation of definitions, each with its own sets of assumptions and biases. Some of these are more logically consistent than others, and some are more useful in specific contexts than others. Nevertheless, it is important to keep in mind that there are no definitive, objectively valid definitions of culture and that any such definition must be treated as provisional. The following definition of culture is taken from the book, People are Culture: A Conversation About the Meaning and Value of Culture, published by the World Crafts Council in 2006. It is a dialogic debate between the authors, 16 people from around the world who have spent their careers working in the realm of culture. These individuals represent the fields of anthropology; visual arts; education; history; crafts; literature; horticulture; social entrepreneurship; and museum management. In this dialogue, each author offers a unique perspective on the concept of culture based on their own experiences and the knowledge that they have gained throughout their careers. It is from these diversified backgrounds that we hope to gain a rich understanding of this ever-changing concept of culture. We have invited each of them to share their thoughts with us and we are pleased to present them here. They are all experts in their own right and we thank them for contributing to this discussion! Please click on the name of each individual to read their full comments.