004. the Cultural Context

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The Cultural

Context

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CONTENTS

Introduction to Culture Types of Culture:

a. Non Material b. Material

Difference b/w Society & Culture

Social & Cultural Development:a) Biological Factors b) Geographic Factors

Non Human Social Organisation ( Basic differences)

Culture as a system of Norms

(Key Components of culture)

Real & Ideal Culture

Ethnocentrism & Xenocentrism

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Society and Individual

Members of a society are generally

unaware that they are following belief and

custom in their behavior.

They seldom wonder whythey believe and

act as they do.

Only by stepping outside one's own body of

belief and custom can one become aware

of its actual nature.3


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Definition of Culture

From their life experiences people develop a set

of rules and procedures for meeting their needs.

The set of rules and procedures,

together with a supporting set of ideas and

values,

is called a culture.

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"Culture ... is that complex wholewhich includes knowledge, belief,

art, morals, law, custom and any

other capabilities and habits

acquired by man as a member of

society."Edward Tylor (1871)

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Culture is everything which is socially learned

and shared by the members of a society.The individual receives culture as part of a

social heritage and, in turn, may reshape the

culture and introduce changes which thenbecome part of the heritage of succeeding

generations.

Kinds of Culture

1. Material culture

2. Nonmaterial culture6


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Material & Non Material Culture

NONMATERIAL CULTURE

consists of the words people use, the ideas,

customs, and beliefs they hold, and the habits

they follow.

MATERIAL CULTURE

consists of manufactured objects such as tools,

furniture, automobiles, buildings, irrigation

ditches, cultivated farms, roads, bridges, and, infact any physical substance which has been

changed and used by people. Such manufactured

objects are called artifacts.7


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The material culture is always the outgrowth

of the nonmaterial culture and is meaninglesswithout it.

The nonmaterial culture would include the

rules of the game, the skills of the players,

the concepts of strategy, and the traditional

behavior of players and spectators.

If the game of Cricket is forgotten, a bat

becomes just a stick of wood.

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CULTURE & SOCIETY

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Culture is often confused with society,

but the two words have different

meanings.

Whereas a culture is a system of norms

and values, a society is a relatively independent,

self-perpetuating human group which

occupies a territory, shares a culture,

and has most of its associations within

this group.10


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A society is an organization ofpeople whose associations arewith one another.

A culture is an organized

system of norms and valueswhich people hold.

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SOCIAL AND CULTURALDEVELOPMENT

Biological Factors

Geographic Factors

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1. Biological Factors

The recent growth of a discipline known as

sociobiology has drawn renewed attention to

biological factors in human behavior.

Socio-biology is defined by E. Wilson, 1975 as

"the systematic study of the biologicalbasis of human behavior."

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The interaction of biology and culture influence human

behavior, starting with the development of human

society.

Cultural accumulation at first was very slow.

People lived in the open or in caves, they used simple

stone tools to skin animals and cut off chunks of meat,for digging edible roots, they probably used pointed

sticks.

There is some evidence that fire was used, during this

period humans became skilled hunters, but there is

considerable argument as to whether these early

hominids were humans at all.

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SOCIAL EVOLUTION

Biological evolution was one of the exciting ideas of

the 19th century. While many contribution were

made to evolutionary theory.

CHARLES DARWIN after traveling the world andclassifying tens of thousands of present life forms and

fossil traces of earlier life forms, he developed, in his

Origin of Species (1859), the theory that the human

race had gradually evolved from lower orders of life.

This came about through the survival of those

biological forms best fitted to survive.15


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AUGUSTE COMTE in his Positive Philosophy (1851-1854)

wrote of three stages through which he believed human

thought inevitably moved:

the theological,

the metaphysical (or philosophical), and finally

the positive (or scientific).

HERBERT SPENCER, of the nineteenth century, was enamored

of "social Darwinism." He saw social evolution as a set of

stages through which all societies moved from the simple to

the complex.

The progress of society unfolding in a way that would

gradually end misery and increase human happiness.

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2. Geographic Factors

Climate and geography are

undoubtedly very important factors

in cultural development.

Extremes of climate or topography

are serious obstacles to many kinds

of cultural development.

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Great civilizations do not flourish in the frozen, Arctic, the

torrid desert, the lofty mountain range or the tangled forest.

People can live in these areas and may develop ingenious

means of coping with natural forces, but such areas have not

produced great cities or highly developed civilizations.

On the other hand, the earliest great civilizations known tothe world developed in the lowlands of great river basins.

Only such areas. met the requirements for an early

civilization:

(1) Fertile land which could support a dense population, with part

of the people Free to engage in nonagricultural work, and

(2) Easy transportation to link together a large area.18


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Non-human Social Organization

Non Human have orderly system of Social life.

Many bird species mate for a lifetime and (in

contrast to humans) are absolutely loyal to their

mates.

Many species of insects, such as ants and bees,

have an elaborate

1.pattern of social life,2. complete with specialized occupations,

3. lines of authority, and detailed distribution of Duties and privileges.

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Difference b/w Human life & Non- human Life

Human Life Non- human Life

Social Life is infinitely variable andcontinuously changing.

Social life tends to be uniform andunchanging.

Lacking in inborn patterns of behavior(instincts).

In non-human species have a degreeto which the life of other animals isbased on instinct rather thanlearning.

Inherit a set of organic needs, urges and hunger(derives) must be satisfied in someway to other.In their trail and error efforts to satisfy theirurges, humans create culture.

No concept of trial & error

Unable to rely upon instinct, human beingsmust build culture in order to survive.

Culture is a type of substitute for instinct sinceit gives humans direction and frees them fromperpetual trial and error.

No concept of culture

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Culture as a system of Norms (Key Components of culture)

Norms Symbols & LanguageValues

The term "norm" has two possible meanings.

A statistical norm is a measure of what actually exists ,

actual conduct with no suggestion of approval ordisapproval. (Real Culture)

A cultural normis a concept of what is expected to exist or

a set of behavior expectations. . (Ideal Culture)

A culture is an elaborate system of such norms ofstandardized, expected ways of feeling and acting which

the members of n society generally acknowledge and

generally follow.

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Kinds of Norms

i) Folkways: Folkways are simply the customary, normal, habitualways a group does things. Shaking hands, eating with knives and

forks, wearing neckties on some occasions and sport shirts on

others, driving on the right-hand side of the street, and eating

toast for breakfast are a few of folkways.

ii) Mores : By mores we mean those strong ideas of right and

wrong which require certain acts and forbid others. (Moresis*'the

plural of the Latin word mos, but the singular form rarely appears

in sociological literature.)

iii) Laws; Many people will obey mores automatically or because

they want to do the "right" thing. A few people, however, are

tempted to violate mores. These people may be forced to conform

by the threat of legal punishment. Thus, the law serves to

reinforce the mores. 22


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ETHNOCENTRISM

&XENOCENTRISM

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ETHNOCENTRISM

That view of things in which one's

own group is the center of

everything and all others are scaled

and rated with reference to it".

Sumner, William Graham: Folkways

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Ethnocentrism is the habit ofeach group taking for granted thesuperiority of its culture.

For Example Our society is "progressive," while

the non-Western world 'is

"backward". Our art is beautiful,whereas that of other societiesmay be viewed as Ugly.

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Ethnocentrism a yardstick

Ethnocentrism makes our culture into a yardstick with which

to measure all other cultures as good or bad, high or low, right

or queer in proportion as they resemble ours.

It is expressed in such phrases as "chosen people,"

"progressive," "superior race," "true believers," and by

epithets (Nickname) like "foreign devils," "infidels," "heathen,"

"backward peoples," "barbarians," and "savages."

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Promotion of group unity, loyalty, and.

Morale. Ethnocentric groups seem to survive better than

tolerant groups.

Ethnocentrism justifies sacrifice and sanctifies

martyrdom.

The attitude, "I prefer my customs, although I

recognize that, basically, they may be no better than

yours," is not the sort of faith for which dedicated

believers will march singing to their deaths.

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Ethnocentrism reinforces nationalism and

patriotism.

Without ethnocentrism, a dynamic national

consciousness is probably impossible.

Nationalism is but another level of group loyalty.

Periods of national tension and conflict are

always accompanied by intensified ethnocentric

propaganda.

Perhaps such a campaign is a necessaryemotional preparation for the expected sacrifices.

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PROTECTION AGAINST CHANGE If our culture is already superior, then why tinker (Cheat) with

alien innovations?

Ethnocentrism has been used to discourage the acceptance of

alien elements into the culture. Such efforts to prevent culture

change are never entirely successful.

Yet if people share a serene, unquestioning faith in the

goodness of their culturea conviction so completely

accepted that no proof is necessarythen change is delayed.

In discouraging culture change, ethnocentrism isundiscriminating. It discourages both the changes which would

disrupt the culture and the changes which would help it attain

its goals.29


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Since no culture is completely static, every culture

must change if it is to survive. In an age of atom bombs and pushbutton warfare,

when the nations must probably either get together

or die together, ethnocentrism helps to keep them

tied to concepts of national sovereignty.

Under some circumstances, then, ethnocentrism

promotes cultural stability and group survival;

under other circumstances, ethnocentrism dooms

the culture to collapse and the group to extinction.

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XENOCENTRISM

a preference for theforeignother than own.

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It is the belief that our own products,styles, or ideas are necessarily inferior tothose which originate elsewhere.

It is the conviction that the foreign has aspecial charm which one familiar can neverachieve.

It is based on the glamour of the strangeand faraway and the prestige of distantcenters, supposedly removed from thesordid limitations of one's owncommunity. 32


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It is the belief that our own products, styles, orideas are necessarily inferior to those whichoriginate elsewhere.

It is the conviction that the foreign has a specialcharm which one familiar can never achieve.

It is based on the glamour of the strange andfaraway and the prestige of distant centers,supposedly removed from the sordid limitationsof one's own community.

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There are many occasions when people seem

happy to pay more for imported goods on theassumption that anything from abroad is better.

Are French fashions, Japanese electronic ware

really superior? Or are people inclined to

assume they are superior because of the attract

of the foreign label? What applies to material products is also true of

ideas and life-styles.34


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Rejection of Ethnocentrism

Those who leave their country to liveabroad are not the only ones who rejectethnocentrism.

In every society a few persons reject theirgroup or some part of its culture. Thereare anti-Semitic Jews, blacks who rejectblack identity, aristocrats who leadrevolutions, priests who abandon theirfaith, and so on.

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KEY WORDS

Culture is everything which is socially learned and sharedby a human society.

Material culture is made up of artifacts people make.

Nonmaterial culture comprises the behavior patterns,

norms, values, and social relationships of a human group. A society is a relatively independent, self-perpetuating

human group which occupies a particular territory and has

most associations within this group.

Culture accumulated slowly in prehistoric times; rapidly inrecent centuries.

Sociobiology studies the biological factor in human

behavior and social development.36


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Evolutionary theories of social developmentwere once popular and are enjoying a revivaltoday.

Animal societies are base, largely upon instinct;human societies largely upon culture.

Folkways are the customs of a society. Mores are the ideas of right and wrong which

become attached to some kinds of behavior.Mores may become sanctified by religion andstrengthened by being made into laws.

Values are ideas about whether experiences areimportant or unimportant.

Institutions are major clusters of folkways andmores which center on an important humanneed.

A trait is the simplest unit of culture; relatedtraits are grouped into culture complexes.

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A subculture is the behavior and value system of a group

which is a part of the society, but which has certain unique

cultural 'patterns.

A counterculture is a subculture which is not merely

different from but sharply opposed to the dominant values

of the society.

A culture is an integrated system of behavior with its

supporting ideas and values. In a highly integrated culture

all elements fit harmoniously together.

Cultural relativism describes the fact that the function and

meaning of a culture trait depend upon the culture in which

it operates. Traits are judged "good" or "bad" according to

whether they work efficiently within their own culture.

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Every society has an ideal culture, including the patterns

which are supposed to be practiced, and a real culture,

including illicit behavior which is formally condemned but

widely practiced. Gashes between the two are evaded by

rationalization. In some cases,

All societies and groups assume the superiority of their own

culture; this reaction is called ethnocentrism. The ideas and

customs about which people are ethnocentric vary from

society to society, but all known societies, and all groups

within a society, display ethnocentrism.

Culture both aids and hinders human adjustment. It enables

people to survive in an inhospitable physical environment,

although in many respects it sustains habits which are

physically injurious. We could not live without culture;

sometimes it is not easy to live with it.39

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004. the Cultural Context