Key Points A symbol is any object, typically material, which is meant to represent another usually abstract , even if there is no meaningful relationship. Culture is based on a shared set of symbols and meanings. Symbolic culture enables human communication and must be taught. Symbolic culture is more malleable and adaptable than biological evolution. The belief that culture is symbolically coded and can be taught from one person to another means that cultures, although bounded, can change.
According to sociologists, symbols make up one of the 5 key elements of culture; the other key elements are language, values, beliefs, and norms. Cultural Evolution This resulted in the concept of culture as objects and symbols ; the meaning given to those objects and symbols ; and the norms, values, and beliefs that pervade social life.
High culture simply refers to the objects, symbols , norms, values, and beliefs of a particular group of people; popular culture refers to the same. The understanding of culture as a symbolic system with adaptive functions that vary from place to place led anthropologists to define different cultures by distinct patterns or structures of enduring, conventional sets of meaning.
These took concrete form in a variety of artifacts, both symbolic , such as myths and rituals, and material, including tools, the design of housing, and the planning of villages. Anthropologists distinguish between material culture and symbolic culture , not only because each reflects different kinds of human activity, but also because each constitutes different kinds of data that require different methodologies to study.
Mechanisms of Cultural Change The belief that culture can be passed from one person to another means that cultures , although bounded, can change. Fundamentally, although bounded, cultures can change. Cultural change can have many causes, including the environment, technological inventions, and contact with other cultures. The other is a reflection of his biology and his culture : he is human and belongs to a cultural group or sub- culture.
The symbol of the ankh has its roots in Egyptian religious practice, but the symbol diffused over time and was adopted by other groups, including pagans, as a religious symbol. Cultural Universals A cultural universal is an element, pattern, trait, or institution that is common to all human cultures worldwide. The sociology of culture concerns culture —usually understood as the ensemble of symbolic codes used by a society—as it is manifested in society.
Proper attitude of an informed human being could only be that of tolerance. The optimistic version of this theory postulates that human nature being infinitely malleable, human being can choose the ways of life they prefer. The pessimistic version maintains that people are what they are conditioned to be; this is something over which they have no control.
Human beings are passive creatures and do whatever their culture tells them to do. This explanation leads to behaviorism that locates the causes of human behavior in a realm that is totally beyond human control.
There is no scientific standards for considering one group as intrinsically superior or inferior to another. Studying differences in culture among groups and societies presupposes a position of cultural relativism.
It does not imply normalcy for oneself, nor for one's society. It, however, calls for judgment when dealing with groups or societies different from one's own. Information about the nature of cultural differences between societies, their roots, and their consequences should precede judgment and action. Negotiation is more likely to succeed when the parties concerned understand the reasons for the differences in viewpoints. It is a form of reductionism that reduces the "other way" of life to a distorted version of one's own.
This is particularly important in case of global dealings when a company or an individual is imbued with the idea that methods, materials, or ideas that worked in the home country will also work abroad. Environmental differences are, therefore, ignored.
Ethnocentrism, in relation to global dealings, can be categorized as follows: Important factors in business are overlooked because of the obsession with certain cause-effect relationships in one's own country. It is always a good idea to refer to checklists of human variables in order to be assured that all major factors have been at least considered while working abroad.
Even though one may recognize the environmental differences and problems associated with change, but may focus only on achieving objectives related to the home-country. This may result in the loss of effectiveness of a company or an individual in terms of international competitiveness. The objectives set for global operations should also be global. The differences are recognized, but it is assumed that associated changes are so basic that they can be achieved effortlessly. It is always a good idea to perform a cost-benefit analysis of the changes proposed.
Sometimes a change may upset important values and thereby may face resistance from being implemented. The cost of some changes may exceed the benefits derived from the implementation of such changes. Cultural differences manifest themselves in different ways and differing levels of depth.
Symbols represent the most superficial and values the deepest manifestations of culture, with heroes and rituals in between. Culture is the meaning that is shared to provide guiding principles for individual meaning. Language is the most often used form of symbolism. There are 6, known living languages, and the diversity is caused by isolation.
The use of symbols is adaptive, that means that humans can learn to associate new symbols to a concept or new concepts with a symbol. An example may be drawn from two populations who speak different languages that come into contact with one another and need to communicate. This contact language, or pidgin gradually gives way to a creole with a more formal set of symbols words , grammatical rules for their organization, and its own native speakers who transmit the language from generation to generation.
It is important for anthropologists to consider their own cultural background when looking at symbolism in a different culture.
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