The Nature of Culture
Culture is a way of life that characterizes people in a group. It includes the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that a society or group of individuals accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along through communication and imitation from one generation to another. The term also refers to the tools, techniques, institutions, works of art, and rituals that define a culture.
Many cultures are ethnic, religious, or geographic in origin. Others are created by the activities of particular groups, such as a professional, social class, or age group. For example, youth culture is a way of life that characterizes adolescents and young adults within a society.
Different philosophers interpret the nature of a culture in a variety of ways. Some see a culture as an all-encompassing group, while others view it in terms of social formation, dialogue, or identity. These interpretive approaches are all valid, and any defensible account of the nature of a culture must take them into consideration.
Philosophers generally agree that culture is a learned behavior, as opposed to an instinctive or innate human response. However, they differ on the extent to which a cultural practice is learned through conscious choice or natural selection. A culture may also develop through a process of diffusion, whereby traits that are useful in one location or situation spread throughout the world.
Some examples of this include the wide distribution of tobacco, corn (maize), coffee, and sweet potatoes. This is seen as a form of cultural evolution. The 19th-century classical evolutionary theorists, such as Edward Burnett Tylor and Lewis H. Morgan, believed that human beings had a tendency to create similar cultures around the world because of the similar environment in which they lived.
A more recent view is that a culture develops as the result of human beings’ ability to use language, and in particular, to symbolize. This enables us to convey meanings that cannot be fully understood by the senses, and to learn from each other, through shared experiences. This enables the development of a culture that is more advanced than subhuman animals’, in which we can use a variety of tools to make sense of our lives and to fulfill our desires.
Whether a person belongs to a culture as an encompassing group, as social formation, in dialogue with others, or as a part of their identity, it is important for them to be able to recognize that their culture provides value to their lives and to other members of their societal groups. In a time when the boundaries between cultures are constantly changing, it is even more important to ensure that cultural claims are not taken too far and that a culture is truly defendable. Any philosophy of culture must therefore be able to take these distinctions into consideration. In addition, any account of a culture must acknowledge that people choose to dip in and out of their own central practices as they see fit.
Culture is a way of life that characterizes people in a group. It includes the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that a society or group of individuals accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along through communication and imitation from one generation to another. The term also refers to the tools, techniques, institutions, works of art, and rituals that define a culture. Many cultures are ethnic, religious, or geographic in origin. Others are created by the activities of particular groups, such as a professional, social class, or age group. For example, youth culture is a way of life that characterizes adolescents and young adults within a society. Different philosophers interpret the nature of a culture in a variety of ways. Some see a culture as an all-encompassing group, while others view it in terms of social formation, dialogue, or identity. These interpretive approaches are all valid, and any defensible account of the nature of a culture must take them into consideration. Philosophers generally agree that culture is a learned behavior, as opposed to an instinctive or innate human response. However, they differ on the extent to which a cultural practice is learned through conscious choice or natural selection. A culture may also develop through a process of diffusion, whereby traits that are useful in one location or situation spread throughout the world. Some examples of this include the wide distribution of tobacco, corn (maize), coffee, and sweet potatoes. This is seen as a form of cultural evolution. The 19th-century classical evolutionary theorists, such as Edward Burnett Tylor and Lewis H. Morgan, believed that human beings had a tendency to create similar cultures around the world because of the similar environment in which they lived. A more recent view is that a culture develops as the result of human beings’ ability to use language, and in particular, to symbolize. This enables us to convey meanings that cannot be fully understood by the senses, and to learn from each other, through shared experiences. This enables the development of a culture that is more advanced than subhuman animals’, in which we can use a variety of tools to make sense of our lives and to fulfill our desires. Whether a person belongs to a culture as an encompassing group, as social formation, in dialogue with others, or as a part of their identity, it is important for them to be able to recognize that their culture provides value to their lives and to other members of their societal groups. In a time when the boundaries between cultures are constantly changing, it is even more important to ensure that cultural claims are not taken too far and that a culture is truly defendable. Any philosophy of culture must therefore be able to take these distinctions into consideration. In addition, any account of a culture must acknowledge that people choose to dip in and out of their own central practices as they see fit.