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One of the factors that makes the world an interesting globe is the diversity of the cultures of its various nations. There are several definitions put forward for the term
(1) Recurrent, accepted and expected ways of thinking and acting.
() A collection of knowledge, belief, art, morals, law and customs acquired by man as a member of society.
() Patterns of behaviour, attitudes, values and ideas that people learn in connection with social living.
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Whatever the definition, the most noticeable feature about culture, is that it is a common behaviour among a group of persons. In other words, any activity that is carried out by one individual cannot be viewed as culture, if other members of the group to which that individual belongs are not also participating in that particular activity.
Behaviour, in the definition of culture, does not refer to just an act but moreso to thinking, and feelings as well as actions. Further, this type of behaviour is learned a type that is acquired through societal influences. We think and do what society tells us to think and do.
One important characteristic of culture is that it is inherited. As a matter of fact, culture has been referred to as the total social inheritance of a people. This means that certain behaviours which are not biologically inherited, are socially learnt or passed from one generation to the next and are shared by most human beings or specific designated sets of them. Sometimes a culture is best examined by looking at what is referred to as culture traits. These are small broken down elements or units, which represent single combinations of acts and ideas related to a particular need or situation.
Sub-Cultures
These are cultural patterns that set apart some segment of a society's population; or characterized patterns that develop among different racial, ethnic or religious group of people who, at the same time, share the general culture; or various groups within a society whose folkways and mores differ from those of society at large. Examples of sub-cultures include, Rastafarianism, Revivalism and Homosexuality. Sub-cultures are formed primarily because of diversity in the make-up of the society. They are characterized by distinctive language usages, religious practices, food preferences, music, celebrations, styles of dress, historic identification and pride of heritage.
One must not forget occupational sub-cultures a group of individuals who share a distinctive occupation. They have a set of values of their own, they speak using jargon exclusive to their profession and they know things and have ideas that are not shared among most members of the society.
Sub-cultures, though they are a source of pleasing variety, can also be the cause of tensions and outright violence. In many developed countries, such as the former nation of Yugoslavia, a civil war broke out and this was propelled by sub-cultures rising up against each other. In Jamaica, a few years ago the Rastafarian Movement rose up against the norms of society when they demonstrated against the illegality of the Marijuana plant. The Rastafarians, who use the rug as an important item in their religious rites, were asking that the banned substance be decriminalized. Members of the Jamaican society at large know and accept that the possession and use of Marijuana as a misdemeanor is one of that society's norm.
Components of Culture
Culture is made up of a number of elements. Some of these are of more importance in shaping social relationships than others. Among these are, Symbols, language, values, beliefs and norms.
A symbol is anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who share culture. It is a composite of two things a meaning and a physical structure. The physical form is the vehicle by means of which the meaning is transmitted. The meaning of the physical form is subjectively assigned by society; it is not elemental to the thing itself. For example, for one society, using the middle and index fingers to make a 'v' means 'peace to you', yet in another the same sign, shown to someone is an insult.
Language is very important part of culture. The chief reason human beings are the only living organism that possesses culture is because we have language. Language enables man to transmit ideas about situations. The information, attitudes and values of each generation can be passed on to the succeeding generation through language. Language is one of the more reliable ways to differentiate between cultures.
Values are an important element of culture because they specify the types of goal we seek. These are culturally defined standards by which people determine what is desirable, worthwhile, good or beautiful and which serve as a broad guideline for social living. Values are learnt from families, schools and religious organizations, which tell us how to think and act according to approved principles.
Beliefs basically consist of what we think to be true. They are important in shaping our behaviour since we act on the basis of what we believe to be true, regardless of what the objective truth might be. For instance, we have beliefs about the beginning of the human race creationists believe that God created us all, while evolutionists believe that we evolved from another form of creation. Whatever one believes he considers it knowledge, yet another who believes differently will regard that belief as ignorance or even superstition.
Norms are the rules and expectations by which a society guides the behaviour of its members. They provide guidelines for the way we live our lives. Norms regulate human interaction. The norms of our society tells us we should marry only one partner at time, that we should go to school, that we should say sorry when we hurt someone, that we should brush our teeth regularly, that we should not commit incest, that we should take care of our children and elderly. The fact that most of us feel obligated to follow such expectations determines what we expect others to do and how we are expected to treat them. These mutual understandings enable us to maintain a network of interaction.
Norms are categorized in two ways, ideal and statistical. Those norms that specify what we should or should not do are called ideal, while statistical norms are what people actually do. For example, while completing all scholastic endeavours before settling down to start a family is the ideal norm, research actually shows that more than 50% of persons enrolled in colleges and universities, have already completed or in the process of completing their families. In this case the statistical norm and the ideal norm are not in accordance.
There are speculations with regards to the emerging of norms. Some sociologists say that patterns become permanent as we repeat those actions that are rewarding to us and abandon those that are not. For instance, people respond more positively to others when they bathe frequently, so they tend to repeat this behaviour until it becomes a pattern. Others say that norms emerge when people, over a period of time, work out solutions for meeting their needs. Still others suggest that norms reflect the interests of the dominant group in a society since they have the power to influence the direction society takes.
Some norms are proscriptive mandating what we should not do, like we should not steal, we should not litter, we should not eat human flesh. Other norms are prescriptive prescribing or spelling out what we should do, like we should love our children, obey our parents, go to church, use deodorant.
Folkways and Mores These are two types of norms of particular interest to sociologists. Folkways are informal norms governing social conduct developed through customs. They have lesser moral significance than mores, which are based on the important moral judgments of a society. When one thinks about mores, he thinks about what society say is right and what is wrong, good and evil, moral and immoral. Because mores are very important for society's welfare, violation of mores carries very severe penalties. Therefore, a person who sexually abuses a child is not only seen as uncultured, but is immoral and the implications for punishment are very unsympathetic. Folkways, on the other hand, determine what is right and what is rude. Violation of folkways means violation of etiquette, fashion and social standards. A person who slurps soup or wear sneakers with a tuxedo, or does not mow his lawn nor eat with silverware, is just seen as uncouth.
Laws are another type of society's norms. The difference with this type of norm is that they are social rules that have been formally coded. The objective of laws is to provide some form of control of certain forms of conduct. Laws are sanctioned by a legislative or regulatory body, thus they are 'official'. There is a clearly set out punishment for the breaking of laws or crimes, enforced by specific agencies, such as the police and the courts. One set of sociologists called Functionalists, say that the enforcement of laws is a way for people in a society to protect their common life through the state. However, another group called, Conflict Theorists, sees the law as the way in which one powerful group imposes its rules upon the rest of the society, using the state as its agency to do so.
Folkways, mores and laws are interconnected to some extent. For example, violation of certain mores is not only immoral, but also unlawful. In one instance, to commit murder is an infringement of society's mores but it is also an act against the law and therefore merits punishment as set out by the law.
It is difficult to overemphasize the significance of culture as a decisive factor of human behaviour. One way to perceive the importance of culture is to visualize a society without it. We would have no language to express our thoughts; no standards by which to live; no established right or wrong. We wound not even know what is harmful to us. It is safe to conclude that culture has established its place in society and that society would not, could not, exist without it. If one knows a culture then he knows his way around life.
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