Chapter 6 CULTURE AND PERSONALITY Culture Definition of Culture The word ‘culture’ comes from the Latin word ‘colere: which means ‘to cultivate, to till the soil.’ In medieval time. ‘culture’ came to refer to the progressive refinement of ys—hence the term ‘agriculture’ was associated with the art of farming. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, ‘culture’ referred to the refinement of people as well, when a person was refined and well read, the person was considered ‘cultured’. ‘Culture’ is referred to the aristocratic classes for their attainment of high levels of life and civilization. ‘Culture’ has been defined as under : Edward B. Tylor—"Culture is the complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art. morals, law, customs, and other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of the society.” Ralph Linton—'The culture of a society is the way of life of its members; the collection of ideas and habits which they jJearn, share and transmit from generation to generation." Clyde Kluckhohn and Kelly—"Culture is an historically created system of explicit and implicit designs for living, which tends to be shared by all or specially designated members of a group at a specified point in time.” AL. Kroeber and C. Kluckhohn—'Culture consists in patterned ways of thinking, feeling, and reaction acquired and transmitted mainly by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodimens in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists qd traditional, Le., historically derived and selected ideas an especially their attached values." C.C, North—Culture is “consisting 1 constituted by man to assist him in satisfying hi Malinowski—"Culture is the handiwork of man medium through which he achieves his ends." (136) in the instrument? is wants: and theCULTURE AND PERSONALITY 17 Lundberg—Culture refers to "the social mechanisms of pehaviour and to the physical and symbolic products of these behaviours”. Koenig—"Culture is the sum total of man’s efforts to adjust himself to his environment and to improve his modes of living.” Bierstedt—"Culture is the complex whole that consists of everything we think and do and have as a member of society.” Lapiere—"Culture is the embodiment in customs, tradition, etc. of the learning of a social group over the generation Sapir—'Culture includes those general attitudes, views of life and specific manifestations of civilization that gives a particular people its distinctive place in the world.” Amold Green—'"Culture is the socially transmitted system of idealised way in knowledge, practice, and belief. along with the artifacts and knowledge and practice produce and maintain as they change in time." Bidney—"Culture is the product of agrifact (products of cultivation), artifact (product of industry), socifacts (social organisation) and mentifacts (language, religion and art)." H.T Majumdar—"Culture is the sum total of human achievements, material, as well as non-material, capable of transmission sociology, ie., by tradition and communication, vertically as well as horizontally.” ; Graham Wallas—Culture is “an accumulation of thoughts, values and objects. It is the social heritage acquired by us from the biological heritage which is passed on to us automatically through the generation." L.A. White—"Culture is a symboli¢, continuous, cumulative and progressive process." Red Field—'Culture is the organised body of conventional understanding, manifest in art and artifact, Which persisting through tradition, characterises human group.” Maclver and Page—"Culture is the expression of our nature in our modes of living and our thinking, intercourse, in our literature, in religion, in recreation and enjoyment." Joseph Piper—"Culture is a symbolic, continuous, cumulative and progressive process." Characteristics or Elements of Culture Herskovits gives various: elements of culture as138 ‘SOCIOLOGY FOR LAW STUDENTS follows :— (2) Culture is learned and an acquired behaviour ang not hereditary or innate. Culture derives from the biological, environmentay psychological, and historical components of humar, experience and considered to be super organic ang super individual. (3) Culture is structured— it consists of organizeq patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving. {4) Culture is divided into aspects. (5) Culture is dynamic. (6) Culture is variable and relative. (7) Culture exhibits regularities that permit its analysis by the methods of science. (8) Culture is an instrument whereby the individual adjusts to her/his total setting and gains means for created expressions. Other characteristics of culture are : (9) Culture is communicable intelligence. (10) Culture is social, not individual heritage of man. (11) Culture is idealistic. (12) Culture fulfils same needs which are ends in themselves. (13) Culture has the characteristic of adaptation and it can be influenced by another culture. (14) Culture has the quality of becoming integrated behaviour pattern of a society. (15) Culture has receiving capacity. (16) Culture is continuous with gradual change. (17) Culture is human phenomenon. (18) Culture persists through tradition. (19) Culture is a total way of life. (20) Culture aims at human understanding. Salient Features of Indian Traditional Culture (1) A cosmic vision.—indian culture places hur beings within a conception of the universe as a creation. The cosmic vision synthesises human beings. PP dea snd God into one integral whole. This 1s reflected in the ) of ‘Satyam-Shivam-Sundaram’. (2) Sense of harmony.—Indian culture tries an innate harmony and order by assuming that the 1 a} Sterne order inherent in nature is the foundation of ™ Q)CULTURE AND PERSONALITY ‘a jal order. Indian culture balances and and fee the material and spiritual to “sehleve svirushartha’. P 3) Tolerance.—Indian culture accepts the jfoldness of reality and assimilates Plurality of viewpoints, aviours, customs and institutions. The motto of Indian ure is the achievement of ‘viswa santhi’ through tolerance. (4) Emphasis on duty.—Indian culture emphasises ignarma’ or moral duty. It is emphasised that one should. form his duty without aiming at the result and should ‘cept whatever the result may be. (5) Sacrifice and Altruism.—indian culture respects those who sacrifice their personal interests for the well-being of the society and aim of ‘sarvaj sukhanobhavat'. (6) Change within continuity.—Indian culture has always favoured gradual change within continuity. It does not favour abrupt or instance change but accepts the synthesis of old and new in place of old, (7) The ideal of joint family.—The joint family is the defining feature of Indian culture. At the level of family, there is striking similarity though there is a lot of plurality at the level of marriage. (8) Theory of karma.—Iindian culture imbibed the idea or belief that destiny of individuals is linked with past ‘karma’ and one cannot escape one's ‘karma’. One has to bear the fruit of one’s action. (9) Diversity and plurality.—Indian culture accepted the diversity and plurality as the natural way of life in language, dress, dwelling, food, customs, worship, thought, etc. The classical, folk and tribal streams of culture have been present in major religious groups in India. (10) Respect towards elders and leamed.—Indian culture paid their respects and honours to priests, monks, munis, sadhus, scholars, guild masters, elders of the group, (11) Patronisation of art, etce.—Indian culture consisted of art, architecture, painting, music, dance, theatre, etc, Indian culture provided honourable place to the persons who perform cultural activities. Major Components of Culture : Robert Bierstedt, in his book ‘The Social Order’. Classified the contents of culture into three large components of culture. ‘They are : ideals, norms and material, The above10 SOCIOLOGY FOR LAW STUDENTS classifications may be called as cognitive, normatiy, material. (i) The cognitive dimensions (Ideas).—The component of culture is idea, which consists of on i superstitions, scientific facts, art and religion. This ref, what people think. Ideas refer to ih ways of thinking, cognitive dimension of culture, which includes beliefs knowledge. The literature of society does express ideas, thus make up the literature of the society. Cognition is the process that enables humans to comprehend and to relate j, | their surroundings. All human beings share in th. construction of cognition. They all think, feel, recognize, recay things from the past and project them into real and fantasizey future. Ideals will turn into beliefs. (ii) The normative dimension (Norms).—Th. normative dimension is the second large component o culture. It includes rules, expectations and standardized procedures. Norms can be classified as folkways, mores, customs and laws which guide individual conduct. The norms refer not to ways of thinking but to ways of ‘doing’. We are interested in human conduct on different social occasions. There is difference between behaviour and conduct. Behaviour is mere response or impulse. Conducts, on the other hand, implies the presence of norms, which are cultural. Our conduct conforms to certain standards that are considered appropriate in the society in which we live. These standards and rules and expectations are what we call norms. Without norms there would be no order in society. Cultural norms are based on cultural values, Norms are framed as rules, prescriptions or standards to be followed by people who occupy specified roles in society. The material dimension (Material).—The _ third component of culture, the material culture refers to what We have or possess as members of society. The culture provides knowledge, rules for organizing work and tools for huma? — survival. Material culture refers mainly to basic conditions: — which generally include material items that the members of * society have and use, as also to science, technology and instruments of production, transport and communication Classification of Culture Material and non-material culture—W.F. Ogbart divided culture into material and non-material parts: concrete objects like house, articles of clothing, wa utensils, books, etc. fall under the category of malCULTURE ANO PERSONALITY “ . All abstract cre: culture ations of man ence, art IAW and religion, ete. come 1 language, literature, non-material culture. the category of rsals, Alternatives and Specialities Ralph Linton classified ’ paca culture into three categories. (1) The cultural universals. that part of culture, which every aie praia acd values are such cultural elements, pits (2) The cultural alternatives.—c, are found in the field’ of art, cheater a toa Maividuals enjoy freedom in making choice fon aman available alternatives in this category. eT {3) The cultural specialities —The cult i 1 ral jonn that part of culture, which are not necessary for everyone to learn. Occupational choice is an example of this category. An individual has complete freedom in modern society to become an engineer, a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher or any entrepreneur. Importance of Culture For Group (1) It is culture that kept social relationships intact. By regulating the behaviour of the people in a group. culture salisfics their primary drives pertaining to hunger, shelter, and sex by regulating the behaviour of the people. Culture has provided a number of cheeks upon irrational conduct and suggestibility. Culture aids such as schooling or scientific training to lessen the chance that a man will have irrationally or irresponsibly. Indeed life would have been poor, nasty, brutish and short if there had been no cultural relations. (2) Culture has given a new vision to the society by providing a set of rules for the co-operation of the individuals. Culture teaches individual to think of himself as a part of the large whole. Culture provides him the concepts of family, State, nation and class and provides him to live in groups. {3) Socially, culture provides the standard of valuation of group life. (4) Culture creates new needs and new drives, for example, thirst for knowledge and also culture provides knowledge to arrange organisations for their satisfaction as @ froup. In this way groups owe much to culture, Had there been no culture, there would have been no group Ife.cL] SOCIOLOGY FOR LAW STUDENTS: 8 Culture links the past with present and gy, each generation a better position in the struggle of life. For Individuals (1) Culture regulates individuals conduct and pr him for group life. Culture provides and teaches him tq 7 social life and co-operate or compete with others, Cultye trains individuals how to behave with the others and how should speak with and influence the people. he (2) Culture provides man with set of social behay, even for complicated situations. His actions bee ey automatic. In the absence of culture he would have been baffled even at the simplest situation. (3) Through culture, man gets traditiona interpretations for many situations according to which he determines his behaviour. These traditional interpretations are different from culture to culture. In one culture if a Tan sees an owl at the top of house, he regards it as inauspicious But among some cultures, the owl is regarded as symbol of wisdom and not a symbol of idiocy. (4) Culture provides conditions in which human Personality can find full expression and opportunities for wholesome growth. (5) It is the culture that keeps the inner depth of every human being attracted to savage life in chains and keeps the man within the bounds of society. Culture and Society Society and culture are interrelated. There exists no society without culture, similarly, without culture no society can be. Ants and bees haye societies but without culture. whereas human beings have culture and society as 2 counterpart. Cultures are the products of human societies. Obviously culture is handed down to them from the earliest societies. Each distinctive society has its own distinctive culture Eastern culture differs from western culture. Culture and Society are in fact so interwoven that they cannot be treated Separately, They are counterparts like the two sides of the same coin. They are inseparable, for example, the family !5 # Social unit but the interpersonal relations, child rearing Practices and distribution of responsibilities and authorities among the members of the family are cultural aspects ° family. A certain minimal degree of integration of culturt; traits is necessary for the maintenance of society. Lack © L)CULTURE AND PERSONALITY in tegration in the cultural system produ individuals, loss of efficiency for the society. Confusion for the Cultural Change, Cultural Progress or sr Cultural Development ere! Cultural Growth Norms and values of culture und chi Certain external conditions in the cocina ees eed impetus to this change. These conditions are industrialisation, urbanization, global network of television and computer, all of which have expanded enormously in the last few decades. Values related to interpersonal relationship in the family have changed and consequently modes of behaviour of people have also changed. Change in culture is a slow but a continuous process. But, this process is accelerated by two conditions : (i) when a group of people comes in contact with other cultures, it borrows culture traits from them; and (ii) spreading of culture traits. Culture traits are the individual acts and objects, which constitute the overt expression of a culture. These units by themselves hold no significance. They become significant and meaningful only in relationship with other units. An organisation or institution consists of more than one such cultural units or traits and the configuration of these simple units is called a ‘culture complex’. For example, family marriage, religion, education, games, etc. are a few examples of a large number of culture complexes of human society. Cultural progress or growth or development is a result of the accumulation, diffusion, accommodation, cross-fertilization, acculturation, assimilation and of their unification. Accumulation ‘An individual makes experiments and adopts successful ones and discards those which have proved fruitless. The experiences gained are accumulated and passed on by one generation to its successor as the social heritage. The development of language has been of tremendous value in this accumulation. New experiments bring r. v experiences along with the increase in needs. Both the material and non-material aspects of culture progress through such accumulation which continues uninterrupted through evolution. The transference of cultural elements from one sphere to another or from one part of culture to another Is called144 SOCIOLOGY FOR LAW STUDENTS: diffusion. Cultural diffusion is the most important cause of Social development. Graebner, Ankermann and Schmidt, the German scholars presented 2 theory of diffusion. Their theory consists of a belief that various culture complexes develop at various times in different parts of the world and later on diffuse over corresponding portions of the earth, Such diffusion is a continuous process and layers of diffused j, culture traits may be identified into sum up. Cultures Brow and cultural parallelism arises from both independent evolution as also diffusion. All the great cultures developed as a result of mutual contact of various cultures. The culture which grew upon the banks of Nile river influenced India indian thoughts reached.China and they made important contribution to the western culture. Rome was affected by Greek culture. In much the same way, the modern cultures are diffused from one another. Accommodation.—Accommodation means adoption or adjustment of one thing to another. The new ideas which have been acquired through diffusion have to be adopted or adjusted with the other features of the culture. For example, the western culture was adopted in India and it became a part of Indian life and have added to its progress. Cross-fertilization.—The process of mutual give and take is called cross-fertilization. The conjugation of two cultures is beneficial to both cultures since it does not happen that one should borrow from the other exclusively. Due to this, culture retains its vitality and life. Acculturation.—Acculturation is defined as “learning, consciously or unconsciously, of a culture through contact with it, e.g., immigrants acquiring the value and life-styles of the host country.” The cultural process which explores the cultural changes occurring in two different cultures when they establish close and intimate relationships is called acculturation. When two different cultures have established closer ties directly or by arbitration, there will be considerable change in the culture of a society. This process is called acculturation. When a conjugation of two cultures occurs causing cultural growth, and they are intimately related rather than identified, the process is called acculturation Sometimes an Opposite process called ‘process of contraculturation also sets in, For example, many English things were adopted in India but the Swadeshi Movement the development of nationalism abolished and condemned many things of western origin,CULTURE AND PERSONALITY 145 Assimilation.—In the process of cultural conjugation when one culture becomes so intimate with another as to lose its individuality, it is called ‘assimilation’, Great cultures are invariably progressive. The process of cultural growth is not simple, but complex. Many processes function in it. In the process of interaction of cultures, many cultures have become completely extinct and are onl mentioned in the history. : Pe, Cultural Lag Theory of Ogburn The term ‘cultural lag’ was coined by W.F. Ogburn in his treatise entitled ‘Social Change’. The word ‘lag’ connotes ‘crippled movement’, Hence, cultural lag means the faltering of one aspect of culture behind another. According to Ogburn, culture has two aspects—one is material, ie., concrete objects like dwellings, radio, tools, utensils, articles of clothing, paintings, etc. and other non-material, ie. the abstract creations of man such as language, literature, science, art, law, religion, etc. As compared with the non-material, the material aspect is inclined to progress rapidly. The non-material part of culture lags behind. It is this faltering action which is termed ‘cultural lag’. According to Ogburn, "the strain that exists between two correlated parts of culture that change at unequal rates of speed may be interpreted as a lag in the part that is changing at the slower rate for the one lags behind the other". In the sphere of fashion, dress, artificial beautification, art, recreation, etc., culture is changing very rapidly but the change in the sphere of religious notions is comparatively very slow. Citing an example of cultural lag, Ogburn has stated that the advent of the motor car was disastrous for railway companies as many became bankrupt as a result of their inability to compete with motor trucks for hauling material over short distances. Causes of Cultural Lag _ Ideology.—Non-material culture is influenced by ideology. Ideas enquired whether they are ‘right’ or wrong, 00d or bad, efficient or inefficient and later some are accepted and they are called ideologies. An ideology is an idea Supported by a norm, We are encouraged to believe it, not because it is true, but because such belief is regarded as right ae Proper in our society. The non-material culture 1s 1210 SOCIOLOGY FOR LAW STUDENTS influenced by ideology and lag behing. a ye change figious ns are r contrioating or the slow speed of change in religion iy are di respected. Lee agen Teck are sometimes referreg as technical norms or, more simply, as technique Technologies differ from society to society. Technologies nd an integral part of the culture of a society. Technology progresses at a faster rate than non-material culture, Bu even in technology the rate of change is not Uniform, everywhere. For example, the speed of change in chemig and electrical science is faster than the speed of change j;, power production. i 7 ie sychological do; m.—Man commonly respects old Saat dogmas pate He prefers to follow diesen of his ancestors. In such spheres as religion, novelty is not only objected to, but also regarded as a sign of depravity, Hence, man’s psychological ‘dogmatism is one major cause of cultural lag. Criticism ig (1) Some criticised that cultural lag is artificial and imagined. (2) Some sociologists do not like to include material object under the concept of culture on the ground that culture consists of abstract thinking or that it has a meaning only after it has been ‘internalized’ and becomes a customary part of the conduct of the members of a society. (3) Some criticise that Ogburn’s distinction between material and non-material culture is not clear. (4) A major defect of Ogburn's theory lies in the fact that the same term cultural lag has been employed for all disequilibriums occurring in the process of social change. In spite of the above criticism, Ogburn’s theory of cultural lag is very much helpful in the understanding of the cultural process or change. Variability of Culture (Cultural diversity) The early hunting and food gathering societies were homogeneous and monocultural. The modern industrial Societies are multicultural. The processes like migration: globalisation and colonialism have contributed to cul diversity in every society. Culture is a distinctive character of a nation, of a grouP or a period of History. There are as many cultures as groups:CULTURE ANO PERSONALITY 7 ppm on We ane mosey. others believe in pol and ‘among different paces: oer hee of culture the same people. World anid ‘aleo at pactors of Cultural Variability @ Hissoriotl accidents.—Some of the customs whose ongin is difficult to trace must have been originated due to Sime personal or group unconsciousness behaviour, ) Geographical environment.—Culture may vary according to geographical location. The production of pottery is dependent upon the supply of the proper type of earth. The culture of the river valleys gave rise to villages and a tary life. (3) Mobility of human organism.—The mobility or flexibility of human organism is a cause for cultural variability. Man has always adjusted himself to his natural environment. (4) Inventions and discoveries.—Inventions and discoveries also bring about cultural variability. A country which is technologically advanced will have a cultural difference from the one which is technologically backward. (5) Individual peculiarities.—Scmetimes _ individual arities also influence cultural behaviour. Not very unoften the conscious efforts of an individual may change the current modes of behaviour. These efforts may be due to the revolt against certain initiating manners or may have some economic or political significance. (6) Change in the modes of production.—Any change of the mode of production affects the culture of the people, their art, morals, customs, laws, literature, etc. The culture of capitalist countries differ from that of socialist countries. (7) Dominant cultural themes : Maurice Opler considers that ‘dominant theme is a dynamic force in culture. ‘The superiority of men over women is the main theme around which Indian culture is built. ‘The above factors explain the reason for variability in cultures. They also point out that the idea of a world-wide common culture is not a possible one on account of different environmental conditions. ture and Civilization : Maclver and Page used the term ‘civilization’ to gene Utlitarlan things devised by man in his attempt to cont og conditions of fe, Ogburn says, “civilization may be de!148 ‘SOCIOLOGY FOR LAW STUDENTS as the latter phase super organic culture." Accor: to Webber, "Civilization includes useful material objects and methods of producing and using them whereas culture consists of the ideas, values and the mental and €motiona) aspects of a group.” A.W. Green has said, "Culture becomes a civilization only when it possesses written language, Science, philosophy, a specialized division of labour and complex technology and political system." According to Maclver ang Page, “civilization includes all those things by means of which some other objective is attained, such as typewriter, press, lathe, motor, radio, ballot-box, telephone, rail-roads, the Schools. ‘etc. Civilization includes both basic technology which means the authority of man over natural Phenomena as weij as social technology or modes which control man’s behaviour." According to Gillin and Gillin, "The tern ‘cultural’ refers to ideas and techniques behind concrete objects, whereas civilization is a more complex and evolved form of culture.” Differences between Culture and Civilization Though culture and civilization are used to refer to the same, MacIver and Page noted the following differences between culture and civilization ;— @ Civilization is measurable quantitatively on the grounds of efficiency, while culture is not. (ii) Civilization is a Progressive one and culture is not. (iii) Civilization consists of external material things while culture is related to internal thoughts, feelings and values, etc. - (iv) Civilization and the Products of it could be easily transmitted not only from one country to another but also from one generation to another. On the other hand, culture and its Products are transmitted by its assimilation by the votaries. Only those who are worthy of it, acquire it. Other differences Proposed by others are :— ™ To Kant, civilization was a matter of outward behaviour whereas culture requires morality as an inward state of man, (vi) Civilization is external and mechanical, utilitarian and concerned only with means, while culture exclusively deals with ends and is internal, organic and final. (vii) Civilization interests are essentially competitive oFCULTURE AND PERSONALITY ii exclusive, whereas the cull rests general inclusive, ee ate ee iii) Civilization shi (vi or cua esi in its march to persistent ward » Whereas culture on the other hand advances more slowly and is also subjected t stagnation and retrogression. és {ix) The works of civilization can be improve: d_ by anybody but that is not couture not possible in the case of (x) The work of civilisation can be m ore easil comprehended and communicated than those of culture. (xi) ilar may be adopted without efforts while ¢ adoption of culture depend persons and nature. “m “pe ad (xii) Civilization is less flexible in its elements while culture is more flexible in its elements. (xiii) When civilization is borrowed by a country or a generation other than its originator, it does not suffer any deterioration, loss or damage, whereas the elements of culture such as religion, art, literature, thoughts, ideals, etc. can never be borrowed in their original character. (xiv) Civilization is the body, whereas culture is the soul. Interrelation between Culture and Civilization In spite of differences *between culture and civilization, hey are inextricably interrelated. (1) Culture is the breeding ground of civilization and civilization serves as the vehicle and environment of culture. Culture guides the more of civilization. Without culture, civilization may make man a lag in the wheels of the machine he builds. (2) Culture and civilization act and react to each other: Utilitarian means are used in the pursuit of cultural ends and cultural interests are added to utilitarian objects. The articles of civilisation are influenced by culture and culture is influenced by articles of civilization. (3) Both culture and civilization are the gutcome of an environment and man’s endeavour. Both act as also as a means of development of his social life. (4) All cultural expressions depend on some technicalSOCIOLOGY FOR LAW STUDENTS ut limitations under which Sas Den oe pursue our satisfactions, Civilisation determines the degree in which culturaj activity of whatever kind, is released or limited. (5) Culture and civilization are interactive. Culture responds to the stage of technological development. (6) Culture affects civilization. The people must interpret their inventions, new devices, techniques and power in the light .of their valuations, Civilization cannot escape from the influence of the creed and the standards and the styles of age, Every change in cultural valuation has its repressions on the civilizational structure of the group. (7) Civilization is the driving force of society while culture is its steering wheel. Maclver and Page says, "Civilization is a ship which can sail to various parts and sets the conditions and limits of the journey; but the best to which we sail, the direction and speed of the best and the selection of opportunities placed at one’s disposal are the work of culture."