can 03a_Culture
Culture
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Divergent perspectives regarding culture
Lecture part 1 If we go back to the mid-nineteenth century, we find that BIOLOGICAL DETERMINANCE held great sway. Both Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer believed that BIOLOGY RULED. This line of thinking led directly to HITLER'S THEORIES.
Toward the end of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth, there was another school of thought that also became prominent. That school of thought is often called SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM. Those who held this view believed that SURROUNDINGS AFFECT PEOPLE had predominant influence over who we are and what kinds of people we become (Emile Durkheim). In psychology, John Watson and B.F. Skinner emphasized THE ENVIRONMENT AND ITS INFLUENCE ON OUR BEHAVIOR. As B.F. Skinner sees it, if you wrote a poem, or if I wrote a poem, on some subject, the difference between our poems would be WHERE WE LIVE. In anthropology, Franz Boas at Columbia University had a similar idea, and came up with the concept of CULTURAL RELATIVISM. According to this idea, cultures are INFINITELY PLASTIC. (Know what the concept of "cultural relativism" means.)
Structuralism is represented by such analysts as Noam Chomsky, Jean Piaget and Claude LviStrauss. The idea here is that EVERYTHING IS INHERENTLY THE SAME. (What does the concept of "deep structures" mean? According to structuralists, is everything relative?)NO.
Some people emphasize the environment a great deal more than biology. We call the first group of analysts NURTURE-ISTS and the second group HEREDITARIANS. Culture has a large place in one of these views. Which one?
NURTUREISTS. Cultural universals
Lecture part 2
A general question for the social sciences is, "To what extent is human behavior determined by genes, and to what extent does it reflect cultural traditions?" If culture accounts for a certain kind of behavior, than changes are possible. That isn't the case if genes determine our behavior. Kittens that are reared in isolation become normal adult cats. That isn't the outcome if a child is reared in isolation. Adults, too, need ongoing and continuous exposure to their cultural traditions. Admiral Richard Byrd is an example, as he illustrates in his book Alone. After just a month of isolation, he lost his ability to behave the way he was accustomed to. When we look at how culture influences behavior in the larger picture, it is useful to study cultural universals. Why is it useful to examine cultural universals, as we try to better understand human activity?
SHOWS SIMILARITIES BETWEEN CULTURES
When we identify a cultural universal, does that mean that every person in a society engages in that kind of behavior? Explain.
NO, THERE ARE ALWAYS DIFFERENCES IN MINOR DETAILS
What is "altruism"? How is it different from "reciprocal altruism"? Why are they important for human societies?
ALTRUISM IS WILLFUL SELF-SACRIFICE IN VALUES. RECIPROCAL ALTRUISM IS EXPECTING OTHERS TO DO THE SAME EVENTUALLY. IT IS A FORM OF MUTUALISM THAT HUMANS NEED TO FUNCTION.
Have we discovered an "altruistic gene"?
POSSIBLY. IT IS SEEN IN NATURE.
A second cultural universal is kinship. How widespread is it?
VERY, IT IS SEEN IN ALMOST ALL CULTURES
Role-playing is a third cultural universal. Role-playing that means we can ACT AS FAMILY.
How is role-playing related to our sense of history?
WE WERE ALL RAISED TO TAKE ON OUR OWN ROLES.
In his book Beyond Culture, Edward Hall writes of "high context" and "low context" societies. What do these terms mean?
HIGH CONTEXT IS LESS "PROFESSIONAL", I.E. LIKE A PARTY. LOW CONTEXT IS SIMPLY BY THE RULES.
A fourth cultural universal is that all human cultures have very highly developed communication systems. How different are humans from other species in this regard?
WE CAN COMMUNICATE OUR EXACT THOUGHTS, AND ASSUME COMMAND OVER OTHERS.
Fifth, all known human societies have had religion and ritual. The fact that these are cultural universals tells us that ______.
PEOPLE RELY ON HISTORY A LOT.
Ethics is a sixth cultural universal.Where does a sense of morality come from? There are three different ideas about that: ethnical intuitionism, ethical behaviorism, and the idea that we arrive at moral standards through observation and rational thinking. Do these different ideas lead to different conclusions about the similarity of ethical ideas from one society to another?
Culture and the place of social capital
Lecture part 3 Here, I will summarize key ideas of two analysts who emphasize the importance of social capital in creating effective social and cultural systems. Both Francis Fukuyama and Robert Putnam agree that social capital is a key to societal advancement. Francis Fukuyama in, The End of History (1992), suggests that we have reached the end of history, in the sense that HUMANS WILL NOT DEVELOP ANY MORE IN SOCIETY-- THIS IS OUR FINAL FORM OF GOVERNMENT. . What implications does Fukyama's reasoning have for culture, as he sees it?
IT IS STAGNANT. NOTHING MORE CAN CHANGE IN THE WAY PEOPLE WILL GOVERN THEMSELVES.
From the vantage point of the 1990s, are there serious competitors, now, to liberal democracy and capitalism in Fukuyama's view?
YES.
In 1995, Fukuyama's book Trust was published. It amplified on the same theme, and specified some of the characteristics of cultures that have arrived at this "end state" of history. In this book, Fukuyama focuses particularly on the concept of social capital, which is defined as A SENSE OF NORMALCY THAT KEEPS TWO OR MORE INDIVIDUALS SATISFIED..
In talking about what trust entails, he distinguishes between societies with a high degree of generalized social trust and other societies that he characterizes as "familistic societies." How are these two types of societies different? What are some examples of these two types of societies? Why is a high degree of generalized social trust important for capitalistic societies?
CAPITALISM RELIES ON PEOPLE KNOWING AND TRUSTING EACH OTHER WITH GOODS AND MONEY-- THEREFORE A GOOD DEGREE OF SOCIAL TRUST MUST BE PRESENT.
Is it a good idea, as Fukuyama sees it, for one culture to borrow ideas and approaches from another culture? Why or why not?
YES, IT LEADS TO FURTHER DEVELOPMENT AND INTERPRETATIONS (I.E. JAPAN USING CHINESE CONFUCIANISM)
In Making Democracy Work, Robert Putnam emphasizes social capital more broadly than does Fukuyama. Does it take long, or not, to build social capital -- in Putnam's view? IT DOES TAKE LONG.
Based on his study in Italy, Putnam suggests that these features of society, which lead to a civil society, are useful. His book is based on what is happening in the northern and the southern parts of Italy. He examines the socioeconomic systems in these regions, the institutional system, and the sociocultural system. Which kind of system is the most important, as he sees it? Which region performs better? Why? (Be sure to have a grasp of the kind of time frame Putnam is speaking about for developing social capital.)