Beliefs and Material Culture

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• Besides norms and values, beliefs and physical objects also make up culture

• Ideal culture includes the guidelines and ideas we claim to accept

• Real culture describes how we actually behave

Beliefs and Physical Objects

• Nonmaterial culture involves beliefs, ideas, values, norms, and knowledge

• Material culture is how we relate to physical objects

Why do beliefs matter?

• Beliefs are ideas about the nature of reality• Beliefs may be true or false• The Flat Earth Society believes that the earth is

flat and that we never went to the moon. So not all beliefs are true.

• Beliefs are important because people base their behavior on what they believe, regardless of whether or not those beliefs are actually true

What is material culture?

• Material culture consists of the tangible objects within a culture: Volkswagen Beetles, Harry Potter books, Sports Illustrated Magazines, iPods, etc.

• These physical objects have no meaning except for the meaning people give them

These pieces of material culture may have a different meaning to me than to you

• Volkswagen Beetle

• I have many memories of driving across the country with my family when I was a kid in a car like this

Harry Potter books

I enjoyed reading these together with my family before bed

Sports Illustrated

The first magazine I subscribed to, I looked forward to each issue when I was a kid

How is material culture related to nonmaterial culture

• The beliefs, norms and values of a physical object can change

• A school bus when it goes out of service could be used as someone’s house or as a storage unit

• At one time, guitars, drums, and trumpets were not considered sacred enough instruments to be in a church. Now many churches use them.

Ideal and Real Culture

• Sometimes there is a difference between cultural guidelines and actual behavior

• Ideal culture refers to the cultural guidelines publicly embraced by members of a society

• Real culture refers to the actual behavior of members of that group, which can often conflict with their ideal culture

Ideal and Real Culture in the U.S.

• One value in America’s ideal culture is honesty• Yet in the real culture of the United States, honesty

is not always practiced– Some taxpayers knowingly do not pay their fair share– Some businesspeople knowingly engage in dishonest

business practices– Some students cheat on exams– Some college athletes accept money under the table– These violations are more a part of our culture than

those who violate norms and burglarize or rob people

Ideal and Real Culture in the U.S.

• So if we don’t always reach our ideal culture, is the idea of our ideal culture meaningless?

• Ideal culture provides high standards and can be a target for what we should strive for

Assessment

• Complete answers to the 3 questions on page 94 and turn that in.