Defining Culture and
Society from the
perspectives of
anthropology and
sociology
Culture
- refers to the complex whole which
encompasses beliefs, practices, values,
attitudes, laws, symbols, knowledge and
everything that a person learns as a
member of society.
- through culture, people and groups
define themselves, conform to society's
shared values, and contribute to
society.
CLASSIFICATION OF CULTURE:
a) Material Culture – cultural
components that are visible and tangible.
b) Non Material Culture – components of
culture that are intangible or without
representation.
2 Category of Non-Material Culture:
i. Cognitive – include the ideas, concepts,
philosophies, design etc. that are
products of the mental or intellectual
functioning of the human mind.
ii. Normative – includes all the
expectations, standards and rules for
human behavior.
ELEMENTS OF CULTURE:
a) Beliefs - is a set of beliefs regarding what
is true and false, what is good or bad, what
is beautiful and ugly, what is acceptable by
society and what is considered as
unacceptable.
b) Values - are abstract concepts that
certain kinds of behaviors are good, right,
ethical, moral and therefore desirable.
c) Symbols - anything that represents something
else and carries a particular meaning wherein
symbolic meanings change as time goes by.
i. Verbal symbols show meaning or emotion
through writing or spoken words.
ii. Non-verbal symbols include body language
and gestures, paralanguage (tone and touch),
pictograms (and icons); also flags and national
symbols, style & outfit.
d) Language - is a symbolic system through which
people communicate and through which culture is
transmitted through spoken communication and
nonverbal actions.
e) Technology - involves the use of techniques,
processes, and material objects to produce goods,
provide services, and connect people.
f) Norms – are form of rules, standards, or
prescriptions that are strictly followed by people
who adhere on certain conventions & perform
specific roles.
2 Types of Norms:
i. Prescriptive - encouraging positive
behavior; for example, “be honest”.
ii. Proscriptive - discouraging negative
behavior; for example, “do not
cheat”.
Forms of Norms:
i. Folkways - are behaviors that are learned
and shared by a social group that we
often refer to as “customs” in a group
that are not morally significant, but they
can be important for social acceptance.
ii. Mores - are norms of morality, or right
and wrong, and if you break one it is
often considered offensive to most
people of a culture.
iii. Taboos - go step farther and are very
negative norms that should not get violated
because people will be upset.
iv. Laws - are social norms that have become
formally inscribed at the state or federal level
and can laws can result in formal punishment
for violations, such as fines, incarceration, or
even death.
CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE:
1. Dynamic, flexible, and adaptive
2. Shared and maybe challenged
3. Learned through socialization or
enculturation
4. Pattered social interactions
5. Integrated
6. Transmitted through socialization or
enculturation
7. Requires language and other forms of
communication.
Society is an organized group or groups of
interdependent people who share
common territory, language and culture
and act together for collective survival
and well-being.
TYPES OF SOCIETY:
a) Hunting and gathering societies - these groups were
based around kinship or tribes. Hunter-gatherers hunted
wild animals and foraged for uncultivated plants for food.
b) Pastoral societies - rely on the domestication of animals
as a resource for survival. They were able to breed livestock
for food, clothing, and transportation, and they created a
surplus of goods.
c) Horticultural societies - formed in areas where rainfall
and other conditions allowed them to grow stable crops.
This created more stability and more material goods and
became the basis for the first revolution in human survival.
d) Agricultural societies - relied on permanent tools for
survival. Farmers learned to rotate the types of crops
grown on their fields and to reuse waste products.
e) Industrial societies - this period is remarkable for the
number of new inventions that influenced people’s daily
lives. Products such as paper and glass became available
to the average person, and the quality and accessibility
of education and health care soared.
f) Post-industrial societies - sometimes known as
information societies, are based on the production of
information and services.
ETHNOCENTRISM
- is the tendency to see and evaluate
other culture in terms of one’s own race,
nation or culture.
MENOCENTRISM
- one’s exposure to cultural practices of
others may make one to give preferences
to the ideas lifestyle and products of other
cultures.
CULTURAL RELATIVISM
- is the principle that an individual
human beliefs and activities should be
understood by others in terms of that
individual’s own culture.
3 Ideas of Cultural Relativism:
a)Moral relativism - is the idea that there are no
absolute rules to determine whether something
is right or wrong.
b)Situational relativism - is the position that there
are no moral absolutes, no moral right and
wrongs. Instead, right and wrong are based on
social norms.
c) Cognitive relativism - refers to the belief or view
that truth is unattainable. It implies the relativity
of knowledge and rationality.
Politics is a Social Science that deals
with the study of the spectrums of
politics as it relates to the different
situations both inside and outside
the government.
Different Fields in the Political
Science
1. Political Philosophy
2. Comparative Government and
Politics
3. Public Administration
4. International Relations
Political Philosophy
• Most basic of all Political Science
subjects
• Deals with the study of concepts
such as politics, government,
liberty and justice.
Comparative Government and
Politics
• Sub-field incorporates topics such
as the different forms of
government found in different
countries around the world with
their concomitant advantages
and disadvantages.
Public Administration
• Study of the bureaucracy
behind the government and
the proper way to administer
the needs of the general
public.
International Relations
• Study of the diplomatic
relations and practices among
the states in the worldview
setting and how power is being
balanced in the international
level
The Importance of
Studying Culture,
Society and Politics
1. The study of culture, society and
politics stimulates social awareness
2. It can help solve social problems
that besiege everyone in the society
3. It can help people to connect
themselves not only to the
environment but to other people as
well
4. It lets human beings know their real
essence as a human being who is not
separate from nature but actually a part
of all the natural processes happening in
nature
5. To arouse the social
consequences/awareness of the
students
6. To develop the concept of civilian
responsibility
