CULTURE AND

SOCIETY

JOVELYN R. SUELTO

EDUC 202

(Foundation of Education)

Origin of the term “Culture”

•Culture is derived from the Latin

word “cultura” or “cultus” which

means care or cultivation.

Meaning of Culture

•According to Dressler

•Culture is a social heritage, transmitted from one

generation to another and shared.

•It consists of the sum total skills, beliefs, knowledge and

products that are commonly shared by the number of

people and transmitted to their children.

• According to Smith, Stanly, and Shores

• Culture is the fabric of ideas beliefs, skills, tools, esthetic

objects, methods of thinking, customs, and institution into

which each member of society is born.

• According to Bertrand

• Culture is the complex whole which knowledge, beliefs, arts,

morals, law, customs and other capabilities gained by man as a

member of society.

CLASSIFICATION OF CULTURE

• According to Dynamism

STATIC CULTURE – is one in which the same culture or the same cultural patterns are transmitted from generation to generation.

DYNAMIC CULTURE -- is one in which the culture and the cultural patterns continue to change as they are passed on from one generation to another.

• According to Stability

STABLE CULTURE – stable when folkways and

mores are satisfying, new elements and traits

are incorporate smoothly and without conflict;

UNSTABLE CULTURE -- when the group does not

have satisfying solutions most of its problems

and conflict exists between the traditional and

radical groups and their values.

• FORMS OF CULTURE Material culture – consists of tangible thongs like houses, clothing, tools,

utensils, automobiles, television, etc.

Non- material culture – refers to what is symbolic or intangibles such us

sentiments, folkways, mores, system of beliefs and knowledge. Folkways – traditional ways of doing things in certain culture

• e. g. pamamanhikan Mores – heavily sanctioned folkways for group survival and are accepted without

question as they embody moral views of the group

• e. g. the ulog of the igorot Custom – a habitual practice, e. g. kissing the hands of the elders

Beliefs – part of non-material culture, e. g. the beliefs of the enkantos

• CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE Only human society only possesses culture Human cultures vary considerably although they resemble each other in

some respect Culture tends to persists once learned and accepted Culture exchange gradually and continuously Culture exists in minds of men who learned from previous generations

and who use it to guide their conduct with others. There is a tendency to borrow from other culture Members of a culture may behave differently as in the case of those who

belong to sub-cultures No person can escape entirely from his culture

• EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS Cultures differ and one should not judge another culture by using his own culture as

basis To avoid prejudices, there should be more contact between cultures Travel, education, and reading about other societies are ways of bringing about

tolerance and understanding between nations With more diffusion between cultures, one global society may result Society can be improved by improving the culture Since culture is made by man himself, he should develop worthwhile values and wee

out those beliefs Since culture is learned, the school should inculcate in the young good aspects of the

culture Since the culture changes, the change should be for the better and society should

decide what those changes should be The home, the school, and the church, should guard against borrowing from other

cultures things that are against the Philippines way of life.

• FUNCTIONS OF CULTURE Means of social control

• Individuals usually behave in ways approved by society. Means of communication

• Members of a cultural group can easily communicate with one another because they use the same language, the same idioms, and symbols with attached to meanings.

Establishment of ethical standards• A cultural group sets its own ethical standards, showing what is right

and what is wrong, or making an act right or wrong. Anticipation of reaction

• One can anticipate the reaction of an individual to the action of another or to any situation for that matter because of cultural norms.

SOCIETY• DEFINITIONS

Society is a group of people occupying a territory. The people are united in purpose, goals, and objectives. The people share a distinct and continuous way of life, a comprehensive culture. The people have something in common, set of loyalties, and sentiments, an

esprit de corps. The people are organized in the sense that everyone has a function or role to

perform in an orderly manner. The group recruits its members by sexual reproduction and in addition by

immigration. A member of the social group may sacrifice himself for the welfare of the group,

as for instance, he may die in defense of his group.

• RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CULTURE AND SOCIETY

• Culture and society are co-existent. One does not

or cannot exist without the other. Culture and society

may have the some common elements but the two

are not the same; they are not identical. The essential

difference is that society is composed of people while

culture consists of knowledge, ideas, customs,

traditions, mores, beliefs, skills, institutions,

organizations and artifacts.

Thank you…