What is Culture
Basically, culture is the way of life of people of a certain family traits in a society. Culture is ultimately the Centre of a society and without culture no society can even exist. Culture constitute the main difference between human beings and animals. It is unarguably a heritage passed on from one generation to another in a distinctive manner. It includes all the ways and behaviors is social life. Man is practically born in the environment of culture, in which he seeks his way of behaving and acting in a given society.The social value of culture has always been positive.Culture is the arts elevated to a set of beliefs. Culture can also be seen as the sum total of integrated learned behaviour patterns which are characteristics of the members of a society and which are therefore not the result of biological inheritance.” “Culture is the complex whole that consists of everything we think and do and have as members of society”, says Bierstedt.
Here are some interesting quotes about Culture
A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots- Marcus Garvey
Preservation of one’s own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures-Cesar Chavez
Military dictatorship is born from the power of the gun, and so it undermines the concept of the rule of law and gives birth to a culture of might, a culture of weapons, violence and intolerance. Benazir Bhutto
God exists, if only in the form of a meme with high survival value, or infective power, in the environment provided by human culture- Richard Dawkins
Culture is the way of life of a group of people, which is passed from one generation to another.The culture of every group of people is unique. Once you have an innovation culture, even those who are not scientists or engineers – poets, actors, journalists – they, as communities, embrace the meaning of what it is to be scientifically literate. They embrace the concept of an innovation culture. They vote in ways that promote it. They don’t fight science and they don’t fight technology.This may be in their way of dressing, eating, singing, dancing, performing marriage ceremonies, festivals, etc. these unique things below are examples of such characteristics.
- Culture Changes: as a society changes and grows, the way of life of its people too changes and grows. For example, in the past, people gave their children tribal marks on their faces or other parts of the body, but this is not so common today.
- Culture Lasts Long: Culture can stay for a long time that is why it can be passed from one generation to another. A good example is the languages people speak.
- Culture is Learn or Acquire: In every society, people grow up to learn or acquire knowledge about their cultural habits, which are passed on from the older to the younger generations, especially through story telling.
- Culture is Shared: Thinks like marriage practices, religion, festivals, etc. can be shared by different cultures.
- Culture is material and non – material: Culture comprises both material aspects, that is, things we can see, feel, or touch, e.g, dresses, food, houses, etc. and non- materials aspects, that is, things we cannot see, feel or touch, e.g music, language, etc.
- Culture can be modified: Culture can be changed or adjusted to suit what we desire. For instance, we borrow the dress sense, music, etc. of other cultures and make it a part of our own culture.
- Culture is unique: Every culture has something that makes it different from another. This makes it unique to the people of that society. For an exampl, different people have different ways of greeting and showing respect.
Similarities in culture
Although every culture differs, there are certain things that are similar among all cultures. These are called cultural universals, because they exist in every culture in the world. Below are examples of some such cultural somilarities.
Marriage
Marriage is shared among all cultures in the world. Every society recognises and accepts the institution of marriage.
Religion
The belief in and worship of God is practised in all cultures. Religion exists in every society. The practices may be different in each culture, but all societies have form of belief systems or the other.
Work
The need to work and earn a living is shared among people of all cultures.Culture survives in smaller spaces – not in the history books that erect monuments to the nation’s grand history but in cafes and cinema houses, village squares, and half-forgotten libraries-Amitava Kumar
Finally,You have to maintain a culture of transformation and stay true to your values.
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