Understanding Culture: Essence, Traits, and Impact
The Cultural Dimension of the Human Being
As we have discussed throughout this topic, biological and cultural evolution are closely related. One could not have existed without the other. The cultural dimension influences biological factors, and even the process of natural selection itself. We can cure diseases, prolong life, and adapt to the environment. Thanks to culture, some believe that the evolutionary process has ended, perhaps leading to a Nietzschean “superman” concept.
What is Culture?
For anthropologists, sociologists, and other scientists, culture consists of all activities, expertise, procedures, values, and ideas that are produced and transmitted through social learning.
This culture is composed of two types of content:
- Material culture: Physical cultural items produced artificially by humans, such as techniques and technology.
- Intangible culture: Ways of thinking, knowledge, feelings, ideas, beliefs, moral values, rules, policies, and customs.
What are the Features of Culture?
We are among the physically weaker animals, but we possess a tool that none other has: culture. This has allowed our species to overcome its deficiencies, thrive in hostile environments, avoid extinction, and adapt to the environment, even modifying it in the process.
Culture and Society
We have already defined culture; let us now examine society. Society is a system of interrelations between individuals. For these relationships to exist, there must be something shared in common (e.g., a language, norms, cuisine). Just as there can be no purely natural person without culture, a society without culture is also impossible. However, within a society, multiple cultures can coexist, be respected, and even enrich one another.
Individual and Society
The individual can only develop self-awareness in relation to others. I realize that I exist and that I am *me* because of others who are like me. I develop self-awareness through contact with others. For example, language is learned through society, and language develops thinking, and thus self-consciousness. I can ask and answer the question, “Who am I?”
The society in which we are born influences our behavior and personality, offering us a framework for action and thought. But as we learn that culture, we adapt it to our personalities, interests, and needs. This process is called socialization, and it is the source of our individuality and freedom.
Therefore, our personality is a combination of our genetic makeup and what we learn at the cultural level. For example, parents expect certain conduct from their child, conveying rules and a way of being in society. The child initially takes this as a game, but later internalizes it and sees himself as others see him. If a child is constantly told they are “bad,” they may internalize this and it will become their trademark.
So, we build our personality in contact with a culture, but once formed, we have the freedom to criticize, reject, select, or transform the social environment in which we live.