1321 words short essay on the culture

ASHISH AGARWAL

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Culture is one of the most important and basic concepts of sociology. In sociology culture has a specific meaning. The anthropologists believe that the
behaviour which is meant is called culture. In other words the behavior which is transmitted to us by some one is called culture.
The way of living, eating, wearing, singing, dancing and talking are all parts of a culture. In common parlance, the word culture, is understood to mean
beautiful, refined or interesting.
In sociology we use the word culture to denote acquired behavior which are shared by and transmitted among the members of the society. In other
words, culture is a system of learned behaviour shared by and transmitted among the members of a group.
Definitions of culture
Culture has been defined in various ways by sociologists and anthropologists. Following are the important definitions of culture.
E.B. Tylor defines Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, Jaw, customs and any other capabilities and habits
acquired by man as a member of society.
Edward Sapir says that Culture is any socially inherited element of the life of man, material and spiritual.
Malinowski defines "Culture the handwork of man and conventional understanding manifest in art and artifact which persisting through which he
achieves his ends".
Redfield remarks that Culture is an organised body of conventional understanding manifest in art and artifact which persisting through, characterizes
a human group.
Mac Iver is of the view that Culture is the expression of our nature in our modes of living, and our thinking, intercourses in our literature, in religion,
in recreation and enjoyment.
According to E.S. Bogardus Culture is all the ways of doing and thinking of a group.

Characteristics of Culture
For a clear understanding of the concept of culture it is necessary for us to know its main characteristics. Culture has several characteristics. Following
are the main characteristics of culture.
1. Culture is Learnt
Culture is not inherited biologically, but learnt socially by man. It is not an inborn tendency. There is no culture instinct as such culture is often called
learned ways of behaviour.
Unlearned behaviour such as closing the eyes while sleeping, the eye blinking reflex and so on are purely physiological and culture sharing hands or
saying namaskar or thanks and shaving and dressing on the other hand are culture.
Similarly wearing clothes, combing the hair, wearing ornaments, cooking the food, drinking from a glass, eating from a plate or leaf, reading a
newspaper, driving a car, enacting a role in drama, singing, worship etc. are always of behaviour learnt by man culturally.
2. Cultural is social
Culture does not exist in isolation. Neither it is an individual phenomenon. It is a product of society. It originates and develops through social
interaction. It is shared by the members of society. No man can acquire culture without association with other human beings.
Man becomes man only among men. It is the culture which helps man to develop human qualities in a human environment. Deprivation is nothing but
deprivation of human qualities.
3. Culture is shared
Culture in the sociological sense, is something shared. It is not something that an individual alone can possess. For example customs, tradition, beliefs,
ideas, values, morals, etc. are shared by people of a group or society.
The invention of Arya Bhatta or Albert Einstein, Charaka or Charles Darwin, the literary, works of Kalidas or Keats, Dandi or Dante, the philosophical
works of Confucius or Lao Tse, Shankaracharya or Swami Vivekananda, the artistic work of Kavi Verma or Raphael etc. are all shared by a large number
of people.
Culture is something adopted, used, believed practised or possessed by more than one person. It depends upon group life for its existence. (Robert
Brerstedt)
4. Culture is transmissive
Culture is capable of being transmitted from one generation to the next. Parents pass on culture traits to their children and they in turn to their children
and so on. Culture is transmitted not through genes but by means of language. Language is the main vehicle of culture.
Language in its different forms like reading, writing and speaking makes it possible for the present generation to understand the achievements of
earlier generations.

But language itself is a part of culture. Once language is acquired it unfolds to the individual in wide field. Transmission of culture may take place by
intuition as well as by interaction.
5. Culture is continuous and cumulative
Culture exists, as a continuous process. In its historical growth it tends to become cumulative. Culture is growing whole which includes in itself, the
achievements of the past and present and makes provision for the future achievements of mankind.
Culture may thus be conceived of as a kind of stream flowing down through the centuries from one generation to another. Hence some sociologists like
Lotion called culture the social heritage of man.
As Robert Bierstadt writes culture or the money of human race. It becomes difficult for us to imagine what society would be like without this
accumulation of culture what lives would be without it.
6. Culture is consistent and interconnected
Culture, in its development has revealed tendency to be consistent. At the same time different parts of culture are interconnected.
For example the value system of a society, a society is closely connected with its other aspects such as morality, religion, customs, traditions, beliefs and
so on.
7. Culture is dynamic and adaptive
Though culture is relatively stable it is not altogether static. It is subject to slow but constant change. Change and growth are latent in culture.
We find amazing growth in the present Indian culture when we compare it with the culture of the Vedic time. Hence culture is dynamic.
Culture is responsive to the changing conditions of the physical world. It is adaptive. It also intervenes in the natural environment and helps man in his
process of adjustment.
Just as our house shelters us from the storm, so also does our culture help us from natural dangers and assist us to survive. Few of us indeed could
survive without culture.
8. Culture is gratifying
Culture provides proper opportunities and prescribes means for the satisfaction of our needs and desires. These needs may be biological or social in
nature.
Our need for food, shelter and clothing and our desire for status, name, fame and money etc. are all, for example, fulfilled according to the cultural
ways.
Culture determines and guides the varied activities of man. In fact culture is defined as the process through which human beings satisfy their wants.
9. Culture varies from society to society
Every society has a culture of its own. It differs from society to society. Culture of every society in unique to itself. Cultures are not uniform.
Cultural elements such as customs, traditions, morals, ideals, values, ideologies, beliefs in practices, philosophies institutions, etc. are not uniform
everywhere.
Ways of eating, speaking, greeting, dressing, entertaining, living etc. of different sects differ significantly. Culture varies from time to time also.
No culture ever remains constant or changeless. If Manu were to come back to see the Indian society today he would be bewildered to witness the vast
changes that have taken place in our culture.
10. Culture is super organic and ideational
Culture is sometimes called the super organic. By super organic Herbert Spencer meant that culture is neither organic nor inorganic in nature but
above these two. The term implies the social meaning of physical objectives and physiological acts.
The social meaning may be independent of physiological and physical, properties and characteristics. For example, the social meaning of a national flag
is not just a piece of coloured cloth.
The flag represents a nation. Similarly, priests and prisoners, professors and profanation, players, engineers and doctors, farmers and soldiers and
others are not just biological beings. They are viewed in their society differently.Their social status and role can be understood only through culture.

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Culture Essay
People in our world all come from an ethnic background, whether if the ethnicity is White American, African American, American Indian, Asian, and
Hispanics our experiences and perceptions represent the values and decisions that are made in our life. This concept comes from the cultural that was
taught and developed from after birth and through our adolescent years. In this paper, I will first explore the true meaning of culture, second I will then
state what kind of culture I practice, and finally I will list the medicines and beliefs that have influenced my attitudes in health care industry. Our culture is
the foundation of who we essentially are in life. It identifies the lifestyle and pursuits that are practiced in the group of people we interact with in our
society. In other words, a significant concept to understand is that cultural beliefs, values, and practices are learned from birth: first at home, then in church
and other places where people congregate, and also in educational areas ((Purnell, 2008, p.5). Some practices and beliefs in human culture include religion,
music, sports, food, health beliefs, and art which symbolize the values we possess in life. Furthermore, our own culture is diverse and it is significant to
look with in and identify what we value the most, what is essentially needed, and how we perceive the world. It is our surviving tool and it is like the air we
breathe in and subconsciously we dont even realize it is needed to communicate and socialize with others. For example, a fish in a bowl of water is
unaware that the water surrounds the fish and is needed to live, which represents our culture and we are unaware that it exists in our daily lives. The culture
I have the most pride for is the Mexican/Hispanic culture. I am Hispanic and came from a family who endured strong values and beliefs. Some
characteristics I learned from my culture is the concept of being family orientated. It is extremely important to love...

420 words short essay on Society

ASHISH AGARWAL

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The term society is used in several sciences. Generally any organised human group is described as society. For instance, g group of women is looked
upon as a society.
Similarly, there are specific associations which are wrongly regarded as society. There are many examples of such associations but it will serve our
purpose of quoting a few of them. They are Harijan society, Bramho society, Labour society, Students society, Teachers society and the like but.
These associations do not fit into our concept of society in the strict sociological sense, They cannot be mistaken for society at best they like us close to
the popular meanings of the term society and they cannot help us in a scientific study of society.
Therefore the sociologists have tried to define society in a way which distinguished it from other sociological concepts like group, association,
institution, community etc. According to them the term society does not imply a group of persons or individuals.
It implies the complex pattern of the norms of interaction among people. These people are agents of social relationship. They are regarded as things.
A society is intangible. It is a process rather than a thing mention rather than structure. Society is the system of relationship the pattern of the norms of
interaction. The members of society maintain themselves with the help of these relationship and norms.
Mac Iver and Page, say that Society is a system of usages and procedures of authority and mutual aid of many groupings and divisions of controls of
human behaviour and liberties.
F. H. Giddings is of the view that Sociology is the union itself the organisation the sum of formal relations in which associating individuals are bound
together.
M. Ginsberg defines Society as a collection of individuals united by certain relations or modes of behaviour which mark them" off from others who do
not enter into these relation or who differ from them in behaviour.
Lapier thinks that to them Society refers not-to group of people but to the complex pattern of the norms of interaction that arises among and between
them.
G. D.H. Cole describes Society as the complex of organist association and institution within the community.
Leacock says that Society includes not only the political relations by which men are bound together but the whole range of human relations and
collective activities.
In the view of A.W. Green A society is largest group to which any individual belongs. A society is made up of a population organisation, time, place and
interest.

Essay on individual and society

This essay guide will help you think about various strategies and points to cover when writing about individual's relation to society.

Narrow your essay scope - define what individuality means

What is individuality? Is it something that we invent as some unattainable goal to separate ourselves from each other? Or is it a tangible thing that we
should each strive for? It is a deep philosophical question that has its grounding in the societal issues that we all face each and every day. Researching
such a difficult topic as the individual and society can be daunting, but it is a topic to which many of the ideas and subjects you will cover lie inside of
you, as we all have strong opinions about this kind of philosophical issue.

This kind of topic should probably be observed from multiple perspectives, so one of the best forms of research may be
talking to other people about it, and trying to find out what they think about their place in society and whether they are
happy with their individuality (or lack thereof).

Research papers all have a set of guidelines you should follow, for instance it is very important to start off strong, focusing on outlining your topic, the
opening sentence can be crucial for this part of the paper. You will then want to go on to discuss the topic in detail. This kind of topic should probably be
observed from multiple perspectives, so one of the best forms of research may be talking to other people about it, and trying to find out what they think
about their place in society and whether they are happy with their individuality (or lack thereof). Ultimately the goal of a research paper is to come up
with a solid understanding of the topic, and this paper should be no different.

Get in the zone - explore your own feelings on the subject

Once you understand individual's role in society your paper will write itself. Understanding this can be difficult. Someone once told me that in his
opinion, every single action that we make as humans is done to please other people, and that our goal in existence is to gain approval in the people
around us. While this writer strongly disagrees with this theory, it is an interesting thought to ponder. Why do we do the things we do? Is the goal to
improve ourselves or is it to improve the world as a whole? Every single day you make choices that affect the world around you, and recognizing this is
the first step to truly contributing to society. You may say "I have no desire to contribute, so long as I am happy." And however selfish that wording may
sound, I have met many people who echo this ideal in what they feel is a much more gentle manner.

Try to find common patterns and generalities but also voice your own ideas
It is human nature to preserve one's self, the question is whether or not we can overcome this trait.

The fact of the matter is this: we as people are selfish to some degree. It is human nature to preserve one's self, the question is whether or not we can
overcome this trait. My answer would be yes, and I think in order to attain a truly harmonious and efficient society that we will have to overcome this
kind of self-centered thinking. Creating a good society does not mean that we should attempt roboticism in our actions, individuality and creativity may
well be the most important part of a functioning society, but rebellion for rebellion's sake is absurd! I have met many a high school student who are
against certain things like genocide in Darfur and the war in Iraq, without even being able to give a basic rundown of what these issues really mean.

Finish the essay with a strong, actionable conclusion

Being a contributing member of society has nothing to do with being an unthinking member of the majority, but by having an opinion and getting out
there, voting, acting, protesting, or whatever it is you do, by giving back to your society you can improve it. Writing a research paper on this topic can
help you to understand how you yourself might be able to improve the world around you as well as find individuality.

1165 words essay on the role of culture in society

ASHISH AGARWAL
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Man is not only a social animal but also a cultured being. Mans social life has been
made possible because of culture. Culture is something that has elevated him from the
level of animal to the heights of man.
Man cannot survive as man without culture. It represents the entire achievements of
mankind. Culture has been fulfilling a number of function among which the following
may be noted.
1. Culture is the treasury of knowledge
Culture provides knowledge which is essential for the physical and intellectual existence
of man. Birds and animals behave instinctively with environment. But man has greater
intelligence and learning capacity. With the help of these he has been able to adapt
himself with environment or modify it to suit his convenience.
Culture has made such an adaptation and modification possible and easier by providing
man the necessary skills and knowledge.
Culture preserves knowledge and helps its transmission from generation to generation
through its means that is language helps not only the transmission of knowledge but
also its preservation, accumulation and diffusion. On the contrary animals do not have
this advantage. Because culture does not exist at such human level.
2. Culture defines situations
Culture defines social situations for us. It not only defines but also conditions and
determines what we eat and drink, we wear, when to laugh, weep, sleep, love to like
friends with, what work we do, what god we worship, what knowledge we rely upon,
what poetry we recite and so on.
3. Culture defines attitudes, values and goods
Attitudes refer to the tendency to feel and work out in certain ways. Values are the
measure of goodness or desirability. Goods refer to the attainments which our values
define as worthy.
It is the culture which conditions our attitude towards various issues such as religion,
morality, marriage, science, family planning, positions and so on.
Our values concerning private etc. are influenced by our culture. Our goals of winning
the race, understanding others, attaining salvation, being obedient to elders and
teachers, being loyal to husband, being patriotic etc. are all set forth by our culture. We
are being socialized on these models.

4. Culture decides our career

Whether we should become a politician or a social worker, a doctor, an engineer, a
soldier, a farmer, a professor, an industrialist, a religious leader and so on is decided by
our culture.
What career we are likely to pursue is largely decided by our culture. Culture sets
limitations on our choice to select different careers.
Individuals may develop, modify or oppose the trends of their culture but they always
live within its framework. Only a few can find outlet on the culture:
5. Culture provides behavior pattern
Culture directs and confines the behavior of an individual. Culture assigns goals and
provides means for achieving them. It rewards noble works and punishes the ignoble
ones.
It assigns him status. We see dream, aspire, work, strive to marry, enjoy according to the
cultural expectation. Culture not only contains but also liberates human energy and
activities. Man indeed is a prisoner of his culture.
6. Culture provides personality
Culture exercises a great influence on the development of personality. No child can get
human qualities in the absence of a cultural environment.
Culture prepares man for group life and provides him the design of living. It is the
culture that provides opportunities for the development of personality and sets limits on
its growth. As Ruth Benedict has pointed out every culture will provide its special type
or types of personality.
7. Culture makes man a human being
It is culture that makes the human, a man, regulates his conduct and prepares him for
group life. It provides to him a complete design for living.
It teaches him what type of food he should take and in what manner, how he should
cover himself and behave with his fellows, how he should speak with the people and how
he should co-operate or compete with others. An individual abstained from culture is
less than human, he is what we call feral man.
The individual to be truly human must participate in cultural stream without it he would
have been forced to find his own way which would meant a loss of energy in satisfying
his elementary needs.
8. Culture provides solution for complicated situation
Secondly, culture provides man with a set of behavior even for complicated situation. It
has so thoroughly influenced that often he does not require any external force to keep
himself in conformity with the social requirements. His action becomes automatic.

Forming queues when there is rush at the booking window or driving left in the busy
streets. In the absence of culture he should have been baffled even at the simplest
situations. He need not go through painful trial and error learning to know what food
can be taken without poisoning himself and fellow.
His culture directs and confines his behavior, limits his goals and measures his reward.
His culture gets into his mind and shutters vision so that he sees what is supposed to see
in dream what he is expected to dream and hunger for what he is trained to hunger.
9. Culture provides traditional interpretations to certain situation.
Through culture men gets traditional interpretation for many situations according to
which he determines his behavior. If a cat cross his way he postpones his journey.
It has seen on the top of the house he regards it as inauspicious. It may however be
noted that these traditional interpretation differ from culture to culture. Among some
culture owl is regarded as a symbol of wisdom and not a symbol of idiocy.
10. Culture keeps social relationship intact
Culture has importance not only for man but also for the group. Had there been no
culture there would have been no group life. Culture is the design and the prescription
for guiding values and ideals. By regulating the behavior of the people and satisfying the
primary drives pertaining to hunger and sex it has been able to maintain group life.
Culture has provided a number of checks upon irrational conduct and suggestibility
culture aids such as in schooling or scientific training.
Lessen the chances that a man will behave irrationally or irresponsibility. The members
of group characterized though they be by consciousness of kind, at once competing.
They are held in line by constraints prescribed by culture.
11. Culture broadens the out looks of the individual
Culture has given a new vision to individual by providing him a set of rules for cooperation of the individuals. He thinks not only his own self but also of the others.
Culture teaches him to think himself a part of the larger whole, it provides him with the
concept of family, state, nation and class and make responsible the cooperation and
division of labour.
12. Culture creates new needs
Culture also creates new needs and new drives, for example, thirst for knowledge and
arranges for the satisfaction.
Related Articles:

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1165 words essay on the role of culture in society
ASHISH AGARWAL
Advertisements:

Man is not only a social animal but also a cultured being. Mans social life has been
made possible because of culture. Culture is something that has elevated him from the
level of animal to the heights of man.
Man cannot survive as man without culture. It represents the entire achievements of
mankind. Culture has been fulfilling a number of function among which the following
may be noted.
1. Culture is the treasury of knowledge
Culture provides knowledge which is essential for the physical and intellectual existence
of man. Birds and animals behave instinctively with environment. But man has greater
intelligence and learning capacity. With the help of these he has been able to adapt
himself with environment or modify it to suit his convenience.
Culture has made such an adaptation and modification possible and easier by providing
man the necessary skills and knowledge.
Culture preserves knowledge and helps its transmission from generation to generation
through its means that is language helps not only the transmission of knowledge but
also its preservation, accumulation and diffusion. On the contrary animals do not have
this advantage. Because culture does not exist at such human level.
2. Culture defines situations
Culture defines social situations for us. It not only defines but also conditions and
determines what we eat and drink, we wear, when to laugh, weep, sleep, love to like
friends with, what work we do, what god we worship, what knowledge we rely upon,
what poetry we recite and so on.
3. Culture defines attitudes, values and goods
Attitudes refer to the tendency to feel and work out in certain ways. Values are the
measure of goodness or desirability. Goods refer to the attainments which our values
define as worthy.
It is the culture which conditions our attitude towards various issues such as religion,
morality, marriage, science, family planning, positions and so on.

Our values concerning private etc. are influenced by our culture. Our goals of winning
the race, understanding others, attaining salvation, being obedient to elders and
teachers, being loyal to husband, being patriotic etc. are all set forth by our culture. We
are being socialized on these models.
4. Culture decides our career
Whether we should become a politician or a social worker, a doctor, an engineer, a
soldier, a farmer, a professor, an industrialist, a religious leader and so on is decided by
our culture.
What career we are likely to pursue is largely decided by our culture. Culture sets
limitations on our choice to select different careers.
Individuals may develop, modify or oppose the trends of their culture but they always
live within its framework. Only a few can find outlet on the culture:
5. Culture provides behavior pattern
Culture directs and confines the behavior of an individual. Culture assigns goals and
provides means for achieving them. It rewards noble works and punishes the ignoble
ones.
It assigns him status. We see dream, aspire, work, strive to marry, enjoy according to the
cultural expectation. Culture not only contains but also liberates human energy and
activities. Man indeed is a prisoner of his culture.
6. Culture provides personality
Culture exercises a great influence on the development of personality. No child can get
human qualities in the absence of a cultural environment.
Culture prepares man for group life and provides him the design of living. It is the
culture that provides opportunities for the development of personality and sets limits on
its growth. As Ruth Benedict has pointed out every culture will provide its special type
or types of personality.
7. Culture makes man a human being
It is culture that makes the human, a man, regulates his conduct and prepares him for
group life. It provides to him a complete design for living.
It teaches him what type of food he should take and in what manner, how he should
cover himself and behave with his fellows, how he should speak with the people and how
he should co-operate or compete with others. An individual abstained from culture is
less than human, he is what we call feral man.
The individual to be truly human must participate in cultural stream without it he would
have been forced to find his own way which would meant a loss of energy in satisfying
his elementary needs.
8. Culture provides solution for complicated situation

Secondly, culture provides man with a set of behavior even for complicated situation. It
has so thoroughly influenced that often he does not require any external force to keep
himself in conformity with the social requirements. His action becomes automatic.
Forming queues when there is rush at the booking window or driving left in the busy
streets. In the absence of culture he should have been baffled even at the simplest
situations. He need not go through painful trial and error learning to know what food
can be taken without poisoning himself and fellow.
His culture directs and confines his behavior, limits his goals and measures his reward.
His culture gets into his mind and shutters vision so that he sees what is supposed to see
in dream what he is expected to dream and hunger for what he is trained to hunger.
9. Culture provides traditional interpretations to certain situation.
Through culture men gets traditional interpretation for many situations according to
which he determines his behavior. If a cat cross his way he postpones his journey.
It has seen on the top of the house he regards it as inauspicious. It may however be
noted that these traditional interpretation differ from culture to culture. Among some
culture owl is regarded as a symbol of wisdom and not a symbol of idiocy.
10. Culture keeps social relationship intact
Culture has importance not only for man but also for the group. Had there been no
culture there would have been no group life. Culture is the design and the prescription
for guiding values and ideals. By regulating the behavior of the people and satisfying the
primary drives pertaining to hunger and sex it has been able to maintain group life.
Culture has provided a number of checks upon irrational conduct and suggestibility
culture aids such as in schooling or scientific training.
Lessen the chances that a man will behave irrationally or irresponsibility. The members
of group characterized though they be by consciousness of kind, at once competing.
They are held in line by constraints prescribed by culture.
11. Culture broadens the out looks of the individual
Culture has given a new vision to individual by providing him a set of rules for cooperation of the individuals. He thinks not only his own self but also of the others.
Culture teaches him to think himself a part of the larger whole, it provides him with the
concept of family, state, nation and class and make responsible the cooperation and
division of labour.
12. Culture creates new needs
Culture also creates new needs and new drives, for example, thirst for knowledge and
arranges for the satisfaction.
Related Articles:

Complete information on the political, social and cultural Life under the Rajputs

4 important roles of bureaucracy in developing countries like India

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