Understanding Culture and Society

UNDERSTANDING CULTURE AND By: John Reyes
SOCIETY
SOCIETY
IS A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS SHARING A COMMON CULTURE, GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION,
AND GOVERNMENT. HUMAN BEINGS ARE CONSIDERED TO BE NATURALLY INCLINED TO
ESTABLISH SOCIETIES, SINCE IT IS INTERACTING WITH OTHERS THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO ENSURE
THEIR SURVIVAL BY ESTABLISHING MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH ONE ANOTHER.
A SOCIETY IS CHARACTERIZED BY THE PRESENCE OF THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS:
a) SOCIAL SOLIDARITY
b) SHARED IDENTITY AND CULTURE
c) COMMON LANGUAGE
d) A LARGE POPULATION AND THE ABILITY TO SUSTAIN SUCCEEDING GENERATIONS OF
MEMBERS
e) DEFINITE GEOGRAPHICAL AREA
f) POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS
5 MAJOR TYPES OF SOCIETIES ACCORDING TO
HOW THEY CHANGED AND DEVELOPED OVER TIME
CULTURE
IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT BASES THAT DEFINES AND INFLUENCE A
SOCIETY. CULTURE REFERS TO THE SET OF BELIEFS, IDEAS, VALUES, PRACTICES,
KNOWLEDEGE, HISTORY, AND SHARED EXPERIENCES, ATTITUDES, AS WELL AS
MATERIAL OBJECTS AND POSSESSIONS ACCUMULATED OVER TIME AND SHARED
BY THE MEMBERS OF SOCIETY.
2 PRIMARY CATEGORIES OF CULTURE:
MATERIAL CULTURE
NONMATERIAL CULTURE
Though individual societies have varying histories, experiences, identities and
organizations, all of them have four vital cultural components:
1. SYMBOLS – refers to things that convey meaning or represent an idea.
2. LANGUAGE – It is a set of symbols that enables members of society to
communicate verbally and nonverbally.
3. VALUES – are shared ideas, norms, and principles that provide members of society
the standards that pertain to what is right or wrong, good or bad, desirable or
undesirable.
4. NORMS – are shared rules of conduct that determine specific behavior among
society members.
5. FOLKWAYS – are norms that may be violated without serious consequences.
6. MORES – are norms with moral connotations.
7. LAWS – are norms that are legally enacted and enforced.
The process of culture and identity formation within society is facilitated through
socialization and enculturation.
SOCIALIZATION – refers to the lifelong process of forging identity through social interactions.
ENCULTURATION – refers to the process by which an individual learns or acquires the
important aspects if his or her society’s culture.
SOCIETY AND CULTURE ACCORDING TO THE
THREE DISCIPLINES
ANTHROPOLGY considers culture as the central focus of its discipline. It studies the
different cultures if different societies. Anthropology examines and provides
explanations for the existence of different cultural patterns as well as the similarities
and difference between different cultures.
TWO MAJOR VIEWS WITH REGARD TO HOW CULTURES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED
IN COMPARISON TO OTHERS:
RELATIVISTIC APPROACH considers cultures as equal. This view holds that there are
no “superior” and “inferior” cultures, and each is unique in its own way.
ETHNOCENTRIC APPROACH is the belief that one’s native culture is superior to other
cultures. Ethnocentric societies tend to have a negative view of other countries and
people.
Ethnocentrism diminishes or invalidates “other” culture ways
of life and creates a distorted view of one’s own. As a
result, this could affect individual behavior and relationships
with other cultures. Extreme form of ethnocentrism have led
to wars or colonization.
Xenocentrism is the belief that their culture is inferior to
others.
Cultural relativism recognize and accepts the cultural
differences between societies. This view believes that every
aspect of a culture can justified by the context in which the
culture has been formed.
SOCIOLOGY relates culture with overall context of social
order. There are different sociological perspective that
explain this order.
STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM operates on the assumption that society is a

stable and orderly system. Structural functionalists consider culture as a glue
that binds society together, leading to social order.
CONFLICT THEORY assumes that there is a constant power struggle among
the various social groups and institutions within society. Conflict theorists study
the culture of “dominant classes” and analyze how this culture is imposed on
other classes.
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM views individual and group behavior and social
interactions as defining features of society. Symbolic interactionists believes
that culture provides shared meanings to the members of society.
POLITICAL SCIENCE examines culture as a vital aspects of society.
Culture, together with political socialization, is analysed in order to
explain political behavior of leaders. Culture is seen as an important
element in building social capital and could also lead to future
conflicts and division.
Political science also looks into the decline of cultural domination by
Western countries and subsequent rise of multiculturalism, an
ideology that acknowledges and promotes cultural diversity within
society. Multiculturalism entails the establishment of political groups
and institutions comprised of people from diverse cultures. This view
challenges the idea of nation-state and the advancement of
nationalist and ultranationalist policies.
The idea of multiculturalism in contemporary political discourse and in
political philosophy is about how to understand and respond to the
challenges associated with cultural and religious diversity.

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UNDERSTANDING CULTURE AND By: John Reyes

STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM operates on the assumption that society is a

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