Culture

1. What is Culture///
Culture is the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that
the members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are
transmitted from generation to generation through learning. Culture is the traditions and
customs that govern behavior and beliefs, transmitted through learning. Culture is the learned
patterns of behavior and thought that help a group adapt to it’s surroundings.
Culture is Learned. People learn culture from each other. For examples; ``Dogs
learn to hate cats, cats learn to hate dog. If the dogs and cats are raise together, they can learn
to coexist.`` People are the same in many ways. Many behaviors [culture] are passed on from
parents, friends, or employes. They are learned, and can be corrected.
Culture is Shared. Culture is an attribute of individuals as members of groups.
Culture in anthropology, the patterns of behavior and thinking that people living in social
groups learn, create, and share. Culture distinguishes one human groups from others. It also
distinguishes humans from other animals. A people’s culture includes their beliefs, rules of
behavior, language, rituals, art, technology, styles of dress, ways of producing and cooking
food, religion, and political and economic systems.
Culture is Symbolic. A symbol is something, verbal or nonverbal, that arbitrarily and
by convention stands for something else, with which it has no necessary or natural
connection. Symbolic thought is unique to humans and is crucial to cultural learning. Some of
its symbols include a group’s skills, knowledge, attitudes, values, and motives. The meanings
of the symbols are learned and deliberately perpetuated in a society through its institutions.
Symbols are words, getures, pictures, or objects that carry a particular meaning which is only
recognized by those who share a particular culture. New symbols easily develop, old ones
disappear. Symbols from one particular group are regularly copied by others. This is why
symbols represent the outermost layer of a culture. Symbols are the tangible or visual aspects
of the practices of a culture. The cultural menaing of the practices is intangible; this is
revealed only when the practices are interpreted by the insiders. Examples are concepts such
as good and evil, mythical inventions such as gods and underworlds, and social constructs
such as promises and football games.
Culture is All-Encompassing. Anthropologists take a broad view of culture to
include even seemingly trivial things. Culture shapes the way people think, act and react to
changes within their society and within their environtments. But, culture also refers to the
creative expressions of peoples, [written and oral stories, artwork, craftsmanship, and ideas]
the beliefs people hold [religion, morals, laws, tradition, and societal structure] and how they
live [adaption to environtment, tools, homes, and foods]. Culture plays a role in all human
expression.
Culture is Integrated. They are organized around a set of core values – key, basic, or
central values. New ideas that don’t fit with these core values are rejected. When a core value
changes, a large part of the culture also changes. For example; The USA is culturally
integrated with Indonesia, because we have gained knowledge of their technology and
implement it in our own country.