What is Culture?
Cultural is the set of beliefs, traditions and values that distinguish a society or group. It includes both the non-physical and physical elements of a society, including art, music, cuisines, ways of living together, institutions, laws, languages and value systems. It is a way of life that can be transmitted from one generation to the next by imitation and communication. It reflects and shapes the worldview of a society or group, its personality and identity.
Human beings enter the world without culture, but their behaviour is powerfully influenced by the culture that surrounds them on every side. It is powerful enough to cause them to hold their sex urge in check and even achieve premarital chastity. It is powerful enough to lead them to disembowel themselves or shoot themselves to wipe out a stain of dishonour. It is powerful enough to make them die of hunger though nourishment is available, because they have been conditioned not to eat certain foods.
Anthropologists have sought to understand the nature of culture, and there are several different theories. The 19th century classical evolutionists, such as Edward Burnett Tylor and Lewis H Morgan, argued that culture developed in accordance with the laws of natural selection, and they contrasted it with “the state of nature” that was inhabited by uncultured people. Then there were the diffusionists, who argued that cultures could be spread by contact, either through direct or indirect means.
Other historians, such as Edward Sapir, took a more sceptical view of the relationship between culture and natural selection. Then there were those, such as Roger Chartier and Jacques Revel, who attempted to develop a rigorous theorization of the relationship between mentalites and the environment in which they arose. This was controversial, and some historians like Pierre Chaunu resented the claims that culture operated independently of social and economic structures.
There is also the view that culture consists of patterns of behaviour that are learned, and this may be reflected in art, architecture or the way a family or community behaves. It is a product of the collective programming of the mind, and it differs from animal instincts because it can be shaped and changed by education.
The way a culture is expressed, in its symbols and rituals, can be viewed as a form of language, and therefore it can be compared to other forms of communication. It is possible to construct a history of cultural expressions, based on a comparison with the history of other forms of language, such as writing and mathematics. This is known as synchronic analysis. It is also possible to build up a chronology of the development of individual cultural expressions, and this is known as diachronic analysis. It is from these two types of analysis that anthropologists have gained their most valuable insights into the study of culture. A detailed analysis of a culture can show the way it influences behaviour, and this has been used to help improve the health and welfare of human beings.
Cultural is the set of beliefs, traditions and values that distinguish a society or group. It includes both the non-physical and physical elements of a society, including art, music, cuisines, ways of living together, institutions, laws, languages and value systems. It is a way of life that can be transmitted from one generation to the next by imitation and communication. It reflects and shapes the worldview of a society or group, its personality and identity. Human beings enter the world without culture, but their behaviour is powerfully influenced by the culture that surrounds them on every side. It is powerful enough to cause them to hold their sex urge in check and even achieve premarital chastity. It is powerful enough to lead them to disembowel themselves or shoot themselves to wipe out a stain of dishonour. It is powerful enough to make them die of hunger though nourishment is available, because they have been conditioned not to eat certain foods. Anthropologists have sought to understand the nature of culture, and there are several different theories. The 19th century classical evolutionists, such as Edward Burnett Tylor and Lewis H Morgan, argued that culture developed in accordance with the laws of natural selection, and they contrasted it with “the state of nature” that was inhabited by uncultured people. Then there were the diffusionists, who argued that cultures could be spread by contact, either through direct or indirect means. Other historians, such as Edward Sapir, took a more sceptical view of the relationship between culture and natural selection. Then there were those, such as Roger Chartier and Jacques Revel, who attempted to develop a rigorous theorization of the relationship between mentalites and the environment in which they arose. This was controversial, and some historians like Pierre Chaunu resented the claims that culture operated independently of social and economic structures. There is also the view that culture consists of patterns of behaviour that are learned, and this may be reflected in art, architecture or the way a family or community behaves. It is a product of the collective programming of the mind, and it differs from animal instincts because it can be shaped and changed by education. The way a culture is expressed, in its symbols and rituals, can be viewed as a form of language, and therefore it can be compared to other forms of communication. It is possible to construct a history of cultural expressions, based on a comparison with the history of other forms of language, such as writing and mathematics. This is known as synchronic analysis. It is also possible to build up a chronology of the development of individual cultural expressions, and this is known as diachronic analysis. It is from these two types of analysis that anthropologists have gained their most valuable insights into the study of culture. A detailed analysis of a culture can show the way it influences behaviour, and this has been used to help improve the health and welfare of human beings.