Quarter 1: Week 2 - Module 2

Understanding Culture Society and Politics

Prepared by: Rica Anne N. Sembrano

LESSON OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:
1. Explain the concept of society and culture in anthropological and sociological perspective;
2. Describe some major characteristics of society and culture;
3. Differentiate between the various meanings of culture within society; and
4. Appreciate the significance of culture in the society

THE CONCEPT OF SOCIETY

Meaning and Nature of Society
 Society is a group of people with common territory, interaction, and culture. – Sociologist
 Society as group of people who share a common territory and culture. - Arcinas (2016)
 Society refers to all people, collectively regarded as constituting a community of related,
interdependent individuals living in a definite place, following a certain mode of life. - (Ariola, 2012).
 It is a group of people living together in a definite territory, having a sense of belongingness, mutually
interdependent of each other, and follow a certain way of life.
 Society is derived from the Latin term “societas”, from socius, which mean companion or associate.

Definition of society has two types - the functional definition and the structural definition.

From the functional point of view, society is defined as a complex of groups in reciprocal relationships,
interacting upon one another, enabling human organisms to carry on their life-activities and helping
each person to fulfill his wishes and accomplish his interests in association with his fellows.

From the structural point of view, society is the total social heritage of folkways, mores and institutions;
of habits, sentiments and ideals. The important aspect of society is the system of relationships, the
pattern of the norms of interaction by which the members of the society maintain themselves.

The following are reasons people live together as a society (Ariola, 2012):
a. For survival
b. Feeling of gregariousness
c. Specialization

Characteristics of Society

Society has the following characteristics:

1. It is a social system.
2. It is relatively large.
3. It socializes its members and from those from without.
4. It endures, produces and sustains its members for generations.
5. It holds its members through a common culture.
6. It has clearly-defined geographical territory.

Major Functions of Society

A society is important because they have the following functions:

1. It provides a system of socialization.
2. It provides the basic needs of its members.
3. It regulates and controls people’s behavior.
4. It provides the means of social participation.
5. It provides mutual support to the members.

Types of Societies

ACCORDING TO ECONOMIC ACCORDING TO ACCORDING TO PEOPLE’S

AND MATERIAL SYSTEM EVOLUTIONARY VIEW SUBSTINENCE

1. Pre-class Societies – They 1. Simple Societies – These 1. Food Gathering Societies

are characterized by communal were predominantly small, (more than 16, 000 years ago) –
ownership of property and nomadic and leadership is The people survived from day to
division of labor. unstable. day through hunting larger
animals, collecting shellfish and
vegetable gathering.
2. Asiatic Societies – The 2. Compound Societies – Two 2. Horticultural
people are economically self- or more simple societies Societies (12, 000 to 15, 000
sufficient but their leaders are merged to form a new and years ago) – The people planted
despotic and powerful. bigger society. These societies seeds as a means of production
tended to be predominantly for subsistence.
settled agricultural societies and
tended to be characterized by a
division of four or five social
classes.

3. Ancient Societies – These 3. Doubly Compound 3. Pastoral Societies – Most of

are characterized by private Societies – These are the people are nomadic who
land ownership. completely integrated, more follow their herds in quest of
definite in political and religious animals for food and clothing to
structure and more complex satisfy their needs.
division of labor.
4. Feudal Societies – The 4. Militant Societies – These 4. Agricultural Societies – In
aristocrats (feudal lords) owned are characterized by the the early agricultural societies,
the wealth of the country due to following: people used plow than hoe in
their ownership of big tracts of (a) the existence of military food production.
lands. organization and military rank;
(b) individual lives and private
possessions are at the disposal
of the State; and
(c) individual activities such as
recreation, movements,
satisfaction of biological needs,
and production of goods are
totally regulated by the State.
5. Capitalists Societies – 5. Industrial Societies – These 5. Industrial Societies - These
These societies existed in societies are characterized by societies began in the 18th
societies where two classes the following: century during the Industrial
of people appeared. The Revolution and gained
 Bourgeoise (property (a) people elect their momentum by the turn of the
owners) and the Ploretariat representatives to protect their 19th century. This period is
(the laborers or workers) individual initiatives; characterized by the use of
(b) freedom of belief, religion, machines as means of food
production of industrial goods production.
exist;
(c) disputes and grievances are
settled through peaceful
arbitration; and
(d) business organizations
appear where cooperative
efforts between management
and labor are based on
contractual agreement.

6. Democratic Societies – 6.Post-Industrial Societies – 6.Post-Industrial Societies or

These societies are These are characterized by: Information Societies –
characterized by free (a) spread of computer Information and communication
enterprise where people are machines and existence of technology is the hallmark of
free to engage in any lawful information and communication; these modern societies.
business for profit or gain. (b) inventions and discoveries in
People had to work on their medicines, agriculture, business
own livelihood according to whether in physical and natural
what the law mandates. sciences emerged; and
(c)pollution, diseases,
calamities are prevalent as a
result of the use of advanced
technology.

Dissolution of a Society
There are several ways by which a society is dissolved:
1. when the people kill each other through civil revolution;
2. when an outside force exterminates the members of the society;
3. when the members become apathetic among themselves or have no more sense of belongingness;
4. when a small society is absorbed by a stronger and larger society by means of conquest or territorial
absorption;
5. when an existing society is submerged in water killing all the people and other living things in it; or
6. when the people living in such a society voluntarily attach themselves to another existing society.
 THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE
Meaning and Nature of Culture

Culture is a complex whole which consist of knowledge, beliefs, ideas, habits, attitudes, skills, abilities,
values, norms, art, law, morals, customs, traditions, feelings and other capabilities of man which are
acquired, learned and socially transmitted by man from one generation to another. - E.B. Taylor

In general, culture is a term used by social scientists, like anthropologists and sociologists, to
encompass all the facets of human experience that extend beyond our physical fact.

Characteristics of Culture

From the Perspective of From the Perspective of

Sociologists) Anthropologists
1. Dynamic, flexible and adaptive 1. Learned
2. Shared and maybe challenged 2. Symbolic
3. Learned through socialization or enculturation 3. Systemic and integrated
4. Patterned social interactions 4. Shared
5. Transmitted through socialization or enculturation 5. Encompassing
6. Requires language and other forms of communication

Functions of Culture

The following functions of culture were given emphasis:

1. it serves as the “trademark” of the people in the society;
2. it gives meaning and direction to one’s existence;
3. it promotes meaning to individual’s existence;
4. it predicts social behavior;
5. it unifies diverse behavior;
6. it provides social solidarity;
7. it establishes social personality;
8. it provides systematic behavioral pattern;
9. it provides social structure category;
10. it maintains the biologic functioning of the group;
11. it offers ready-made solutions to man’s material and immaterial problems; and
12. it develops man’s attitude and values and gives him a conscience.

Elements of Culture

1. Symbols - refers to anything that is used to stand for something else. It is anything that gives
meaning to the culture.
2. Language – is a system of words and symbols used to communicate with other people.
3. Technology - refers to the application of knowledge and equipment to ease the task of living
and maintaining the environment;
4. Values - are culturally defined standards for what is good or desirable. Values determine how
individuals will probably respond in any given circumstances.
5. Beliefs - refers to the faith of an individual
6. Norms - are specific rules/standards to guide for appropriate behavior
 Types:
a) Proscriptive norm defines and tells us things not to do
b) Prescriptive norm defines and tells us things to do

Forms:
a) Folkways are also known as customs (customary/repetitive ways of doing things);
b) Mores are strict norms that control moral and ethical behavior; they are based on
definitions of right and wrong
c) Laws are controlled ethics and they are morally agreed, written down and enforced
by an official law enforcement agency

Two Components of Culture

1. Material culture consists of tangible things. It refers to the physical objects, resources, and spaces
that people use to define their culture.
2. Non-material culture consists of intangible things. It refers to the nonphysical ideas that people
have about their culture, including beliefs, values, rules, norms, morals, language, organizations, and
institutions.

Modes of Acquiring Culture

a. Imitation
b. Indoctrination or Suggestion
c. Conditioning

Adaptation of Culture

1. Parallelism means that the same culture may take place in two or more different places.
2. Diffusion refers to those behavioral patterns that pass back and forth from one culture to another.
3. Convergence takes place when two or more cultures are fused or merged into one culture making
it different from the original culture.
4. Fission takes place when people break away from their original culture and start developing a
different culture of their own.
5. Acculturation refers to the process wherein individuals incorporate the behavioral patterns of other
cultures into their own either voluntarily or by force.
6. Assimilation occurs when the culture of a larger society is adopted by a smaller society, that smaller
society assumes some of the culture of the larger society or cost society.
7. Accommodation occurs when the larger society and smaller society are able to respect and tolerate
each other’s culture even if there is already a prolonged contact of each other’s culture.

Causes of Cultural Change

1. Discovery is the process of finding a new place or an object, artefact or anything that previously
existed.
2. Invention implies a creative mental process of devising, creating and producing something new,
novel or original
3. Diffusion is the spread of cultural traits or social practices from a society or group to another
belonging to the same society

It involves the following social processes:

a. Acculturation – cultural borrowing and cultural imitation
 b. Assimilation – the blending or fusion of two distinct cultures through long periods of
interaction
c. Amalgamation – the biological or hereditary fusion of members of different societies
d. Enculturation – the deliberate infusion of a new culture to another
4. Colonization refers to the political, social, and political policy of establishing a colony which would
be subject to the rule or governance of the colonizing state.
5. Rebellion and revolutionary movements aim to change the whole social order and replace the
leadership.

Ethnocentrism, Xenocentrism and Cultural Relativism as Orientations in Viewing Other Cultures

Ethnocentrism is a perception that arises from the fact that cultures differ and each culture defines
reality differently
Xenocentrism - the belief that one’s culture is inferior compared to others.
Cultural relativism is an attempt to judge behavior according to its cultural context

Other Important Terms Related to Culture

1. Cultural diversity refers the differentiation of culture all over the world which means there is no right
or wrong culture but there is appropriate culture for the need of a specific group of people.
2. Sub-culture refers to a smaller group within a larger culture.
3. Counterculture refers cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society
4. Culture lag is experienced when some parts of the society do not change as fast as with other parts
and they are left behind
5. Culture shock is the inability to read meaning in one’s surroundings, feeling of lost and isolation,
unsure to act as a consequence of being outside the symbolic web of culture that binds others.
6. Ideal culture refers to the social patterns mandated by cultural values and norms.
7. Real culture refers to the actual patterns that only approximate cultural expectations.
8. High culture refers to the cultural patterns that distinguish a society’s elite
9. Popular culture refers to the cultural patterns that are widespread among a society’s population.
10. Culture change is the manner by which culture evolves.