UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS

Starting Points for Understanding Society, Culture and Politics

JOURNEY IN DISCOVERING THE SELF

Social Being- A person always belong to a group and interact with people. It always in
company with others- parents, siblings, and relatives, childhood friends,
neighbors classmates, co-workers or colleagues in office and so on and so
forth

Cultural Being- A person as a culture bearer that carries its ancestors’ tradition and
belief speaks the language of its parents, practice faith and the distinct way
of life of our some, if not all, of these to the next generation.

Political Being- A person/human is subjected to power-relations. That in reality, it’s

very existence, relationship, decision, choices, rights and privileges are
limited because of the superior governing it by rules and laws of the
society.

SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDYING:

1. CULTURE
a. Broadens our perspective on how we value our own and others culture
b. Gives us a background on how diverse and complex others’ customs,
traditions and cultural practices are
c. Teaches the value of religious tolerance, respect for people with different race,
religion, gender and political background
d. Promotes the importance of the arts, heritages, oral history, cuisine, and the
myriad yet unique life ways of people across cultures.
e. Situates our understanding and appreciation of local realities
2. SOCIETY
a. Gives meaning to the importance of self in relation to others (pakikipagkapwa)
b. Gives full understanding of how social groups affect our thinking and
behavior
c. Acknowledges social institutions
i. Family
ii. Education
iii. Business
iv. Government
v. Media
vi. Church
d. Describes why and how we belong to a bigger community
3. POLITICS
a. Educates us on the importance of exercising our rights and maximizing our
political participation to sustain, maintain or change society
 b. Examines power-relations in society and how does these affect the recognition
and affirmation of our identity, rights and duties as citizens
c. Provides a bigger context on how government works and how rules,
regulations and laws maintain social order, cohesion and unity.
d. Gives us an Overview of political leadership, duties and responsibilities of
Public Servants

ANTHROPOLOGY, SOCIOLOGY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE

ANTHROPOLOGY is the “study of humans, past and present,” in order “to

understand the full sweep and complexity of cultures across all of human history, it draws
and builds upon knowledge from social and biological sciences as well as the humanities and
physical sciences”

SOCIOLOGY meanwhile is the “systematic study of social behavior and human

groups. It focuses on social relationships, how these relationships influence people’s
behavior, and how societies, the sum total of these relationships develop and change”

POLITICAL SCIENCE is “the study of politics and power from domestic,

international and comparative perspectives. It entails understanding political ideas,
ideologies, institutions policies, processes, and behavior, as well as groups, classes,
government, diplomacy, law, strategy, and war.”

Characteristics of Culture

Culture varies across time and space. Societies across the world have acquired
different sets of customs and practices over generations and historical contexts. There is no
generalization as to how culture develops a progress within a society.

1. Culture is Learned- it is not innate in a person. It is also not biological in nature

which means that it is not something that is physically or genetically inherited. The
process of learning about culture is known as enculturation.
2. Culture is Shared- The culture that is learned across different societies is not
possessed by a single person alone. The interaction of individuals in societies also
leads to sharing beliefs, customs, ideals, and practices.
3. Culture is Integrated-Different cultural practices may exist within a single society
but ultimately culture remains to be holistic in nature. When understood as an
integrated whole, the different cultural manifestations in a given country create a
specific society that distinguishes it from all the others.
4. Culture is Adaptive and Dynamic- It adopts various environmental and
geographical conditions as witnessed throughout the context of the history of the
world. Such situations would define people’s way of life in a specific society. Culture
has definitely allowed humans to survive the last ice age and transition into the digital
and globalized world that we have now.
 5. Culture is Abstract- Culture is generally abstract. There is no single tangible
manifestation that can take the form of culture itself. Culture manifested through
behavior, habits mannerisms, and activities. The abstract nature of culture is the
reason why it is not biologically inherited or transferred.
6. Culture is Symbolic- Societies have developed a way by which concepts and ideas
existing in the mind would be manifested. As such, all cultures in the world are driven
by symbols that stand for something. Symbols in the society are only validated when
people in a specific society agree on what the symbol stands for. This is the reason
why similar things and actions may vary in meaning across societies.

HUMAN BIOCULTURAL AND SOCIAL EVOLUTION

Since the time Charles Darwin published his book, On the Origin of Species,
in 1859 a revolutionary idea had swept the scientific community. This idea of the
evolution of all species challenged the predominant knowledge at that time that all
living creatures were created or reproduced uniquely with unchanging biological
attributes through time.
BIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL EVOLUTION
Bioculture is defined as the relationship between human biology and culture.
Along the path of the biological evolution of man, culture is also changing.
Biocultural diversity specifies the need to show the changes occurring in the
development of human beings as an external factors like how environmental
influences contribute to the way humans adapt to their surroundings.

“All creatures descended from a small number of original or progenitor species”

-Charles Darwin’s famed theory

HOMIND EVOLUTION

1. Sahelanthropus Tchandensis (Toumai)

2. Ardipithecus Ramidus Kadabba
3. Ardipithecus Ramidus
4. Australopithecus
5. Australopithecus Afarensis(Lucy)
6. Australopithecus Africanus
7. Homo Habilis
8. Homo Ergaster
9. Homo Erectus (Java Man)
10. Homo Heidelbergensis
11. Homo Neanderthalensis
12. Homo Sapiens

CULTURAL AND SOCIOPOLITICAL EVOLUTION

Gerhard Lenski specifies five types of societies;

1. Hunting and Gathering society- It is also called “foraging society” because is
anchored on searching and gathering food from nature.
2. Neolithic Age (Horticultural and Pastoral Society)- Several years after, about
10,000 to 5,000 BCE, the Neolithic Age emerged which was the time when
ancient people discovered and cultivated the process of raising crops using
handmade tools like hoe and sticks fro digging through soil and animal
domestications.
3. Neolithic Revolution (Agrarian/Agricultural Society)- As farming became a
systematic agricultural activity, social and cultural shifts manifested along the
way. This revolution started the development of permanent settlements and
establishment of social classes and eventually the rise of civilizations in
Mesopotamia, India, Egypt and China.
4. Industrial Society- The invention of the steam engine was an important turning
point in the transition from agricultural to industrial society. European and
American cities were emerging and agricultural lands were being converted as
manufacturing and industrial sites.
5. Post-industrial Society- The 20th century marked the beginning of information
revolution because of the rise of information and communication technology,
specifically personal computers and the internet. Significant transformations
occurred in the home and work environments since telecommunication and
information accessibility are faster and yield higher productivity.
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS

BECOMING A MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY

Becoming Kapwa in Philippine Society

In Sikolohiyang Pilipino founded by Virgilio Enriquez, “kapwa” is both self and

other. It is in Martin Buber’s words, the “I-Thou” (I-You). The one good thing about Filipino
language is that through the word kapwa it denotes and implies already the “I-Thou”
relationship.

Enculturation

When we make a unique distinction of our culture because we have developed our
own taste, measures and standards for evaluating what is traditionally acceptable, what is
beautiful and artistic, we easily identify other cultures and make comparison. Acculturation
is the process whereby one adapts with, adopts another trait, modifies and/or accepts new
culture

Socialization

Socialization is a “process by which individuals acquire the knowledge, language,

social skills, and value to conform to the norms and roles required for integration into a group
or community.

Enculturation and Socialization talk about:

1. Identity Formation- Bottom line is, how do we construct our self identity? In the
beginning of the process, it is all more about how external elements and factors
shape who we are.
2. Norms and values- Any culture or society has norms and values. Norms are
explicit and implicit rules and conventions, which are followed by individuals in
their social relations with others.
There are 4 kinds of norms in society
a) Custom or Folkways-Traditions and religious practices observed by a given
community. People follow customs for sake of respecting their parents or the
community’s way of life and for the sake of convenience. There is no moral or
legal obligation to follow.
b) Mores- Norms that regulate ethical behavior, which point to question what is
wrong and right as prescribed by the society.
c) Taboos- These are norms prohibiting individuals against practices that are
considered to be extremely “immoral” or “unacceptable” in society.
d) Laws-written norms legislated by a legislative body, which carry punishment
as a consequence for violators.

Values are belief or intangible qualities accepted and endorsed by a given society.
These are examples of Filipino Values.
 a) Religiosity- Spiritual life and religious practices are common to Christians,
Muslims and other Filipinos who belong to different religious groups.
b) Utang na Loob- It is not a debt of gratitude but sense. Returning the favor or
doing good to the person who helps you.
c) Bayanihan- the act of an entire village or a group of neighbors to help their
kapwa. This is shown when calamity strikes in the Philippines; many Filipinos
join hand in hand to help their fellow Filipinos.
d) Pakikipagkapwa- similar to the Golden Rule of Confucius. It starts with a
king heart, with a good intention to be with others, to help them and to grow
together as individuals and as kapwa.
3. Statuses and roles- Status refers to our social position in the society at a given
time. Status changes throughout the life course of an individual. Roles are the
duties and responsibilities expected of us to fulfill because of our status.

Conformity- is the act of submitting oneself to the norms and conventions of

society. We conform for the sake of convenience; we do not hassle in life.

Deviance- The opposite of conformity. Deviants are those who do not conform
with the norm and laws of the society. Emile Durkheim (Father of Sociology)
explains that deviance is necessary in society.

HOW SOCIETY IS ORGANIZED

Organizing People and Society

Primary Group- is a small and close-knit circle of family members or of friends and
like-minded people. Barkada (Clique) is one of the examples of this group.

Secondary Group- meanwhile is large scale and may have membership in other
countries. This includes transnational companies, corporate organization, professional
associations and the likes.

Intermediate Group- is a cross between primary and secondary groups. It is a group

that is large scale yet applies familial relationship with members. This is what we see on how
television companies package their TV stations.
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS

CULTURAL, SOCIAL, POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS

Economic Institutions

Economic institutions are at the core of growth and development particularly in a

world that is increasingly interdependent. Such institutions allow people to participate within
different economic spheres operating within societies and cultures.

Non-state Institutions

1. Banks and Corporations

2. Cooperatives and trade-unions
3. Trade Union
4. Transnational advocacy groups
5. Development Aid Agencies
6. International Organizations

Education

Education properly imparted and acquired, is an important social process that helps in
alleviating the conditions of the poor, in opening opportunities for all and in supporting the
state in its national building efforts.

Religion and Belief systems

Since time immemorial mankind has been in constant search for an explanation about
the truth and meaning of life. Overtime, this particular need to be able to explore and
understand the realities of life and beyond is fulfilled by adherence to some religion in one
way or the other.
Health

Another Important determinant of growth and development is the general condition of

health systems across societies. Health systems vary across the countries of the world but in
all cases.