Chapter 2 Society and Culture

Intended Learning Outcomes: At the end of this chapter, the students are expected to:

1. explain culture and its material and non-material components

2. determine the relationship between culture and society.
3. discuss the symbolic components of culture.
4. define and identify the cultural universals.

A. CONCEPT OF CULTURE
The classic definition of culture was given by Edward Taylor, an English anthropologist, who
stated: “Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, law, custom, and any
other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of the society.” It is the way that non-
material objects (e.g. thoughts, actions, language and values) come together with material objects to
form a way of life.
Culture is composed by things and ideas – the material culture and non-material culture,
respectively. Material culture is the culture of things like books, buildings, food, clothing and
transportation to name a few. On the other hand, Non-material culture is made up of intangible
creations of human society such as values, symbols, customs and ideals. There are three (3) elements of
non-material culture: symbols, values and beliefs, and norms.
▪ Symbols – something that stands for or suggests something else by reason of relationship,
association,convention, or accidental resemblance. Example: non-verbal language
▪ Values – the cultural standards that people use to decide what’s good or bad, what’s right or
wrong. Theyserve as the ideals and guideline that we live by.
▪ Beliefs – specific ideas about what people think is true about the world.
▪ Norms – rules and expectations that guide behavior within a society.

• Culture refers to man’s social and material inventions, man’s artificial or man-made environment
including the learned ways of doing things.
• Culture refers to the artificial or man-made environment as well as the behavioral aspects of man’s
way of life. It provides prescriptions and proscriptions for group life-the values, customs, norms,
rules, laws, and sanctions for the deviance.
• Culture comprises all the subjects, ideas, beliefs, norms of a group of people, and the meanings
that the group applies to each culture element. (Clark, 1988).
• Culture is the social heritage of a society. It refers to the customary ways in which groups organize
their ways of behaving, thinking and feeling and which they transmit from one generation to
another.

B. CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE:
1. Culture is learned – it is acquired through education, training and experience. The knowledge,
skills, abilitiesand learned habits of the parents cannot be transmitted to the offspring through
heredity.

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 2. Culture is socially transmitted through language – it is transmitted from one generation to
another through the medium of language, verbal or nonverbal through gestures or signs, orally
or in writing.

3. Culture is a social product – many persons interacting with one another develop culture.
Culture is a product of social interaction, through the mutual inter-stimulation and response of
people with one another. The patterns for behavior, the learned ways of doing things which
have become stable, and the material productsof such interactions develop culture.
- Example: USM culture

4. Culture is a source of gratification – it provides satisfaction of man’s varied physiological,

psychological, social,emotional and spiritual needs.

5. Culture is adaptive – through inventions and discoveries man has been able to overcome his
limitations to outdo all other animals. Through culture man has been able to control and
harness the inhospitable forces ofnature to conform to his biddings.
- Example: cellphones has greatly affected our culture.

6. Culture is the distinctive way of life of a group of people – the members of the society have
developed their unique way of life that suits their needs and particular situation. Although all
people have culture, such culturediffers from one society to another.
- Example: Western culture and Eastern culture

7. Culture is material and non-material – material culture (e.g. buildings and machines) are the
products or outputs of the application of man’s knowledge and skills, which are basically non-
material.

8. Culture has sanctions and controls – these sanctions could be formal or informal. These are
rewards for conformity to culture but there are also punishments for deviation from or
violation of the culture – the prescriptions and proscriptions of the society.

9. Culture is stable yet dynamic – it is preserved and accumulated, highly stable and continuous.
Culture is alsochanging. Culture grows and accumulates with the passing of time.
- Example: Filipino parents have become relatively more accepting of their LGBTQIA++
children.

10. Culture is an established pattern of behavior – members of a certain society act in fairly uniform
manner they share mutual beliefs, customs, and ways of doing things. Thus, it is fairly easy to
predict the behavior of the members of a particular society when they interact in particular
social settings and social situations.

C. COMPONENTS OF CULTURE:
1. NORMS
• These are guidelines people are supposed to follow in their relation with one another; they are
shared rules that specify what is right or wrong and the appropriate and inappropriate
behavior. They indicate the standards of propriety, morality, legality and ethics of a society that
are covered by sanctions when violationsare made.

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 • Kinds of social norms:
a. Folkways
- These are everyday habits; customs, traditions, and conventions people obey without
giving much thought to the matter. They are the general customary or habitual ways and
patterns of doing things which do not have particular moral and ethical significance.
- Example: barrio folks eat with their bare hands and walk along the streets barefooted. On
the other hand,city folks eat using spoon and fork and walk wearing slippers or shoes.

b. Mores
- are coercive and compulsory due to their strong moral and legal sanctions. They are
society’s code ofethics, moral commandments, and standards of morality.
- There are two kinds of mores:
i. POSITIVE MORES or DUTY or the “Thou shall behavior”
– refers to the behavior, which must and ought to be done because they ethically and
morally good.
– Examples: Giving assistance to the poor and the needy; “Thou shall love God above
all.”
ii. NEGATIVE MORES or TABOO or the “Thou shall not behavior”
– refers to societal prohibitions on certain acts which must not be done because they
are not only illegal, but unethical and immoral.
– Examples: Prohibitions against incest, cannibalism and murder.
- People who violate the mores are not only labelled as deviants and unfit for society but may
be ostracized, beaten, punished, imprisoned, incarcerated, rehabilitated in mental or penal
institutions, exiled, or executed. Example: criminals who commit heinous crimes such as
rape, murder, plunder and economic sabotage.

c. Laws
- These are formalized norms enacted by people vested by with legitimate authority. They
are group expectations, which have formal sanction by the state. Sanctions are socially
imposed rewards and punishments that compel people to obey the norms.
- Examples: The Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, Republic Acts, statutes, and Batas
Pambansa.

2. IDEAS, BELIEFS, VALUES

• Ideas – are non-material aspects of culture and embody man’s conception of his physical, social
and cultural world. Example: idea of a model community, idea of an educated person, idea of
alternative marriage.
• Beliefs refers to a person’s conviction about a certain idea; it embodies people’s perception of
reality and includes the primitive ideas of the universe as well as the scientist’s empirical view
of the world. Example: belief in spirits, belief in gravity, belief in life after death.
• Values – are concepts of what is important and worthwhile. They are the general ideas that
individuals shareabout what is good or bad, right or wrong, desirable and undesirable.
▪ The sociologist Robin M. Williams (1970) identified 15 American major value
orientations, to wit: high value upon achievement and success, activity and work,
humanitarianism, efficiency and practicality, progress, material comfort, equality,
freedom, conformity, science and rationality, nationalism and patriotism, democracy,
individuality, and racial and ethnic group superiority.

3. SYMBOLS – it refers to an object, gesture, sound, color or design that represents something
“other than itself.”Language – both oral and written – plays a significant role in the development
and transmission of culture.
- Examples: Cross for Christianity; dove for peace.

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4. MATERIAL CULTURE – it refers to the concrete and tangible object produced and used by man to
satisfy his variedneeds and wants.

D. DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS/PERSPECTIVES ON CULTURE

1. CULTURAL RELATIVISM
- The concept of cultural relativism states that cultures differ, so that a cultural trait, act, or
idea has no meaning or function by itself but has a meaning only within its cultural setting.
(Horton and Hunt, 1985). Culture is relative, and no cultural practice is good or bad by itself.
- Example: Marriage is monogamy among Christians but polygamy among the Muslims.
Polygamy is considered immoral and sinful among the Christians but moral and appropriate
among the Muslims.

2. CULTURE SHOCK
- It refers to the feeling of disbelief, disorganization, and frustration one experiences when
he encounters cultural patterns or practices which are different from his. (David and Julia
Jary, 1995). Culture shock as the disruption with an unfamiliar or alien culture.
- Examples: When a typical religious person enters a nudist camp, he may experience shock
and show disbelief; a city person goes to a remote rural area.

3. ETHNOCENTRISM
- It refers to the tendency to see the behaviors, beliefs, values, and norms of one’s own
group as the only right way of living and to judge others by those standards. It is the feeling
of superiority for one’s own culture and to consider other cultures as inferior, wrong,
strange or queer.
- Examples: Belief in the superiority of the white race; extreme Japanese nationalism; the
Philippines as thePearl of the Orient Seas; Tagalogs believes they are superior over Bisayas.

4. XENOCENTRISM
- This refers to the idea that what is foreign is best and that one’s lifestyle, products or ideas
are inferior tothose of others.
- Examples: Mania for imported goods and foreign lifestyles; colonial mentality.

5. NOBLE SAVAGE MENTALITY

- It refers to the evaluation of one’s culture and that of others based on the romantic notion
that the culture and way of life of the primitives or other simple cultures is better, more
acceptable, and more orderly.
- Example: Some urbanites say that rural lifestyle is better because they have simple needs;
fresher air; food and sunshine and youngsters are not exposed to numerous crimes and
temptations, which abound in the city.

6. SUBCULTURE
- This refers to smaller groups which develop norms, values, beliefs, and special languages
which make them distinct from the broader society. These subgroups may be based on age,
social class, occupational, political, educational, or religious affiliations, regions, nationality
or ethnicity.
- Examples: Tagalogs, Ilokanos, Mangyans, Dumagats, Catholics, Protestants, teen-agers,
senior citizens, urban dwellers, squatters or urban poor, the elite of exclusive villages.

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 7. COUNTERCULTURE OR CONTRA CULTURE
- It refers to subgroups whose standards come in conflict with and oppose the conventional
standards of the dominant culture. These subgroups become a threat to the dominant
society and are considered socialproblems.
- Examples: deviants such as criminals, juvenile delinquents, racketeers, drug addicts,
prostitutes, gunrunners and terrorists; LGBTQIA++ community’s tradition of pride march.

8. CULTURE LAG
- It refers to the gap between the material and no-material culture. Material culture advances
more rapidlyand is more readily accepted by people such that the non-material culture lags
behind.
- Example: The Muslims readily accept modern means of transportation and communication
but remain steadfast in the religious faith. A new invention is introduced before the skills to
utilize it are developed.

E. CATEGORIES OF CULTURE in PHILIPPINE

SOCIETY ➢ Rural culture
1. Based on Nationality ➢ Urban culture
➢ Filipino Culture
6. Based on Religion
2. Based on Ethnolinguistic Group ➢ Christian
➢ Tagalog ➢ Roman Catholic
➢ Ilongo ➢ Protestant
➢ Ilocano ➢ Muslim
➢ Kapangpangan ➢ Iglesia ni Cristo
➢ Waray ➢ Jehovah’s Witnesses
➢ Bisaya ➢ Other religious sectors / culture
➢ Manobo ➢ Pagan
➢ Maranao
7. Based on Technology
3. Based on Historical Epochs of Philippine Culture ➢ Advanced / modern culture
➢ Before the coming of Spaniards ➢ Primitive /traditional culture
➢ Spanish period
➢ American period 8. Based on Age
➢ War Period; Japanese Occupation ➢ Teenage culture
➢ New Republic ➢ Culture of the retired and the aged
➢ Pre-Martial law period
➢ Martial Law period 9. Based on Economic Status
➢ Post martial Law period ➢ Elitist culture
➢ Mass culture
4. Based on Economic Means
➢ Agricultural culture 10. Based on Response to Colonialism
➢ Fishing Culture ➢ Mainstream culture
➢ Business / commercial culture ➢ Indigenous culture

5. Based Geographical Location

➢ Lowland culture
➢ Upland culture

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F. OTHER SYMBOLIC USES OF CULTURE
1. Culture of Poverty – it refers to the learned ways of life of the poor, a vicious cycle of
deprivation and want transmitted from one generation to another.
2. Culture of Opulence – it refers to the ways of life of the rich and the famous in their world of glitz
and glamour.
3. Culture of Corruption – it refers to the established patterns of illegally amassing wealth and
obtaining power orconcessions in the government or private office.
4. Culture of silence or culture of sabotage – it refers to the individual or group attitude to keep silent
as a resignedresponse to authority.
5. Pop culture – it refers to the popular ways, practices and interests of contemporary society.
Example: pop musicor dance craze.
6. Culture of Apathy – it refers to the prevalent inaction, indifference, lack of emotion and interest of
the people inregard to the issues and concerns which need attention and resolution.
7. Culture of conspicuous consumption – it refers to the ways and practices of the super-rich in
buying goods andobtaining services in excess of what they can actually consume and use.
8. Culture of exploitation and dehumanization – it refers to the socially entrenched patterns of
abusive and exploitative practices by the moneyed and power-wielding members of the society
against the culturally deprivedand materially disadvantaged group of society.

G. CAUSES OF CULTURAL CHANGE

1. DISCOVERY
- Refers to the process of finding a new place or an object, artifact or anything that previously
existed (Gillin,1948).
- Also refers to the initial awareness of existing but formerly unobserved relationships of
elements of natureto human life.
- Examples: The discovery of fire led to the art of cooking; discovery of oil, of organisms and
substances; ofdiseases, of atoms and sources of energy.

2. INVENTION
- It implies a creative mental process of devising; creating and producing something new,
novel or original. It also implies the utilization and combination of previously known
elements to produce an original or novel product. Invention could be either social or
material.
- Examples:
i. social invention - number system, government, language, democracy, religion and
alphabet.
ii. material invention - wheel, machines, automobiles, etc.
iii. invention of new methods or techniques.

3. DIFFUSION
- It refers to the spread of cultural traits (e.g., religious beliefs, technological ideas, language
forms, etc.) or social practices from a society or group to another belonging to the same
society or to another through direct contact with each other and exposure to new forms.
- Diffusion involves the following social processes:
i. Acculturation – cultural borrowing and cultural imitation. Example: The Filipinos
are said to be the best English-speaking people of Asia.
ii. Assimilation – blending or fusion of two distinct cultures through long periods of
interactions.Example: Americanization of Filipino immigrants to the U.S.
iii. Amalgamation – biological or hereditary fusion of members of different
societies. Example:Marriage between a Filipino and an American.

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 iv. Enculturation – deliberate infusion of a new culture to another. Examples: The
teaching of American history and culture to the Filipinos during the early American
regime; adopting educational system of Americans – the public school system.

4. COLONIZATION
- It refers to the political, social and political policy of establishing a colony which would be
subject to therule or governance of the colonizing state. It is politically termed as
imperialism.
- Once the economy of a more technologically advanced country dominates the economy of
a lessdeveloped state, such condition is termed neo-colonialism or economic imperialism.

5. REBELLION and REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS

- This aim to change the whole social order and replace the leadership. Revolutionary
movements involvemore radical, if not violent, changes in society

References:

Murdock, G. P., 1963. Outline of World Cultures. 4th ed. New Haven, Corn: HRA Press,

Tylor, E. B., 1968. The Science of Culture in Readings in Anthropology. Vol. 2 Cultural
Anthropology ed. ByNorton H. Fried. N.Y.: Thomas Crowell Co.

Panopio, I. et. al., 2004. General Sociology: Focus in the Philippines. 4th ed., Q.C. Ken Inc. Phils.

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