SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDYING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS

• MR. DANILO F. MARIBAO• Paliparan III Senior High School

• Dasmarinas, Cavite

ELEMENETS OF CULTURECulture is made up of many elements whichare interrelated with each other and unified intoA whole in order for all its aspects to functions effectively.

1. Knowledge- The total range of what has been

learned or perceived as true is knowledge.

- This body of information is accumulated through experience, study or investigation.Culture includes natural, technical

and magical knowledge.Natural Knowledge refers to the accumulated facts about the natural world, including the biological and physical aspects.

Technological Knowledge* Knowledge of nature which Are useful in dealing with practi-cal problems.

Supernatural knowledge – refers to perceptions about the actions of gods, goddesses, demons, angels or spirits and natural beings like shammans, witches or prophets about methods of influencing supernatural events by manipulating certain laws of nature.

2. Social Norms- an idea in the minds of the members of the

group put into a statement specifying what member of the group should do, ought to do or ate expected to do under certain circumstances.

What is important in it is that any departure from it is followed by some punishment or sanction.- It is usually in a form of rules, standards, or prescriptions and socially shared expectations.

The Norms define tasks and expectations to make group activity and cooperation possible.

They also influence the emotions and perceptions of individuals.Like any aspects of the culture, norms vary from

society to society or from group to group within a society.

It also differ according to age, sex, religion, occupation, or ethnic group.

Folkways – are commonly known as customs, traditions and conventions of a society. - They are the general rules customary and habitual ways and patterns given to the matter. - These customary ways are accumulated and become repetitive patterns of expected behavior which tend to be self-perpetuating.

Folkways include innumerable group expectations like rule of eating, drinking, smoking, dressing, sleeping, dancing and working, forms of greetings and farewell, ceremonies and rituals, polite behavior, and conduct in institutional settings.

Mores – are special folkways which are important to the welfare of the people and their cherished values.They are based on ethical and moral values which are strongly hold and emphasized. They are social norms associated with strong feelings about what is right and what is true.

Mores are coercive in nature as they are considered important to societal welfare. They embody the code of ethics and standards of morality in a society.Most of the mores have been formulated into laws. The Ten Commandments constitute an important source of mores.

The Mores apply not to sex behavior but also to marriage and family relations, physical and moral aggression against members of the in-group, betrayal of group, attitudes toward authority, religion and the unfortunates in society, dealings in business and the varied professions, and other vital matters which involve group welfare.

Law – are formalized norms, enacted by people who are vested with government power and enforced by political and legal authorities designated by the government.Some of the laws grew out of the folkways and mores. They have strong support of public opinion and tend to reinforce folkways and mores.

Enforcement is hard when the laws do not reflect folkways and mores.

The need for increasing formulation of law becomes necessary with increasing social change and with the migration of people.If laws are to be strong, society must search for their bases is folkways and the mores.

If laws at the early stage draw weak or no moral support from the people, the government is obliged to execute the laws and look for ways that will induce wide support and effective implementation.

3. Values – are abstract concepts of what is important and worthwhile - are basis of judgment, of what we consider good, desirable and correct as well as what is considered bad, undesirable, ugly and wrong.This remarks is made when the behavior of an individual is considered undesirable and wrong.

We place a high value on love of GOD, honesty, fair play, cleanliness, and love of country.

They are the standards by which persons, individually are in groups, define their goals, select alternatives and judge others as good or bad.

Every culture has a basic set of values which make up its core. Values indicate the social conscience internalized nd integrated by the individual members of the society and the dominant values which gives culture its unity, form and identity at a specific time.

Values depict how society changes and how they change as society changes.They basically direct people on what, where, why, when, and how to choose.Data on values may be obtained through direct observation on human behavior, conversation with person, and examination of indirect evidences like aspirations, achievements, expenditures, aesthetic standards, literary interests, work efficiency rules, ideals or technical skills, public opinionand, status symbols, system of rewards and punishment, and other considerations.

4. Beliefs – embody people’s perceptions of reality and include the primitive ideas of the universe as well as the scientist’s view of the world.They result from one’s experiences about the physical, biological and social world in which the Individual lives.Beliefs such as superstations, and those that relate to philosophy, theology, technology, art, and science are usually incorporated into the whole vast body of knowledge which has been accumulated through time.

Some of these ideas are not scientifically proven but not considered facts by those who hold them.The idea held by the Pinatubo Negritos that nature spirits help them in times of danger or punish them when they are bad, or the idea held by barrio folks that one has to ask the help of Almighty GOD For the bountiful harvest.

People consider, consult, and depend on their body of beliefs for certain courses of actions.

5. Technology and Material CultureTechnology refers to techniques and know-how in utilizing raw materials to produce food, tools, shelter, clothing, means of transportations, and weapon.The material objects that are products of technology are called artifacts.The extend and use of artifact on society’s level of techonological development

Simple societies may just have stone tools, mortal and pestle, nipa huts or hand-woven clothes as their artifacts.On the other hand, complex societies, are equipped with computers, cellular phones,refrigerators, nuclear weapons,spy satellites, jet planes, missilelaunchers, apparatuses to per-form heart or kidney transplantand other highly sophisticatedgadgets.

- The quantity of artifacts provide clues to a society’s level of technological development.

- The perception among people is that cultures with low level of technological development are inferior and nonprogressive and thus, are considered backward, while those with a high level of tech-nology are advanced and progressive.

ETHNOCENTRISMComes from Greek word “Ethnos” means people. Means evaluating other people from one’s own vantage-point and describing them in one’s own terms.

ETHNOCENTRISMThe view to regard one’s culture as the best and better than the others.The view to regard one’s culture as the best and better than the others.A belief that one’s group is at “the center of everything and are scaled and rated and reference to it “.

Culture traits and patterns are evaluated on the basis of what is familiar. Considering their groups as superior, the members sometimes look with contempt on outsiders.

Since time immemorial, this has been the view of many cultural groups.

Pharisees of biblical time consider themselves as the righteous group compared to the other Jewish sects Greek look with contempt at foreigners; the colonizers from the west considered the societies they colonized in Africa, South America,and Asia as barbaric,primitive or uncivilized.

The Americans are considered themselves as the most progressive nation in the world, view also held by the German, Japanese, English, Russian and Chinese. Filipinos take pride in calling their country as the “Pearl of the Orient” “Gateway to the East” or window of democracy in the far east”.

Even within in the society, subgroup consider themselves as superior to the other groups.

A view is similarly held by the Muslim, Kapampangan, and others.One’s religion is spoken, of as the true religion is contrast to that of the others.A school may flaunt its having the highest educational standard

The feeling of ethnocentrism is a matter of training and socialization.- In imbuing the individual with the ideal of loyalty to one’s country.The feeling of ethnocentrism is especially strong among people who spend their entire in the society and have a little contact to others.

The functions of ethnocentrism is to increase one’s appreciation and commitment to one’s cultural group.Extreme ethnocentrism blocks one’s understanding of other culture and leads to intolerance and prejudice.

-The inter-group conflict may ensue.- The group may not like to mix with other people.- Get themselves to be isolated and eventually stagnate.- Prevent a person from learning about other culture and deny basic oneness.

XENOCENTRISM This is the idea that what is foreign is best and that one’s lifestyle.

In the Philippines some people manifest a mania for imported goods and foreign lifestyles.

This may have been brought about by our past colonization and the socio cultural imposition of the west. This attitude is what we call “colonial mentality” It may also be observed that a number of young people focus their goals on going abroad after graduation.

They believes that it is ore exciting to live in foreign lands and that they can easily earn the greenbucks abroad.

- All societies have culture although their cultures differs.- Culture refers to that complex whole which consists of all knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, morals, customs and any other capabilities and habits acquired by an individual as a member of society.

SUMMARY

The end

Group ActivityPrepare a role play by group.

- how ethnocentrism and xenocentrism manifest in ourculture

- How the Filipino beliefs affect the live of people’s life.

Present it to the class.

1. Concepts and terms to masterculture values normsfolkways moreslaws technology beliefs

ethnocentrismxenocentrism

2. Enumerate the culture patterns in your community. Break these culture patterns into culture traits.3. What were some of your unpleasant experiences when you came to Manila for the first time?4. Contrast the concepts of ethnocentrism and xenocentrism .

STUDY HELP