Republic of the Philippines

Laguna State Polytechnic University

Province of Laguna

College of Teacher Education

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
1st Sem / S.Y. 2024–2025

Subject: Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics

Lesson No.: 2
Lesson Title: Defining Culture and Society from The Perspectives of Anthropology and Sociology
Subtopic:
Description of the This lesson will cover the discussion understanding human societies and culture. This lesson
Lesson: will also cover the topic about the dynamic of culture and general themes for studying culture.
Week Duration: 3-4
Date: August 12 - 23
Objectives: 1. Explain how society and culture is being seen by sociologists, political scientist, and
anthropologists;
2. Identify and describe the different social and intellectual forces that shaped the way we see
society; and
3. Describe and use the different anthropological themes in studying societies and cultures.

LECTURE

A. Understanding Human Societies

Humans by nature are social animals. We belong to an animal species that finds strength in numbers. In
the past man started as nomads who transferred from different geographical places to search for food. As
domestication of food became widespread, people began to settle in communities thus societies were born. A
society is a community where humans live and practice social life. It is a place and a state where man can fully
live his social life together with his fellow human beings. As the saying goes, no man is an island. Man cannot
live isolated in an island forever. Man is too complex to be left in isolation. Man has so many needs both
personal and social which can only be fulfilled inside the society.

Society and the Modern World

In order to have a better understanding of present societies, it would be better, to consider how technology
has changed the life of the individual. Lenski point out that technology plays a vital role in the development of
the society. It shapes, the direction of society’s progress and molds how man will see the environment around
him. The development of human technology was never a stagnant process. It is always on the move, progressing
through the various challenges man has hurdled. As man evolves, its technology also evolves. As the technology
of man progresses, society and culture also have concomitant evolutionary changes. In short, the society and
its culture evolve too. New technologies will signal dramatic changes which somehow resemble a domino effect
that will revolutionize the society’s way of life. This chain reaction will continue as new technologies will the
discovered in the future.
B. The People Behind the Development of Sociological Thinking

• Auguste Comte (1798-1857)

-Auguste Comte was born on January 17, 1798 in Paris France. Auguste Comte believed that studying
the society must only be undertaken by sociologists who are actually scientists who follow the scientific
method.
• Karl Marx (1818-1883)
-In the 19th century, poverty was rampant and the streets were full of maltreatment of the poor and
alienation of the lower class. Marx saw the horrors of capitalism that brought the industrialization of
the world. For Marx, social change was brought about by class conflict.
• Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
-Herbert Spencer was well known for his social Darwinism. Social Darwinism is a sociological theory
that asserts the idea that society evolves through the cruel process of survival of the fittest.
• Emile Durkheim (1858-1918)
-Durkheim conceived the concept of division of labor ang solidarity. Division of labor is the mechanism
of dividing different tasks among society members hence each have their own tasks to fulfill. The tasks
performed by different individuals in a society affect the solidarity of the society. Solidarity, is the term
referred to by Durkheim as the hardbound societal ties that bonds the society altogether.
• Max Weber (1864-1920)
-The main concern of his theoretical framework is motivation. He wants to understand the different
social movements or actions that shape the course of a society’s life.
• WE.B. DuBois (1868-1963)
-Dubois was an American born sociologist. His main ideas focused on the man-made division between
whites and non-whites. The whites represent the westerners or the Europeans while the non-whites
represent the non-westerners especially the Africans.
• Jane Addams (1860-1935)
-She was one of the sociologists who practiced what they we teaching. She claimed that sociologist
should immerse themselves into the community.

C. Societal Changes

• Political Revolutions
-If there was a political revolution that influenced the rise of the modern period, it was none other than
the French revolution. It was the French people through the French revolution that kick-started the rapid
rise of the age of enlightenment. The French people overthrew their ruler. The justification for such
revolution was the idea of the equality and dignity of all people.
• Industrial Revolution and Capitalism
Not only the various political revolutions that were somehow ubiquitous sprouting all over Europe that
influenced the intellectuals during their time. Rapid technological advances utilized in day-to-day lives
including almost all aspects of human endeavor also helped shaped the ideas of early sociologists. These
changes happening in the European way of life was generally called the industrial revolution.
Capitalism was an economic system that focuses on the liberty of individuals in order to create a
mechanism for large production of goods. It was a system devised by Adam Smith that centers on
individual liberty in the pursuit of individual economic goals.
• Socialism
-Capitalism was thought to be the crowning glory of the industrial revolution because through its wealth
has been accumulated among the nations of Europe. However, capitalism did not only produce good
fruits, it also produced evil ones. The horrors of the capitalistic perspective were observed by the
sociologist Karl Marx. He saw how capitalists abused their wealth by undermining the condition of the
lower classes, the laborers.
 • Feminism
-Women have been regarded since the olden times as weaker counterpart of males. The liberal idea
which developed through the course of the enlightenment project in Europe influenced certain thinkers
to fight for women’s rights.
• Urbanization
-People who were once sojourning in the rural areas who were used to rural life were suddenly uprooted
from the rural area and transported into the urban regions. This created a major shift in the frame of
mind of people. This is so because the urban area has a life of rapid phasing compared to the slow phase
lifestyle of the rural areas.
• Religious Change
-Almost everyone in the society is influenced by a certain religion in many ways possible. This is also
true when it comes to sociologists. Sociologists thought that religion was a major driving force that
affects human behavior. Human moral standards were also great influenced by religious principles.
• Science
-Because of science that the industrial revolution became possible. Technological innovations improved
the lives of humans in so many ways. The impact of science was not limited to its technological
advances. Science also had an impact to sociological investigations. This is so because the study of
society was inspired by the scientific method which was used in scientific explores.

D. The Dynamics of Culture

Culture
Culture can be basically characterized as the people’s way of life which is shared by other people living in a
certain cultural region. Culture encompasses a broad spectrum of an individual's social and personal life.

“That complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities
and habits acquired by man as a member of society”
(Tyler, 1871).
• Cultural Universal and Particulars
-Cultural universals are the things that all cultures have such as the need for interaction, utilization of
resources and leadership.
Example: religious rituals, food, clothing
- Cultural particulars these are the specific practices that distinguish cultures from one another (Ferrante
2014).
Example: Rosary (for the Catholics), pandesal for Filipino and baguette for French
• Material and Non-Material Culture
-Material cultures are those physical or material things that people create which reflects their different
cultural orientations, there are endless examples for material culture. Examples of which are cars,
clothing, food, utensils and many more
-Non-material culture is non-tangible human creations which does not exist in the material world but
can be transcended through the human intellect and human actions. Examples of nonmaterial culture
are philosophy, traditions, norms, values, customs and norms.
• Cultural Diversity
-sociologists use the term cultural diversity to capture the cultural variety that exists among people who
share some physical or virtual space. That space may be as large as the planet or as small as a household
(Ferrante,2014).
• Subculture and Counterculture
-Subculture shares some parts of the mainstream cultural tradition differs in it at some points. Subculture
has its own cultural anchors such as values, norms, traditions, and symbols.
-Counterculture refers to the kind of subculture that goes against the mainstream culture.
 • Culture Shock
-Culture shock is that feeling of unusual uneasiness and mental stress because of an experience of
another culture which is contrary to one’s home culture. Culture shock can be experienced not only
when someone moves to another place having a different cultural setting. Culture can be felt also even
if the person is inside his home culture. This happens because of the presence of cultural diversity and
subcultures.
• Ethnocentrism, Xenocentrism and Cultural Relativism
-Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's own culture is superior to that of other cultures.
-Xenocentrism is the belief that one’s own culture is inferior to that of other cultures.
-Cultural relativism is a point of view that sees all cultures to be equal with each other. There is no such
thing as superior or inferior culture. A culture must always be evaluated using its own context and not
the context of other cultures.

Elements of Culture
• Beliefs
-Beliefs are actually the conceptions and ideas of man regarding his environment which was shaped by
religions, traditions, folkways, law and even science and technology.
• Symbols
-Symbol can be defined as anything that has meaning and represents something else. (Kendall 2013).
Symbols can actually take many possible forms. Symbols in different culture may also tend to vary
depending on the cultural context of a particular social environment.
• Language
-Language refers to a set of symbols that expresses ideas and concepts which enables people to
formulate thoughts and communicate with one another (Kendall 2013). Language is a manifestation of
the use of symbols.
• Values
-It is a sum of all ideas and concepts that is considered by a particular culture to be good, desirable and
correct conduct in day-to-day lives. It should not be seen as a mandate for what is wrong and what is
right but values are considered to be the basis for evaluating the rightness or wrongness of an action.
• Norms
-In order to understand the concept of a norm, we must first distinguish it from values. Values generally
cannot dictate how a particular good act must be portrayed in a social setting. It merely provides for a
tool for people to evaluate a particular human conduct. Norms, on the other hand, serves as a more
concrete set of rules and standards to be observed by man in his cultural setting. Norms could be in the
form of folkways, mores and laws.
-Folkways are informal norm which people do not seriously comply with because it is not vital for the
survival of the society. Mores on the other hand has more serious consequences compared to folkways
because it concerns ethical standards. Nevertheless, infractions of folkways and mores are not punitive
because they are not formalized into a state law. Law which is considered to be rules of conduct or
action which is binding to man and if transgressed is punishable has a compelling force because of its
punitive nature.

Aspects of Culture
1. Culture is learned - Culture can be learned by anyone who will be under the influence of such culture.
This process of learning culture happens in early life and continues until a person dies. Cultural learning
is an unending process.
2. Culture is shared - An individual who learns a particular culture can share his knowledge of that
particular culture to other individuals who in turn can learn it and share too other as well. In this fashion,
culture can be shared by everyone in a given social setting.
 3. Culture is cumulative - Human experiences and the knowledge and understanding gained from such
experiences shape how people will think and act in a social environment. This process of accumulation
will go on and on ani will not stop as long as social life is present.
4. Culture is dynamic - Culture is always on the move. It is never stagnant. It constantly changes.
5. Culture is diverse - The world is composed of many different cultures. It is apparently observable that
a particular culture has many differences compared to other cultures.
6. Culture is integrated - There could be many different cultures. Despite these countless variations, a
particular culture could be integrated to another culture. In effect harmonization of culture is always a
possibility.

Society and Culture

It is now imperative for us to discuss the deep connection between society and culture. It was established
previously that man as social animals are naturally inclined to form societies. We have also learned that culture
is also inherent to man because it is a natural consequence of human intelligence. Since human beings live
inside the society, culture also becomes an inescapable variable that needs to be considered in assessing human
societies. As a matter of fact, society is greatly influenced by culture that culture itself is a determinant of the
outcome and destiny of a specific society.

Culture and Individual Freedom

Since it is undeniable fact that culture has greatly influenced everything in the individual from his personality,
way of thinking and behavior, biases, goals and aspirations, one cannot but think about how this so many
influences affect human freedom. Is there really human freedom despite the fact that everything seems to be
greatly influenced by cultural orientations?

Globalization
This refers to the ever-increasing flow of goods and services, money, people, technology, information and other
cultural items across political borders (Ferrante, 2014). Globalization signaled a new trend in the diffusion of
culture.

REFERENCE

▪ Riodique III, F. (2016). Defining Society and Culture from the Perspective of Sociology and
Anthropology. In Understanding Culture, Society and Politics (1st ed., Vol. 1). Mindshapers Co. Inc.

Prepared by:

KENNETH MAR A. ICO, LPT

Faculty