Unity in Culture

All societies provide for certain broad areas of social living. These are the universal patterns of
culture, such as speech, material traits, art, mythology and scientific knowledge, religious
practice, family and social systems, property, government and war.
Culture universals are accounted for by human beings biological drives, psychic unity,
dependence upon group life, individuality, and the limited possibilities within ones physical and
social environment.
Human biological drives. Cultures are preconditioned by human beings biological drives
which appear to be products of the individuals organic balance. Metabolic and endocrinal
changes in human organisms may provoke hunger and sexual desire, but culture and society
dictate the kind of food one may eat, the social setting for eating, or the adequate partner for
mating.
Psychic unity. Ones psychic unity is not exactly identical with his or her inherited psychological
traits. It is drawn from ones cognitive structure, trait configurations, acquired predispositions
and habit structure.
Cognitive structure is made up of concepts and beliefs by which one defines
the world around him or her. It is where individuals draw their definitions of reality.
Habit structure is consisting of regularly patterned ways of acting, feeling, or
thinking. This includes responses consistent with cultural definitions and folkways pertaining to
daily routines like eating.
Trait configurations are characteristics that can be observed or measured;
repetitive way of reacting to a particular event.
Acquired predispositions are repetitive manner in which an individual appears
inclined to favor or disfavor a person or group, an object, situation or event. (i.e. preferences,
prejudices, attitudes and values).
Dependence upon group life. Many human needs and motives are derived from sources other
than organic. They are learned or acquired through social and cultural processes.
Physical and social environment. The geographical environment can have significant
conditioning effects upon the economic aspects of societies. It presents alternatives that a given
society may exploit, preserve, or discard in solving problems for survival. Similarities in staple
crops, diets, health, disease, and technology arise from geographical conditions.




Diversity in Cultures
Cultural variability. Cultures differ because of the great variety of solutions people of different
societies evolve in solving life problems. While biological factor presents the basic preconditions
for all cultures, it leaves room for variations of meeting them. For instance, the staple crops
produced and the technology used in producing these crops varies. Cultures vary according to
what and how people eat, drink and provide for shelter. Although sex drive is universal, it is
gratified in many ways. Sex roles also differ in different societies, the way a man or a woman is
expected to act is prescribed by society. The division of labor by sexes is universal, but task
assignments to the sexes are a matter of cultural definition. There also exist diversity in
childrearing practices, like the length of time for suckling the infant, the type and degree of
affection expressed, introduction of new food, toilet training, play activity, discipline, and the like.
Another variety arises from the societys tendency to preserve cultural practices that were one
time necessary and reasonable but which later became outdated or useless. Traditional
practices in community fiestas, mourning rites, religious activities and so on are illustrative of
this.
Cultural integration. Cultural diversity is evident in the degree of their being internally
consistent in their patterns of values, belief and behavior. When there are inconsistencies, their
culture has more built-in stresses and strains. There should no outstanding contradictions
between peoples belief and their behavior, between one set of beliefs or actions and another,
between institutional goals and means within the society. To illustrate, educational institutions
inculcate values such as equality, while political institutions do not.
Cultural relativity. Differences in culture also arise from the relativity of the standards that
societies uphold and use for evaluating truth, right, propriety, virtue, morality, legality, justice,
beauty and the means of adhering to these. Standards of behavior must then be understood
within the context of a societys own culture. To impose ones own standards on other societies
which have contrasting cultural standards, to assume that ones own is superior to all others,
exemplifies ETHNOCENTRISM; to regard ones own as inferior to others, to despise ones local
culture and admire other foreign cultures as superior is XENOCENTRISM.