Defining culture and society from the perspectives of ANTHROPOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY

DEFINING CULTURE AND SOCIETY
FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF
ANTHROPOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY

SOCIETY
EX: BARANGAY, CITY,
COUNTRY, ASIA
A society describes a
group of people who
share a common
territory and a culture.
By “territory”
sociologists refer to a
definable region- as
small as a
neighborhood

CULTURE
refers to “that complex whole which
encompasses beliefs, practices, values,
attitudes, laws, norms, artifacts,
symbols, knowledge, and everything that
a person learns and shares as a member of
society”.

CULTURE
Neither society nor culture could exist
without the other
REPRESENTS:
BELIEFS
PRACTICES
ARTIFACTS
REPRESENTS:
SOCIAL STRUCTURES
ORGANIZATIONS
SOCIETY

TYPES OF SOCIETY
Sociologists have classified the different types of societies into
six categories, each of which possesses its own unique
characteristics.

Although humans have established
many types of societies throughout
history, sociologists and
anthropologists (experts who study
early and tribal cultures) usually refer
to six basic types of societies, each
defined by its level of technology.

1. Hunting and gathering
societies
MM.DD.20XXADD A FOOTER7
These are
the earliest
forms of
society.

societies
These are
small and
generally with
less than 50
members
and is
nomadic.

societies
MM.DD.20XXADD A FOOTER9The members survive primarily by hunting,
trapping, fishing, and gathering edible plants.

some division
of labor based
on gender
Hunting and
gathering
societies were
also tribal

2. Pastoral Societies
Rely on products
through the
domestication and
breeding of animals
for transportation
and food.

The word 'pastoral'
comes from the Latin
root word pastor,
which means
'shepherd.' Someone
living in a pastoral
society is called a
pastoralist.

These are common
in areas where crops
cannot be supported
and only have to
move when the land
in which animals
gaze is no longer
usable.

 allow certain of its members
(those who are not
domesticating animals) to
engage in nonsurvival
activities.
 Traders, healers, spiritual
leaders, craftspeople, and
people with other specialty
professions appear.

These societies rely on the cultivation of fruits,
vegetables, and plants in order to survive.
3. Horticultural Societies

3. Horticultural Societies
 They are often forced to relocate when the resources of the
land are depleted or when the water supplies decrease.

4. Agricultural societies
 Focuses on mode of production
 They rely on the use of technology in order to cultivate crops
in large areas, including wheat, rice, and corn.

Productivity increases, and as long as there are
plenty of food, people do not have to move.

Greater degrees of social stratification
appeared in agricultural societies.

 Farmers provided warriors
with food in exchange for
protection against invasion
by enemies. A system of
rulers with high social
status also appeared.
This nobility organized
warriors to protect the
society from invasion.

5. Industrial societies
 Sociologists refer to the period during the 18th century when
the production of goods in mechanized factories began as
the Industrial Revolution.

. The Industrial Revolution appeared first in
Britain, and then quickly spread to the rest of
the world.

They use advanced sources of energy to run
large machinery which led to industrialization.

Led to innovations in transportation led people to
travel, work in factories, and live in cities.

6. Post-industrial societies
Their economy is based on services and
technology, not production.

6. Post-industrial societies
 The economy is
dependent on tangible
goods, people must
pursue greater
education, and the new
communications
technology allows work
to be performed from a
variety of locations.

GROUP ACTIVITY: OUR IDEAL
SOCIETY
Creatively describe your Ideal society by combining
three categories. Consider the following factors:
SOCIAL INTERACTION (SOCIAL)
LIVELIHOOD (ECONOMY)
LEADERSHIP (GOVERNMENT)
RESOURSES (ENVIRONMENTAL)

ASPECTS OF
CULTURE
Cultures have key features (classification and elements)
and characteristics that are present in all cultures

30
the characteristic
features of everyday
existence (such as
diversions or a way
of life) shared by
people in a place or
time
CULTURE

31 MM.DD.20XX
the set of shared
attitudes, values,
goals, and practices
that characterizes
an institution or
organization
CULTURE

Classification of Culture
32 MM.DD.20XX
 Cultural components that are visible and
tangible
 All material objects or those components or
elements of culture with physical representation
such as tools, furniture, buildings, bridges,
gadgets, etc.
1. Material Culture

Classification of Culture
33 MM.DD.20XX
nontangible or without physical
representation
can be categorized into cognitive
and normative nonmaterial culture.
1. Nonmaterial Culture

NONMATERIAL
34 MM.DD.20XX
 includes the ideas, concepts,
philosophies, designs, etc. that are
products of the mental or intellectual
functioning and reasoning of the human
mind.
COGNITIVE CULTURE

NONMATERIAL
35 MM.DD.20XX
 includes all the expectations,
standards and rules for
human behavior.
NORMATIVE CULTURE

ELEMENTS OF
CULTURE
All cultures consist of key elements that are crucial
to human existence:

1. BELIEFS
37 MM.DD.20XX
 are conceptions or ideas people
have about what is true in the
environment around them.
 EX: like what is life, how to value it, and how one’s beliefs on the
value of life relate with his or her interaction with others and the
world.

1. BELIEFS
38 MM.DD.20XX
 These may be based on
common sense, folk wisdom,
religion, science, or a
combination of all of these.

Possible different sources:
1. a person’s own experiences or
experiments
2. the acceptance of cultural and societal
norms (e.g. religion)
3. what other people say (e.g.education or
mentoring).

SAMPLE OF COMMON BELIEFS:
1. I am in charge of my life.
2. I don’t need the approval of others to
succeed
3. “We are here for a purpose”
4. What goes around, comes around.
5. Marriage = Happily ever after

Philippines Superstitious Beliefs:
 Do not comb hair at night, because your parents
can die.
 Do not sleep with wet hair, because you can
become crazy.
 Bad luck is when the picture falls from a wall.
 Do not break the mirror, because you will be
unhappy.

2. VALUES
43 MM.DD.20XX
 describes what is appropriate or
inappropriate (good or bad;
desirable or undesirable; worthy
or unworthy) in a given society
or what ought to be.

2. VALUES
44 MM.DD.20XX
These are broad, abstract,
and shared to influence and
guide the behavior of people.

2. VALUES
45 MM.DD.20XX
People live in a culture
wherein symbols are used to
understand each other.

VALUES
47 MM.DD.20XX
SYMBOLS
verbal (words)
nonverbal
(acts, gestures, signs, and objects) that
communicate meaning that people recognize
and shared.

3. LANGUANGE
48 MM.DD.20XX
 is a shared set of spoken and
written symbols.
 It is basic to communication and
transmission of culture. It is known
as the storehouse of culture.

4. TECHNOLOGY
49 MM.DD.20XX
 refers to the
application of
knowledge and
equipment to ease the
task of living and
maintaining the
environment.

4. TECHNOLOGY
50 MM.DD.20XX
It includes all artifacts,
methods and devices
created and used by
people.

5. NORMS
51 MM.DD.20XX
are specific
rules/standards to guide
appropriate behavior.

Types
Proscriptive Defines and tells
us things not to
do.
Prescriptive Defines and tells
us things to do .

Forms
Folkways
Also known as customs, these are norms for
everyday behavior that people follow for the
sake of tradition or convenience.
Mores
These are strict norms that control moral and
ethical behavior. Mores are norms based on
definitions of right and wrong.
Taboos
These are norms that society holds so strongly
that violating it results in extreme disgust.
Laws
These are codified ethics, and formally agreed,
written down and enforced by an official law
enforcement agency.

EXAMPLE OF FOLKWAYS
•1. Proper dress
•2. correct manner
•3. proper eating behaviour
•4. personal hygiene

EXAMPLE OF MORES
May result to severe penalties:
1. Murder
2. Theft
3. Rape
4. Fraud
5. corruption

EXAMPLE OF TABOOS
•Abortion - terminating a pregnancy
•Addiction - addiction to legal or illegal drugs,
including alcoholism
•Adultery - sexual intercourse with someone
other than your spouse
•Bestiality or Zoophilia - sexual relations
between a human and an animal
•Bigotry - speaking negatively about someone of
another race

EXAMPLE OF TABOOS
Fornication - sexual relations between people not
married to one another
Homosexuality - sexual attraction or relations with
people of the same gender
Illegal drugs - using or abusing illegal drugs
Incest - sexual relations between relatives. Different
cultures have different definitions of how close a
relative would be considered taboo

EXAMPLE OF TABOOS
Intermarriage - marriage between people
who are closely related
Polygamy - having more than one spouse at
the same time
Pornography - showing body parts for sexual
excitement
Suicide - the taking of one's own life

By themselves, norms are
guidelines for human behavior.
Sanctions encourage conformity to
norms.
Sanctions are socially imposed
rewards and punishments in society
which may be formal or informal.

1. Dynamic, Flexible,
and Adaptive
65
Most societies interact with other
societies, and lead to exchanges of
material (e.g., tools and furniture) and
nonmaterial (e.g., ideas and symbols)
components of culture.

Dynamic
66
Culture is dynamic as it responds to the
changing needs of time, alongside to the
motion and actions within and around it.
When one aspect changes within a
system, culture easily responds to it.

EXAMPLE:
67
In the culture of China, binding of foot is part
of their lives. Through this, the beauty of women is
being portrayed and emphasized through out the
country. But because of the development of
technology and medical stuffs, further studies about
foot binding were conducted. After analyzing the
studies, foot binding is now being condemned in
China.

Flexible
68
Culture is capable of being flexible
to be able to face any challenges
that life would bring.

EXAMPLE:
69
Amish people are very strict and particular with
their culture. They still make decision-making
balanced in a sense that both their organization
and culture can survive the inevitable changes
around them, especially through modern times.
are a group of traditionalist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German.

Adoptive
70
People use technology, ideas and
activities in order to survive and
expand the human culture and
society, this only depicts that culture is
adaptive.

EXAMPLE:
71
Technology usage has been a part of
the evolving modern culture in which
people need the gadget to survive in
this era. For example, people are
using smartphones to spread and
share one's culture.

2. Shared and may be
Challenged
72
(given the reality of social
differentiation). As we share culture
with others, we are able to act in
appropriate ways as well as predict
how others will act.

EXAMPLE:
73
Almost all people living in the
Philippines share the Filipino
language, dress similar styles, eat
many of the same food, celebrate
same holidays.

3. Learned through
socialization and enculturation
76
It is not biological, we do not inherit it but
learn as we interact in society. Much of
learning culture is unconscious. We learn,
absorb, and acquire culture from
families, peers, institutions, and the media.

Enculturation is also known as socialization.
As he meets people of his culture he gets more and more
information and deep understanding of real life situations
which later help him in his own experiences.

4. Patterned social interactions
81
Culture as a normative system has the
capacity to define and control human
behaviors. Norms are cultural
expectations in terms of how one will
think, feel, or behave as set by one’s
culture.

5. Integrated
84
This is known as HOLISM, or the various
parts of a culture being interconnected or
interlinked. All aspects of a culture are
related to one another and to truly
understand a culture, one must learn about
all of its part, not only a few.

6. Transmitted through
socialization/enculturation
85
As we share our culture with other, we
were able to pass it on to the new
members of society or the younger
generation in different ways.

7. Requires language and other
forms of communication
86
In the process of learning and
transmitting culture, we need
symbols and language to
communicate with others in society.

1. Dynamic, Flexible, and Adaptive
2. Shared and may be Challenged
3. Learned through socialization and
enculturation
4. Patterned social interactions
5. INTEGRATED
6. Transmitted through
socialization/enculturation
7. Requires language and other forms of
communication
87

Orientations in Viewing Other
Cultures

Ethnocentrism
90
is the view of things in which one’s
own group is the center of
everything and all others are scaled
and rated with reference to it.

Ethnocentrism
91
Each group nourishes its own
pride and vanity, boasts itself
superior, exalts its own divinities,
and looks with contempt on
outsiders.

Ethnocentrism
92
Judging another culture
solely by the values and
standards of one’s own
culture.

Defining culture and society from the perspectives of ANTHROPOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY

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