UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS

(Grade 12 – 1st Quarter)

UNIT 1. SOCIETY AND CULTURE

Chapter 1. Understanding Society and Culture

Content Standard

1. Human cultural variation, social differences, social change and political identities
2. Significance of studying culture, society, and politics
3. Rationale for studying anthropology, political science and sociology

Man’s Social Cultural Background

“Change is the only permanent thing in this world.” – Heraclitus

In our society today, we can see a lot of changes and developments that affects our life.
Machines have made our work easier. Computers have allowed us to communicate with more people
faster. Genetic engineering has helped us produced disease resistant plants. Changes such as these
have resulted in the modernization of nation-states.

Nation-state – is a sovereign state whose citizens or subjects have a common culture. Having citizens
with common culture, nation-state, therefore, is a major component of personal identity.

Personal Identity – is the concept you develop about yourself that evolves over the course of your
life.

A naturalized Filipina in Japan, may identify herself as a Filipina, having come from a nation-
state called the Philippines and possessing the culture of most Filipinos. However, another Filipina
may identify herself as Muslim because of her Islamic tradition. Her identification of herself as a
Muslim may be considered political if her objective is to make as a statement that she belongs to a
different political group in our nation-state. Our personal identity is both cultural and political which
is guided by our personal encounters or experiences.

CULTURE – as defined by Edward B. Taylor, refers to that complex whole which includes knowledge,
beliefs, arts, morals, laws, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a
member of society. Culture serves as a foundation of man’s continuing interaction with his
surroundings. People develop a culture of their own out of their learnings and experiences from their
environmental exposure (Banaag, 2012 p. 46)

Significance of Studying Culture

According to Mark Banaag, culture functions in the following ways and from which we can
realize the significance of culture as well:

1. Culture makes it possible for man to adapt and integrate himself to his environment by being
creative and resourceful in coming up with ways and means of survival.

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 2. Culture establishes patterns of acceptable social behavior such as etiquette, protocols, good
manners and right conduct, roles and duties, etc. as established by folkways, mores and laws.
3. Culture conveys and facilities meanings through verbal and non-verbal communication,
written and non-written language, forms of expression, and symbolism.
4. Culture produces man-made things such as clothing, tools, instruments, machines,
equipment, structures, etc. made possible by know-how.
5. Culture contributes to overall human satisfaction as we develop ways to make life more
enjoyable, more comfortable, easier, and more rewarding such as recreational activities,
leisure, entertainment and arts, etc.

Therefore, culture creates and identifies of individuals which are distinct from one another.
Geographical or territorial boundaries contribute to cultural diversities of human society. A Filipino
living in Central Luzon will learn to utilized land and acquire skills in faming as source of living as
compared to those who are living along coastal areas of Visayas who will defend on fishing as a source
of livelihood.

Significance of Studying Society

1. Representation of our identity

2. Characterize the totality of a territory
3. Symbol of political independence
4. Avenue for economic interdependence

Four important point inherent to POLITICS according to Haque

1. Politics is collective activity, involving people who accept a common membership or at least
knowledge of shared faith;
2. Politics presumes an initial diversity of views, if not about goals then least about means;
3. Politics involves reconciling differences through discussion and persuasion; and
4. Political decisions become authoritative policy for a group, binding members to decisions that
are implemented by force if necessary.

The Rationale of Studying Anthropology, Political Science, and Sociology

Anthropology

• Derive from the Greek words anthrop which means man, and logy which means science
• Science that studies the origin and development of man, his works and his achievements.
• Includes the study of physical, intellectual, moral, social, and cultural development of man,
including his customs, mores, folkways, and beliefs.
• Man and Culture (Individual Behavior)

Anthropology helps by providing insights into strange aspects of past or even present societies
which historians and sociologist find difficult to comprehend and explain. Example of these “strange
aspects” are conflict and violence, trial by ordeal, superstitions and witchcraft, fashion, myths and
legends, and ritual concerning rites of passage, courtship, and marriage, human sacrifice and others
(Banaag, 2012 p. 6). Hence, anthropology gives us information concerning man’s behavior in relation
to his social environment.

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Political Science

Political Science is a systematic study of a state and its government, with the relationships of
men in the community, with relations of men and groups to the state itself, and with the relations of
a state with other sovereign states abroad (Palispis, 2009, p. 14)

According to Ricardo Lazo, the primary goal of Political Science is citizenship education. It
requires the students to understand and appreciate the duties and obligations of being a member of
a society. Political Science includes core competencies, knowledge and skills that help learners
become participative and productive members of the community.

Importance of Political Science

It provides the students the knowledge and understanding of a

Knowledge Based government, with all its component curricula like public law, political
theory, public administration, political philosophy, and political dynamics
Inculcates the objectives and underlying principles of the state that should
Competence Based
be abided by the officials and its citizens.
Prepares the students for future career path, be it legal profession,
Skills Based
government service, politics, teaching and many more.

Sociology

• Science of man and society.

• Study of patterns of human behavior.
• Study of groups and societies and how they affect the people.
• Man and society (Group Behavior)
• Scientific study of social behavior and human groups
• It may focus to all kind of interactions: social art, social relationship, social organization, social
structure, and social processes (Palispis, 2009, p. 3.

The outcomes of sociological investigations are essential for leaders, businessmen or

entrepreneurs, and government officials in maintaining social stability and creation of program as well
as policies for development. The study of sociology broadens the experience of the individuals as they
learn to discard prejudices and become more understanding of the customs of other people and
realize that truth is relative and “good” or “bad” behavior depends upon the norms of conduct of the
society in which behavior takes place (Panopio, 1994 p. 2)

Process Question

1. Why do we need to understand the idea of culture, society, and politics?

2. How would sociology and anthropology contribute in the better understanding society?

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Chapter 2. Defining Culture and Society

Content Standard

1. Culture and society as anthropological and sociological concepts

2. Perspectives in/approaches to the study of culture and society (i.e. comparative, historical,
structural-functional, interpretative, critical)

Culture and Society as Anthropological and Sociological Concepts

What is Culture?

• The process by which a person becomes all that they were created capable of being. – Thomas
Carlyle
• It is the totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects and
behavior.

Culture is a composite or multifarious areas that compromise beliefs, practices, values, attitudes,
laws, norms, artifacts, symbols, knowledge, and everything that a person learns and shares as a
member of society. Therefore, culture is:

1. A product of human interaction

2. A social heritage that is complex and socially transmitted
3. Provides socially acceptable patterns for meeting biological and social needs.
4. A distinguishing factor
5. An established pattern of behavior
6. Cumulative
7. Meaningful to human beings.

Society, in this context, refers to a group of people sharing a common culture within a defined
territorial boundaries. Likewise, every human society is organized in such a way that there are rules of
conduct, customs, traditions, folkways and mores, and expectations that ensure appropriate behavior
among members (Palispis, 2007, p. 254). Thus, every society is unique in terms of culture.

Types of Culture

1. Material Culture – consists of tangible things such as food, technological tools, architectural
structures, fashion accessories
2. Non-material Culture – consists of intangible things such as ideas, language and symbols,
behavior, gesture and habits, religion

Elements of Culture

Knowledge It refers to any information received and perceived to be true.

• The perception of accepted reality
Beliefs
• Reality refers to the existence of things whether material or non-material
These are established expectations of society as to how a person is supposed to
Social Norms
act depending on the requirements of the time, place, or situation.

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 Indeed, social norms are very important in understanding the nature of man’s social
relationship. Hence, it is very essential to determine the different forms of social norms:

➢ The patterns of repetitive behavior which becomes habitual and

conventional part of living.
Folkways
➢ These are norms governing everyday behavior that are less likely to be
formulized. (e.g. frowning upon people who cross-dress).
➢ The set of ethical standard and moral obligations as dictates of reason
that distinguishes human acts or right or wrong or good from bad
Mores
➢ These are norms deemed highly necessary to the welfare of the society.
(e.g. “thou shall not kill”.)
➢ Anything held to be relatively worthy, important, desirable, or valuable
➢ These are conception of what is considered good, desirable, and proper –
Values
or bad, undesirable and improper – in a culture, the values of a culture
(Pagpapahalaga)
may change, but most remain relatively stable during any one person’s
lifetime.
➢ The practical application of knowledge in converting raw materials into
Technology
finished product

Norms (Pamantayan) – established standards of behavior, widely shared and understood, maintained
by a society.
• Formal vs Informal – formal norms are documented that carried heaviest sanctions while
informal norms are understood but not documented that carried lighter sanction.

Aspects of Culture

1. Dynamic, flexible and adaptive

2. Shared and contested
3. Learned through socialization or enculturation
4. Patterned social interactions
5. Integrated and at times unstable
6. Transmitted through socialization
7. Requires language and other forms of communication

The Cultural Variation

Cultural Variation refers to the differences in social behaviors that different cultures exhibit
around the world. What may be considered good etiquette in one culture may be considered bad
etiquette in another. Like so, there are two important perceptions on cultural variability namely
ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.

Ethnocentrism

• It is a perception that arises from the fact that cultures differ and each culture defines reality differently.
• Judging another culture solely by the values and standards of one’s own culture
• Tendency to assume that one’s culture and way of life represent the norms or are superior to all others.
(Tayo ang TAMA)
✓ “I practice religions, you practice superstition.”

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Cultural Relativism

• The attempt to judge the behavior according to its cultural context.

• The principle that an individual person’s beliefs and activities should be understood by others
in terms of that individual’s own culture
• Practice of viewing other people’s behavior from the perspective of other culture.
✓ “ASO, Minsan best friend, Minsan pulutan”

Cultural Diffusion – the spread of cultural items from one place to another. E.g. globalization
✓ American teenagers order gyudon at Yahinoya for lunch, studying mandarin as a language
elective, KATHNIEL invades Vietnam
✓ McDonaldization (George Ritzer) – a ‘melding’ of cultures; one example of cultural
diffusion (e.g. Sweet spaghetti, Chicken McDo With Rice, Pinoy Big Brother)

Culture War – The polarization of society over controversial cultural elements. (e.g. Duterte vs Non-
Duterte)

Process Questions
1. Why is culture important in our society?
2. How would you differentiate ethnocentrism and cultural relativism?
3. Is there such as superior and inferior culture? Explain
4. How is culture and behavior related? Give an examples to prove your answers.

Chapter 3. Looking Back at Human Biocultural and Social Evolution

Content Standard
1. The human origins and the capacity for culture
2. The role of culture in human adaptation
3. The processes of cultural and sociopolitical evolution

HUMAN ORIGIN
Evolution is a natural process of biological changes occurring in a population across successive
generations (Banaag, 2012 p. 31). It help us to identify and analyze man’s physiological development
which is important in his subsistence.

Theories of Origin of Human

1. Theory according to the Religion - Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic
religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a
single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. It also provides the basis
for the doctrines of the fall of man and original sin that are important beliefs in Christianity, although
not held in Judaism or Islam.

2. Theory of Evolution - Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution developed by the English

naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and
develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability
to compete, survive, and reproduce. Also called Darwinian Theory, it originally included the broad
concepts of transmutation of species or of evolution which gained general scientific acceptance after
Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859, including concepts which predated Darwin's
theories.

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 More so, the evolution of man became an important concern in the emergence of different
societies. Early man’s development serves as an avenue in analyzing the progress of our society. For
two million years, man in the form of hominid, was a herd/tribal animal, primarily a herd herbivore.
During the next two million years the human was a tribal hunter/warrior. All of the human’s social
drives developed long before he developed intellectually. They are, therefore, instinctive. Man’s
progression and characteristics are essential in understanding the capacity for adaptation.

Stages of Human Evolution

Species Characteristics
Species with a brain of Broca’s area which is associated with speech in
modern humans and was the first to make stone tools. The ability to make
Homo Habilis and use tools is a unique quality to humans such that the species is recognized
to be the first true human. The species name means “Handy Man.” Lived
about 2.4 to 1.4 million years ago scavenging for food.
Species characterized by a longer face, larger molar and premolar teeth, and
having a larger braincase compared to habilis particularly larger frontal lobes,
Homo Rudolfensis
areas of the brain that processes information. The species lived about 1.9 to
1.8 million years ago.
The species name means “Upright Man” with body proportions similar to that
modern humans. Lived 1.89 to 143,000 years ago; adapted to hot climates
Homo Erectus
and mostly spread in Africa and Asia. They were the first hunters with
improvised tools such as axes and knives, and were the first to produce fire.
Species with large brow ridge and short wide bodies that lived about 700,000
Homo to 200,000 years ago in Europe and Africa. They were the first of early human
Heidelbergenesis species to live in colder climates, first to hunt large animals on routine basis
using spears, and first to construct human shelters.
Species nicknamed “Hobbit” due to their small stature with a height of more
Homo Floresiensis or less 3 feet and lived 95,000 to 17,000 years ago in the island of Flores,
Indonesia along with other dwarfed animal species.
The species name means “Wise Man” that appeared from 200,000 years ago.
Homo Sapiens
The present human race belongs to this species.
Subspecies with short yet stocky in body build adapted to winter climates
especially in icy cold places in Europe and Asia. The subspecies, also known
Homo Sapiens
as “Neanderthal Man,” is the closest relative of modern humans. The first to
Neanderthalensis
practice burial of their dead, hunting and gathering food, and sewing clothes
from animal skin using bone needles. They lived about 200,000 to 28,000
years ago.
Subspecies known as Cro-Magnon characterized to be anatomically modern
Homo Sapiens humans and lived in the last Ice Age of Europe from 40,000 to 10,000 years
Sapiens ago. They were the first to produce the art in cave paintings and crafting
decorated tools and accessories.
Source: Banaag. Lee Mark T. (2012). Socio-Anthro: An Integrated and Interdisciplinary Approach to the Study of Society and
Culture. Mandaluyong City: Books Atbp. Publishing Corp.

The physical as well as the mental development of early human beings helped them
understand and adapt to their existing environment. Thus, their adjustment serve as the onset of their
culture. Culture enables members of society to develop ways of coping with the exigencies of nature
as well as ways of harnessing their environment (Panopio, et.al. 1994 p. 37)

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 MAN’S CULTURAL EVOLUTION

Cultural Period Time Frame Cultural Development

➢ Use of simple pebble tools
Traditionally coincided with ➢ Learned to live in caves
the first evidence of tool ➢ Discovered the use of fire
Paleolithic Age
construction and use by ➢ Developed small sculptures; and
(Old Stone Age)
Homosome 2.5 million years monumental painting, incised designs,
ago and reliefs on the walls of caves.
➢ “Food-collecting Cultures”
➢ Stone tools were shaped by polishing
or grinding
➢ Settlement in permanent villages
Neolithic Age Occurred sometime about ➢ Dependence on domesticated plants
(New Stone Age) 10,000 BCE or animals
➢ Appearance of such crafts as pottery
and weaving
➢ “Food-producing cultures”

Differentiation of Cultural Evolution

Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age) V Neolithic Age (New Stone Age)
E
Unpolished Stone R Polished Stone
Hunting and gathering S Domestication of Plants and Animals
U
Nomadic Way of Living S Living in Permanent Places

Characteristics of Human Society

1. It is a social system
2. A society is relatively large
3. A society recruits most of its members from within
4. A society sustains itself across generations
5. A society’s members share a culture
6. A society occupies a territory.

Types of Societies

Types of Human
Characteristics
Societies
➢ The earliest form of human society.
➢ People survived by foraging for vegetable foods and small game,
1. Hunting and Food
fishing, hunting larger wild animals, and collecting shellfish.
Gathering Societies
➢ They subsisted from day to day on whatever was available
➢ They used tools made of stones, woods, and bones.
➢ People learned to use human muscle power and handheld tools
to cultivate fields
2. Horticultural ➢ Classified as subsistence farming and surplus farming
Societies Subsistence Farming:
➢ Involves only producing enough food to feed the group
➢ The settlements are small

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 ➢ Neighborhood is solid
➢ Political organization is confined in the village
➢ Authority is based on positions inherited by males through the
kinship system.
Surplus Farming:
➢ Practiced in thickly populated and permanent settlements
➢ There was occupational specialization with prestige differences
➢ Social stratification was well established
➢ The community tended to be structured by kinship relations that
are male dominated
➢ It relied on herding and domestication of animals for food and
clothing to satisfy the greater needs of the group.
➢ Most pastoralists were nomads who followed their herds in a
3. Pastoral Societies never-ending quest for pasture and water
➢ It was organized along made-centered kinship groups.
➢ It was usually united under strong political figures. However,
centralized political leadership did not occur.
➢ These societies were characterized by the use of plow of farming.
➢ Creation of irrigation system provided farming enough surplus
for the community
➢ Ever-growing populations came together in broad river-valley
system.
4. Agricultural ➢ Those who controlled access to arable land and its use became
Societies rich and powerful since they could demand the payment of taxes
and political support
➢ By taxing the bulk of agricultural surplus, the political leaders
could make bureaucracies implement their plans and armies to
protect their privileges
➢ Social classes became entrenched, and the state revolved
➢ It is characterized by more than just the use of mechanical means
of production.
➢ It constitutes an entirely new form of society that requires an
immense, mobile diversity specialized, high skilled, and well-
coordinated labor force.
➢ Creates a highly organized systems of exchange between
5. Industrial Societies suppliers of raw materials and industrial manufacturers.
➢ Industrial societies are divided along class lines
➢ Industrialism brought about a tremendous shift of populations
➢ Kinship plays a smaller role in patterning public affairs
➢ Industrial societies are highly secularized.
➢ The predominant form of social and political organization in
industrial societies is the bureaucracy.
➢ It depends on specialized knowledge to bring about continuing
progress in technology.
➢ It is characterized by the spread of computer industries
6. Post-industrial
➢ Knowledge and information are the hallmarks of this society
Societies
➢ It resulted in the homogenization of social relations among
individuals and the interaction between humans and the natural
environment.
Source: Palispis, Epitacio S. (2007). Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology. Manila Rex Bookstore

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Gerhard Lenski’s Stages of Sociocultural Evolution

1. Hunting and Gathering – Nomadic, reliance on readily available food and fibers
2. Horticultural – More settled; development of agriculture and limited technology
3. Agrarian – larger, more stable settlements; improved technology and increased crop yields
4. Industrial – reliance on mechanical power and new sources; centralized workplaces; economic
interdependence; formal education
5. Postindustrial – reliance on services, especially the processing and control of information;
expanded middle class.
6. Postmodern – High technology; mass consumption of consumer goods and media images;
cross cultural integration.

Process Questions

1. Discuss how society sustains itself across generations.

2. How do industrial and post-industrial societies affect man’s cultural development?

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