The National Teachers College

Quiapo, Manila

Understanding Culture and Society

Tuesday/Friday 8:30am-10:00am
Room 303

Anton Roi G. Collado

11ABM – 7

Mr. Dennis G. San Gregorio

December 1, 2017
Bibliography

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Press.

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Political Change in 43 Societies. Princeton University Press.

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Marotta, M., & Gregor , A. (1961). Sociology in Italy. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Press, Oxford University. (2002). Dictionary of the Social Sciences. Oxford University
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Rodique, F. C. (2016). Understanding Culture, Society and Politics. International Book

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Whitehead, A. (2011). Science and the Modern World. Cambridge University Press.
 CHAPTER 1: Starting points for the understanding of culture,
society, and politic

SECTION 1: Be diversified human society

Human society is composed of a very complex system of ramified human endeavors
which are amplified by the diversity found in human culture.
Cultural determinism is the notion that culture determines and defines one’s personality.
It studies the interactions, relations, and effects between human beings and their
cultural environment. Because human service professionals aim to ameliorating human
problems, knowledge of cultural determinism can help them improve policies and
programs to make them more acceptable, efficient, and dynamic. Its knowledge helps
them design their human services strategies in a diversified human environment.
1. Sharing of social and cultural backgrounds

The society is composed of many individuals who belong to a particular culture

that evolved in a geographical location where the society is situated. Hence we can
see varying cultures around the world belonging to the different nations. However,
the diversity among different cultural orientations is not only manifested in such a
large scheme as the nations of the world. Diversity of culture is also manifested in
smaller scheme such as the ones present inside a particular nation.

Each social group exhibits a shared common traits, beliefs, values, and ways of life
which we call culture. Culture is how people perceive things is largely affected by
their judgment skills, preconceived notations, attitudes and emotions. Culture
shapes one’s value and belief system, which influenced its personalities. This gives
identity, and helps to build character. Man’s social behavior deals on wide variety
of social dimensions such as social dimensions, social changes and other broad
range of phenomenon that deals patterns of influencing on social behavior.

2. Observations about social, political, and cultural behavior and phenomena

People are different and these differences and variations among people in society
are due to culture. Our socio-economic background, political, and cultural behavior
and phenomenon vary. People’s socio-economic background, cultural behavior
changes in society determine the people’s perspective of society. Through culture,
people can adapt to their environment in non-genetic ways so people living in
different environment will often have different culture. Social differences can relate
discrimination among individuals, thus, this create problems in a society and
always result in inequality, inferiority complex and others. The other aspect is the
political behavior. This focuses in the individual’s engagement in political life. This
includes their behavior towards election, political dynasty, economy, political
parties, among other.
 Critical analysis is also warranted in order to assure that right and systematic
appreciation of these issues which is in accordance to the establishment
parameters of sociology, anthropology, and political science will be applied.

3. Observations on social, political, and cultural changes

Society performed major adaptive functions that have increased the changes for
man to survive. Culture shapes and guide people’s perception of reality. The
change in society affects the social, political, and culture behavior of the people.

Economic development, cultural changes, and political change go together in

coherent and even, to some extent, predictable patterns. It implies that some
trajectories of socioeconomic change are more likely than others and
consequently, that changes are foreseeable. This changes in worldviews reflects
changes in economic and political environment, but they take place with the
generational time lag and have considered autonomy and momentum of their own.

SECTION 2: Anthropology, Sociology, and Political Science

Understanding culture, society and politics involve the interplay of at least three social
science disciplines, anthropology, social science. Anthropology just like sociology makes
use of scientific research in order to find the truth about the existence of man. Sociology
on the other side is a broad course that deals with all human activities inside the society.
While political science is the art of politics and governance. It is a social science that
deals with the study of the vacillating spectrums as it relates to the different situations
both inside and outside the government.
Sub-field of Anthropology:
1. Sociological perspectives

Sociological perspectives offers sociologist theoretical paradigms for exploring how

society influences people, and vice versa. Each perspectives uniquely
conceptualizes society, and human behavior. Symbolic Interactionism attach
meaning to symbols, and then it acts accordingly to their subjective interpretation.
Functionalist perspective, states that each aspect of society is independent and
contributes to society’s functioning as a whole. Conflict perspective focuses on
the negative, and ever-changing nature of society. It encourage here social
change, and believes that rich and powerful people force social order on the poor
and the weak.

The sociological perspective helps you see that all people are social beings. It tells
you that your behavior is influenced by social factors and that you have learned
your behavior from others. Further, the sociological perspective can help you find
an acceptable balance between your personal desires and the demands of your
social environment.

The sociological approach is distinctive and special; in others, it is entirely

indistinguishable from the approach adopted by psychologist. It is useful, however,
 to direct attention to certain of the more distinctive feature of sociologist theory,
method, and substance.

Major-fields of Political Science:

1. The different social sciences disciplines

Social sciences is a branch of learning that details with human society. It includes
a number of disciplines, which are generally referred to as social sciences. These
disciplines differ, but they share enough in common to overlap.

Division of the social sciences separate into disciplines and the generation of
interdisciplinary fields. The result is economics, politics, and sociology are covered
entirely. Social and cultural anthropology are covered with some treatment of
linguistic and some coverage of archaeology and physical anthropology. Human
and social geography are included, but physical geography is not. History and
historiography are covered, but with an emphasis on analytical concepts, and with
less systematic detail.

2. Understanding culture, society, and politics as a hybrid course

The study of culture, society, and politics is a product of the intermingling of the
three social science disciplines namely anthropology, sociology, and political
sciences. Anthropology is the study of human beings. It talks about almost
everything regarding human beings. Since all humans beings can only be found
inside the society the field of anthropology also encompasses the study of the
society which is the main course of sociology. Sociology on the other hand which
focuses on studying the society will also inevitable collide with anthropology
because all societies are composed of human beings. However, there is also
another inescapable consequences of society and humanity, this is politics. Human
beings are not only social creatures but also political animals who will always form
organizations that will cater to the needs of entire populations.

3. The importance of studying culture, society, and politics

Studying culture, society, and politics will gain one’s interesting insights about how
and why people behave so differently in different society. This improves specific
knowledge of a variety of culture and social groups, but more importantly it
encourages the development of world-view which is open to the possibilities of
different ways of being. The knowledge and critical skills also gained that will
enable people to be more rational citizen, and more constructive participant in
public affairs. It also move one’s common sense beyond to describe and explain
more accurately the classes of social behavior and its relationship.

Knowing the fabric of society by studying it in a scientific way can help provide for
solutions to social conflicts. This can help people to know their place in society and
in teach them how to act accordingly to make them know their real essence as a
human being. This can also arouse social consciousness/awareness of the
students. Society and human beings will help improve the appreciation of the
 students of the different social and political phenomenon that strikes both local
and international affairs. With this awareness, this develops their concepts about
their civilian responsibility. The students will acquainted with some of their duties
and responsibilities as they go on with the study of culture, society, and politics.

SECTION 3: Understanding culture, society, and politics as a scientific

endeavor
Science has been associated with different fields such as physics, biology, engineering,
and other scientific endeavors but science itself can be defines in a generic sense as the
systematic way of learning. It is a systematic body of knowledge where inquiry is made
through scientific method.
1. Scientific method of the method of objectivity

Objectivity is a characteristic ascribed variously to beliefs, individuals, theories,

observation, and methods of inquiry. It is generally thought to involve the
willingness to let our beliefs be determined by ‘the facts’ or by some impartial and
nonarbitrary criteria. In one sense to attribute objective to science is to claim that
the view provided by science is an accurate description of the facts of the natural
world. In this sense to attribute objective to science is claimed to be achieved by
reliance upon nonsubjective criteria for developing, accepting, and rejecting the
hypothesis and theories that make up the view. The reliance upon the use of such
criteria as well the criteria is called scientific method.

2. Objectivity, Empiricism and Deductivism

As psychology developed as a discipline, it became identified with the assumptions

of positivism, empiricism, and hypothetico-deductivism, in short, the ‘scientific
method’. This was characterized by a striving for objectivity and neutrality and for
precise measurement in hypothesis-testing, which the assumption that this would
enable the researcher to obtain accurate, unclouded information about
psychological and social worlds.
This implies that being objective does not need opinions or subjective
interpretations. Reality will present itself as long as the observer is willing to look
into it without reserving any biased opinion into the matter.

3. Science and the modern world

Science brought modern technologies within the grasp of human beings. The
modern world is characterized by science. From industrial revolution to the present
science is still revolutionizing the way we see the world.

The new mentality is more important even than the new science and new
technology. It is altered the metaphysical presuppositions and the imaginative
contents of our minds; so now the old stimuli provoke a new response. This new
tinge to modern minds is a vehement and passionate interest in the relation of
general principles to irreducible and stubborn facts.
 CHAPTER 2: Understanding human societies and culture

SECTION 1: Understanding human societies

We belong to an animal species that finds strength in numbers. A society is a community
where human live and practice social life. It is a place and a state where man can fully
live his social life together with his fellow human beings. Man has so many needs both
personal and social which can only be fulfilled inside the society.
1. Society and the modern world

This is a means of evaluating the society through its available technology. It

shapes the direction of society’s progress and molds how man will see the
environment around him. The development of human technology is always on the
move, progressing through the various challenges man has hurled. In short, new
technologies will signal dramatic changes which somehow resemble a domino
effect that will revolutionize the society’s way of life.

2. Industrial societies

Economic, technological, and sociopolitical changes have been transforming

cultures of advance industrial societies in profoundly important ways during the
past few decades. The ambitious work examines changes in religious beliefs, in
motivates for work, the issue that gives rise to political conflict, in the importance
people attach to having children and families, and in attitude toward divorce,
abortion, and homosexuality.

3. Postindustrial societies

This points to the social system that advanced technology support an information-
based economy. The economy in a postindustrial state centers on information
technology in order to operate its very complicated computer based system.
Hence, computer technology becomes a major force in a society operated by
information. It uses led labor force and more information technology.

SECTION 2: The people behind the development of the sociological

thinking
It was the philosophers who started asking questions and venturing into the unknown.
Philosophers inquired into the depths of humanity and how man relates himself to the
people and community around him. It can be seen that there were already sociologist
since the ancient times. From the broad spectrum of Philosophy, there came the other
fields in the social and even physical science.
1. Auguste Comte (1798 – 1857)

The period when he was born was characterized to be turbulent for Europe back
then was full of political upheavals and industrial turmoil. Auguste Comte was also
 influence by the situation of his time. Comte was influenced by a powerful
intellectual movement during his time called positivism. Positivism believes that
valid knowledge can only be achieved through the use of scientific method. Comte
point that sociologist should study social statistics and social dynamics. Social
statistics are the forces that are keeping the society in tact in order to endure the
test of time. The changes that occur in the society are called social dynamics.

2. Max Weber (1864 – 1920)

The main concern of his theoretical framework is motivation. He wants to

understand the different social movements or actions that shape the course of
society’s life. The forces he identified as the impetus of social change are
traditional, affectional, value-rational, and instrumental rational. Traditional is a
kind of motivation that sprouts from the past goal of the people. This happens
because people are more accustomed to the ways of the past. Affectional on the
other hand is motivation that goals are motivated by the emotions and passions of
people. This is followed by Value-rational where the motivation behind a goal are
the values or virtues brought about by rational thinking. Then lastly,
Instrumental rational motivation. It is stated here that goals in this motivation
is pursued through the most efficient and convenient means.

The last kind of motivation mentioned could lead to disenchantment where when
people pursues their goal through the most rational way and in turn people learn
to assess and see things in rational way. Moral and virtues will have no room in
human life and it could even lead into meaningless of social actions.

3. Herbert Spencer (1820 – 1903)

Known for his Social Darwinism, this is a sociological theory that asserts the idea
that society evolves through the cruel process of survival of the fittest. Spencer
claimed that societies develop through the gruesome process of struggle for
survival in order to survive

4. Emile Durkheim (1858 – 1918)

Durkheim was greatly influenced by the age of enlightenment and the industrial
revolution. Frenchman Durkheim was convinced the concept of division of labor
and solidarity. Division of labor is the mechanism of different task among society
members. The task performed by different individuals in a society affect the
solidarity. Solidarity is the term referred by Durkheim as the hardbound societal
ties that bonds the society altogether.

5. W.E.B DuBois (1868 – 1963)

His main ideas focuses on the man-made division between whites and non-whites.
The whites represent the westerners or Europeans while the non-whites represents
non-westerners especially the Africans. DuBois saw the discrimination between
them and which was solidified by the slave trade. As the industrial revolution
 flourished and so as the slave trade. The slaves were being used to fuel the rising
demands of the industrial world.

6. Jane Adams (1860 – 1935)

Jane Adams was one of the first sociologist who practiced what they were
teaching. She claimed that sociologist have to immerse themselves into the
community they are studying in order to gain a first-hand experience about the
peculiar culture of the said community.

SECTION 3: Forces that lead to the understanding of the society

The modern world is characterized by rationalism, which can be defined as a way of
thinking that uses logical systems to analyze a particular issue and arrive at a logical
conclusion. Capitalism became the way of life in the modern era, however, this not
eliminate the horrors of feudalism but merely substituted the main players. People’s
mind are focused on limited things and this has the effect of limiting point of view of
individuals thus enslaving them with how society present itself. Human societies form in
an unforeseen contrivance that made itself a reason on why societies can grow in which
something cannot be controlled.
Meanwhile, current social system does not allow individual freedom because social
norms enslave people’s minds into thinking in a way which can be oppressive to others.
The postmodern world can be seen as a deconstruction of the reality bought by the
rationalistic perspectives prevalent in the modern world.
These social life affected the way sociologist see the current setting are political
revolutions, the industrial revolution, socialism, feminism, urbanization, religion change,
and science.

SECTION 4: Intellectual forces in the development of sociological

thinking
Intellectual movements happened in many places in the world. It is true forces are
inseparable from social forces because such intellectual movements give rise to the
many social movements. Enlightenment period in Europe served as one of the most
important intellectual breakthrough. It can be said that the enlightenment idea offers
making the idea that man can actually govern himself. It gave rise to the ideals of
equality, rights, justice, republicanism, democracy, and liberalism.

But many conservatives still think this rationalism can undermine another side of
humanity which is the adherence to moral and religious virtues.

SECTION 5: German sociology

German sociology, indeed sociology as a discipline belongs to the modern time. These
peculiarities of German sociology are due to the remarkable vicissitudes of German
history. In the time period between the 1890s and the 1990s, six era of sociopolitical
history can be distinguished. These eras have comprised monarchy, parliamentary
democratic regimes, government by proxy, and dictatorship.
One of the German sociologist is Hegel (1770 – 1831), his main philosophy utilized
the concept of dialect and idealism. The dialect is a way of thinking and at the same
time it is a way of seeing the world. Idealism is a kind of philosophical thinking which
regards the realm of ideas to be more important compared to the realm of materialism.
Opposing to Hegel is Ludwig Feuerbach (1804 – 1872). He believed that idealism
must be discredited and must be replaced by a more candid philosophical analysis of the
real world. He wanted to create a system that focuses on the material world. He claimed
that human beings should be the center of sociological inquiry and not God.
Other German sociologist like Max Weber, who focuses on idea of realization, and Karl
Marx (1818 – 1883), who believe man has the natural talent to creatively produce for
himself that centered on the effects of capitalism to the industrialized world, had not
only influenced German sociology but the entirely sociology as well.

SECTION 6: British sociology

British sociology had its origins on to three concepts, political economy, ameliorism, and
social evolution. Political economy, the close connection between socio-economic and
socio-political factors were already the focus of the attention of Karl Marx and other
sociologist. But for Marx, the free market system was an obstacle to the full realization
of man’s potentials and this is not the case for British sociologist. They were more
concerned as to the good effects of a capitalistic state. The free market system creates
for the socio-economic mechanism of the state to compliment itself to the creation of the
socio-political machinery of the entire nation. This is followed by Ameliorism, this
concept strives to solve social problems by reforming the individual. It centers on to the
individual and points out the problems of the individual that needs to be reformed. By
reforming such individual’s problems, social problems will also be solved. While, Social
Evolution as the last concept focuses on the evolving in the natural process. According
to Herbert Spencer, the society evolves in a progressive way which means that the
society changes for the better. Societies must be left alone in order for it to fulfill its
natural imperative to evolve, this is to depict the natural process of natural selection
within the society.

SECTION 7: Italian sociology

The development of sociology in Italy has been marked by illustrations achievement and
notable disappointment. As early as Niccolo Machiavelli, we have in Italy the lines cast
for nomothetic discipline concern itself with the laws of society. The disappointment
which have attended the evolution of sociology in Italy have been a consequence of the
fact that is growth has been sporadic rather than constant.
Vilfredo Pareto (1848 – 1923) an Italian sociologist who attracted attention in the
20th century. He concentrated on how to refuse Marx’s ideas. Pareto believed that non-
rational principles such as instincts were so powerful that it can create social change. He
in turn introduced an elitist theory of social movement. In that theory, the elites played
a vital role in changing the structure of the society. It is a complete reverse of Marxian
theory.