Culture is one of the most important concepts in social science. It is commonly used in psychology, political science and economics. It is the main concept in Anthropology and a fundamental one in sociology. The study of human society immediately and necessarily leads us to the study of its culture. The study of society or any aspect of it becomes incomplete without a proper understanding of the culture if that society. Culture and society go together. They are inseparable.
Definition of Culture:
• B. Malinowski has defined culture as the ‘comulative creation of man'. He also regards culture as the handiwork of man and the medium through which he achieves his ends.
• Graham Walls, an English sociologist has defined culture as an accumulation of thoughts, values and objects; it is the social heritage accquired by us from preceding generations through learning, as distinguished from the biological heritage which is passed on to usautomatically through the genes.
• C. C. North is of tbe opinion that culture ‘consists in the instruments constituted by man tc assist him in satisfying his wants.
• Robert Bierstedt is of the opinion that “culture is the complex whole that consists of all the ways we think and do and everything we have as members of society.”
• E.V. de Roberty regards culture as “the body of thoughts and knowledge, both theoretical and practical, which only man can possesses.”
• Edward B. Tylor, a famous English anthropologist, has defined culture as “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits accquired by man as a member of society.” Tylor's definition is widely quoted and used today.
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 cultural instinct as such. culture is often called learned ways of behaviour. Unlearned behavior such as closing the eyes, while sleeping the eye blinking reflex and so on, are purely physiological and not cultural. Shaking hands are saying namaskar or thanks and shaving and dressing, on the other hand are cultural. Similarly wearing clothes, combining the hair, wearing ornaments , cooking the food, drinking from a glass, eating from a plate or a leaf, reading a newspaper, driving a car, enacting role in a drama, singing, worshipping etc are all ways of behaviour learnt and by man culturally.
2. Culture is social:
Culture does not exist in isolation. Neither is it an individual phenomenon. It is a product of society. It originates and develops through social interactions. It is shared by the members of society. No man can aquire 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 of company or association of other individuals to an individual 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, traditions, believes, ideas, values, morals, etc., are all shared by people of a group or society. The inventions of arya Bhatta or Albert Einstein, 'Charaka' or Charles Darwin; the literary works of kalidasa or keats, Dandi or Dante; the philosophical works of the confucious or Lao tse, Shankaracharya or Swami, Vivekananda; the artistic works of Ravi 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 Bierstedt)
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 their intern to their children and so on culture is transmitted not to change 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 generation's but language itself is a part of culture.
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