Are you know, what is

CULTURE basically? A brief introduction

By Asad Butt 09-arid-1347

January 1, 2011

CULTURE
Culture is the full Range of learned human behavior patterns. The term was first used in this way by the Pioneer English Anthropologist EDWARD B.TYLOR in his book PRIMITIVE CULTURE published in 1871. According to Tylor Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, moral, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. Culture, according to Tylor, is a complete self-working system of human achievements. However according to modern anthropologist: Culture is not limited to man; women possess and create it as well. Since Tylor time, the concept of culture has become the central focus of anthropology. Some others definitions of culture: Culture is everything that people have (material possessions), think (values and attitudes) and do (behavior patterns) as members of a society. Culture is a shared way of life that includes values, beliefs, and norms transmitted within a particular society from generation to generation through symbolic learning and language. It is a collection of understanding and techniques that allow human to (live or) survive. The shared way of life of a group of people that includes their values, beliefs and norms. Man fights against the harsh realities of nature and establish the principles of survival are called culture. Culture includes all aspects of human activity, from the fine arts to popular entertainment, from everyday behavior to the development of sophisticated technology. It contains the plans, rules, techniques, design, and policies for living. Culture is a learned series of behaviors designed to cope with the natural and social environments

Are you know, what is

CULTURE basically? A brief introduction

By Asad Butt 09-arid-1347

January 1, 2011

All the above mentioned definitions forcefully put forward the point that culture is the total way of life of any human group, learned or acquired and not transmitted genetically despite differences and variations members of a society share many things in common and every society has its distinctive culture. Culture consists of the abstract values, beliefs, and perceptions of the world lie behind peoples behavior and that are reflected in their behavior. These are shared by members of a society, and when acted upon, they produce behavior that is intelligible to other members of that society. Cultures are learned, largely through the medium of language, rather than inherited biologically, and the parts of a culture function as an integrated whole. Culture is a set of rules or standards that when acted upon by the member of a society, produce behavior that falls within the range of variance the members consider proper and acceptable. Culture is a powerful human tool for survival but it is a fragile phenomenon. It is constantly changing and easily lost because it exists only in our minds. Our written languages, government, building, and other man-made things are merely the products of culture. They are not culture in themselves. For this reason archaeologists cant dig up culture directly in their excavations. The broken pots and other artifacts of ancient people that archaeologist uncover are only material remains that reflect cultural patternsthey are things that were made and used through cultural knowledge and skills. People maintain cultures to deal with problems or matters that concern them. To survive, a culture must satisfy the basic needs of those who live by its rules, provide an orderly existence for the members of a society. In doing so, a culture must strike a balance between the self-interests of individuals and the needs of society as a whole. And finally, a culture must have the capacity to change in order to adapt to new circumstances or to altered perceptions of existing circumstances. Diverse Definitions of culture by John Bodley (1994) Topical: Culture consists of everything on a list of topics, or categories, such as social organization, religion, or economy Culture is social heritage, or tradition, that is passed on to future generations Culture is shared, learned human behavior, a way of life

Historical: Behavioral:

Are you know, what is

CULTURE basically? A brief introduction

By Asad Butt 09-arid-1347

January 1, 2011 Normative: Functional:

Culture is ideals, values, or rules for living Culture is the way humans solve problems of adapting to the environment or living together Culture is a complex of ideas, or learned habits, that inhibit impulses and distinguish people from animals Culture consists of patterned and interrelated ideas, symbols, or behaviors Culture is based on arbitrarily assigned meanings that are shared by a society

Mental: Structural: Symbolic:

CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE
Culture is learned: Culture is not inherited biologically, but learnt socially by man. It is not an inborn tendency. There is no cultural instinct as such. Culture is often called learned ways of behavior. Shaking hands or saying Salam or thanks are examples of learned behavior. We obtain our culture through the process of enculturation. Enculturation is the process of social interaction through which people learn and acquire their culture. Enculturation is the process by which culture is passed from one generation to the next, and though which individuals become members of their society. It begins soon after birth, as self-awarenessthe ability to perceive oneself as an object in time and space and to judge ones own actionsstarts to develop. For self awareness to function, the individual must be provided with a behavioral environment. First, one learns about a world of objects other than self, and these always are perceived in terms specified by the culture he or she grows up in. Along with this, one is spatial, temporal, and normative. Types of learning Situational learning Social learning Symbolic learning

Models of Enculturation B.F. Skinner Sigmund Freud

Are you know, what is

CULTURE basically? A brief introduction

By Asad Butt 09-arid-1347

January 1, 2011 Jean Piaget Culture is shared:

Culture consists of the shared practices and understandings within a society. It is not something that an individual alone can process. For example, customs, traditions, beliefs, ideas, values, moral, etc., are all shared by people of group of society. Culture is transmissive: Culture is capable of being transmitted from one generation to the next. Parents pass on culture traits to their children and they in turn to their children and so on. Language is the main vehicle of culture. Language in its-different forms like reading writing and speaking makes it possible for the present generation to understand the achievements of earlier generations. Culture is consistent and integrated: Culture, in its development has revealed a tendency to be consistent. At the same time different parts of culture are interconnected. For example, the value of a society is closely connected with its other aspects such as morality, religion, customs, traditions, beliefs and so on. Change in one part of culture will cause change in rest of the parts. Culture is superorganic and ideational: Culture is sometimes called 'the superorganic'. The term implies the social meaning of physical and physiological acts. The social meaning may be independent of physiological and physical properties and characteristics. For example the social meaning of a national flag is not just 'a piece of colored cloth'. The flag represent a nation. Flag have the potential for expressing deep-felt emotions in condensed form.

Are you know, what is

CULTURE basically? A brief introduction

By Asad Butt 09-arid-1347

January 1, 2011

Culture

is like an
Iceberg.
Most of it is UNDER the water

BEHAVIOR BELIEFS

VALUES AND THOUGHT PATTERNS

ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
1. 2. 3.

Values Beliefs Norms

Values Valuesare 'the standards by which members of a society define what is good or bad, holy or unholy, beautiful or ugly, desirable or undesirable, right or wrong'. Examples, faith in Islam; respect for parents, teachers and religious leaders etc. Beliefs

Are you know, what is

CULTURE basically? A brief introduction

By Asad Butt 09-arid-1347

January 1, 2011

Beliefsare cultural conventions that concern true or false assumptions, specific descriptions of the nature of the universe and humanitys place in it. Examples are God; Jannat; Dozakh; Qyamat etc. Norms Normsare 'a societys rules of right and wrong behavior'. Examples are Assalam-o-alaikum and responding wa-alaikum-ussalam; shaking hands while meeting; saying Khuda hafiz or Fi Aman-allah.

TYPES OF CULTURE
A culture has four aspects material & non-material culture and Ideal & real culture. Material culture is related to tangible objects made by man. Buildings, furniture, books are the products of material culture. Non-material culture is related to the abstract things like emotions, attitudes, ideas and beliefs which we feel but cannot verify by observation. Peace, war, cooperation, marriage, culture, lecture are the examples of nonmaterial culture. A book is material culture but its words are non-material. Man is a material but his speech is non-material. Radio is material but its sound is non-material. It means material culture has its non-material aspects also. Real Culture It is that culture which can be observed in our social life. The culture on which we act upon in our social life is real. The part of culture which the people adopt in their social life is their real culture. The whole of the culture is never real because a part of it remains without practice. How far we set upon Islam is our real culture. We are all Muslims but we do not follow Islam fully in our social life. It means the part of Islam which we follow is our real culture. Ideal Culture The culture which is presented as a pattern or precedent to the people is called ideal. It is the goal of the society. It can never be achieved fully because some part of it remains out of practice. The culture is explained in books, speeches and guidences. The part of ideal culture practiced in social life is called real culture. Islam is our ideal

Are you know, what is

CULTURE basically? A brief introduction

By Asad Butt 09-arid-1347

January 1, 2011

culture. We claim to be true Muslims and this claim is our ideal culture but how far we are Muslims in practice is our real culture. Both the real and ideal culture are related together and different from each other. Material Culture Material culture consists of man-made objects such as tools, implements, furniture, automobiles, buildings, dams, roads, bridges, and in fact, the physical substance which has been changed and used by man. It is concerned with the external, mechanical and utilitarian objects. It includes technical and material equipments like a printing press, a locomotive, a telephone, a television, a tractor, a machine gun etc. It includes our banks, parliaments, insurance schemes, currency systems etc. Non-material Culture The term 'culture' when used in the ordinary sense, means 'non-material culture'. It is something internal and intrinsically valuable, reflects the inward nature of man. Non-material culture consists of the words the people use or the language they speak, the beliefs they hold, values and virtues they cherish, habits they follow, rituals and practices that they do and the ceremonies they observe. It also includes our customs and tastes, attitudes and outlook, in brief, our ways of acting, feeling and thinking.

FUNCTIONS OF CULTURE
Polish anthropologist BRONISLAW MALINOWSKI put forth the idea that every successful culture resolves three fundamental levels of needs which he referred to as Biological, Instrumental, and Integrative. A culture cant survive if it does not deal effectively with primary problems. It must provide for the production and distribution of goods and services considered necessary for life. A culture must be able to change. LANGUAGE & CULTURE The possession of language enables man to transmit ideas about situation which is not present. It facilitates communication of ideas and experiences among people to form opinion about an object or situation. The attitudes, ideas and values of each generation can be passed on to the succeeding generation by means of language. The existence of culture for human society is possible due to development and use of a common language

Are you know, what is

CULTURE basically? A brief introduction

By Asad Butt 09-arid-1347

January 1, 2011

among people. Animals have society but no culture because they have not been able to develop a common language among them. Learning and transmitting the most important process of culture can function only by means of a language. Hence language is a part of culture. Culture basically solution of human problems and social structure is based on culture.

CULTURE CHANGE
All cultures change, but the causes and processes of change are varied. Culture change can be intentional or accidental, obvious or backward-looking, rapid or gradual, obvious or nearly invisible, beneficial or harmful. Change in superstructure causes change in infrastructure. Two basic processes are at work 1. Invention 2. Diffusion INVENTION Culture change may be prompted by the invention of something new. Invention usually evolves gradually through step wise experimentation and accumulation of knowledge, but some appear rather surprisingly. DIFFUSION Diffusion is the spread of Culture (or culture traits) __including technology and ways of behaving and thinking-through contact. It is logically related to invention an innovation because new discoveries are likely to spread. Diffusion can occur in several ways First, in mutual borrowing, two roughly equal societies exchange aspects of their culture with each other. Second, diffusion may occur between unequal societies and involve a transfer from a dominant culture to a less powerful culture. This process may occur through force or more subtly through education or marketing processes that promote adoption of new practices and beliefs. Third, a more powerful culture may appropriate of less powerful culture. In each of these types of diffusion, the result is some degree of acculturation, or change in one culture as a result of contact with another culture.

Are you know, what is

CULTURE basically? A brief introduction

By Asad Butt 09-arid-1347

January 1, 2011

At one extreme, a culture may become assimilation, no longer distinguishable as having a separate identity. In many cases, culture change through diffusion has led to extreme change in the receiving culture, which becomes deculturated or extinct. THEORIES OF CULTURE CHANGE 1. Modernization 2. Development MODERNIZATION Modernization is a process of change marked by industrialization, consolidation, of the nation-state, bureaucratization, market economy, technological innovation, literacy, and options for social mobility. Modernization appears as almost an inevitable process that will, given the insights of science and rationality, spread throughout the world and lead to improvement in peoples lives everywhere. Overall,, the emphasis of modernization is on material progress and individual betterment. SUPPORTERS AND CRITICS Supporters claim that the benefits of modernization (improved transportation; electricity; domestic comforts such as washing machines, biomedical healthcare and tele communications) are worth the costs-whether those costs are calculated in terms of environmental or social costs. Most culture anthropologists are critics of modernization because it leads to increased social inequality, the destruction of indigenous cultures, ecological ruin and the overall decline in global cultural diversity. (selected aspects of modernity, however, such as, electricity and antibiotics may be accepted as positive) DEVELOPMENT One can think development as the attempt, through conscious planning and intervention, to bring the benefits of modernization to the developing world. Society and Culture Society is an organized group of people who interact with one another and form a cohesive unit. This definition would include not only human but also animals. The definition of society does not include culture. It is only when we speak of human societies that we refer to the concept of culture.

Are you know, what is

CULTURE basically? A brief introduction

By Asad Butt 09-arid-1347

January 1, 2011

Culture is the product of human society. A culture cannot exist without a society to maintain it, and without culture, neither individual human beings nor human society survive. Simply society is composed of people; the way they behave is their culture. Socoiety may be defined as a group of people who not only are dependent on each other for survival, but share a common culture as well. The rule-governed relationships that hold a society together, with all their rights, duties, and obligations, are its Social Structure. Human societies and cultures are not the same thing, they are inextricably connected because culture is created and transmitted to others in a society. Cultures are not the product of lone individuals. They are the continuously evolving products of people interacting with each other. Cultural patterns such as language and politics make no sense except in terms of the interaction of people. If you were the only human on earth, there would be no need for language or government.