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Society: the basics Eleventh Edition CHAPTER 2 Culture This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: - Any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; - Preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; - Any rental, lease or lending of the program. Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. What is Culture? • Culture – The ways of thinking, the ways of acting, and the material objects that together form a people’s way of life – Non-Material Culture Includes ideas created by members of a society – Material Culture Refers to physical things Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. What is the difference between the terms culture and society? • Culture is a shared way of life or social heritage • Society – Refers to people who interact in a defined territory and share a culture • Neither society nor culture could exist without the other Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Have you ever traveled to another land that you did not know much about? How did you feel in this unfamiliar environment? • Culture Shock – Personal disorientation when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life • No way of life is “natural” to humanity • Animal behavior is determined by instinct – Biological programming over which each species has no control Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Culture and Human Intelligence: Do humans rely upon instinct or culture for survival? • History took a crucial turn with the appearance of primates – Have the largest brains relative to body size of all living creatures Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Culture and Human Intelligence: Do humans rely upon instinct or culture for survival? • 12 million years ago, primates evolved along two different lines – Humans – Great apes – Distant human ancestors evolved in central Africa Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Culture and Human Intelligence: Do humans rely upon instinct or culture for survival? • Stone Age achievements marked the points when our ancestors embarked on a distinct evolutionary course – Made culture their primary strategy for survival Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Culture and Human Intelligence: Do humans rely upon instinct or culture for survival? • Homo Sapiens – “Thinking Person” • Modern Homo Sapiens – Larger brains – Developed culture rapidly – Used wide range of tools and cave art Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. How Many Cultures? • One indication of culture is language • Globally, experts document 7,000 languages • Coming decades might see the disappearance of hundreds of languages Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. How Many Cultures? • Why the decline? – High-technology communication – Increasing international migration – Expanding global economy All are reducing global diversity Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Elements of Culture • Though cultures vary greatly, they have common elements – Symbols – Language – Values – Norms Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Symbols • Humans sense the surrounding world and give it meaning • Symbols – Anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who share a culture • Human capacity to create and manipulate symbols is almost limitless Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Symbols • What meaning do you attach to a red light? What about a dozen roses? • Entering an unfamiliar culture reminds us of the power of symbols – Culture shock is really the inability to “read” meaning in unfamiliar surroundings Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Symbols • Why is culture shock considered a twoway process? • Symbolic meanings also vary within a single society – What meaning is attached to the confederate flag in the U.S.? Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Language • A system of symbols that allows people to communicate with one another • Heart of the symbolic system – Rules for writing differ Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Language • Key to Cultural Transmission – The process by which one generation passes culture to the next • What is meant by the following statement? – “Language is the key that unlocks centuries of accumulated wisdom.” Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Does language shape reality? • Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf – Each language has its own distinct symbols Serve as the building blocks of reality • All languages connect symbols with distinctive emotions Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Does language shape reality? • Sapir-Whorf thesis – People see and understand the world through the cultural lens of language – Evidence does not support the notion that language determines reality the way Sapir and Whorf claimed Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Values and Beliefs • Values – Culturally defined standards that people use to decide what is desirable, good, and beautiful and that serve as broad guidelines for social living • Beliefs – Specific statements that people hold to be true Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Key Values of U.S. Culture • Robin Williams, Jr. (1970) 1. Equal opportunity 2. Individual achievement and personal success 3. Material comfort 4. Activity and Work 5. Practicality and Efficiency Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Key Values of U.S. Culture • Robin Williams, Jr. (1970) (continued) 6. Progress 7. Science 8. Democracy and Free Enterprise 9. Freedom 10.Racism and Group Superiority Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Key Values of U.S. Culture • Do you believe that William’s list of key values are still reflective of the core cultural values central in today’s society? • Can you see how cultural values can shape the way people see the world? • For example, how does our cultural emphasis on individual achievement blind us to the power of society to give some people great advantages over others? Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Values: Often in Harmony, Sometimes in Conflict • Cultural values go together • One core cultural value contradicts another – Equal opportunity vs. racism and group superiority – Can you recognize any other value contradictions? Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Values: Often in Harmony, Sometimes in Conflict • Value conflicts – Causes strain – Often leads to awkward balancing acts in our beliefs – One value is more important than another Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Emerging Values • Can you think of any values that have changed over time in the U.S.? • U.S. has always valued hard work Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Emerging Values • Recently, placed increasing importance on leisure – Time off from work to Travel Read Community service – Importance of material comfort remains strong – More people are seeking personal growth Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Values: A Global Perspective • Values vary from culture to culture • Lower-income nations develop cultures that value survival and tend to be traditional • Higher-income nations develop cultures that value individualism and selfexpression Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Norms • Norms – Rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Norms • People respond to each other with sanctions – Rewards or punishments that encourage conformity to cultural norms – If you violate a cultural norm, how are you sanctioned? If you conform to cultural norms how are you rewarded? Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Norms • Mores (“more-ayz”) or taboos – Norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance • Folkways – Norms for routine or casual interaction – People pay less attention to folkways • What would our society look like if there were no norms governing peoples’ behavior? Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Norms • As we learn cultural norms, we gain the capacity to evaluate our own behavior • Shame – The painful sense that others disapprove of our actions • Guilt – A negative judgment we make of ourselves – Only cultural creatures can experience shame and guilt Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Ideal and Real Culture • Values and norms do not describe actual behavior so much as they suggest how we should behave • How does Ideal culture differ from real culture? Hint: Infidelity • A culture’s moral standards are important – “Do as I say, not as I do” Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Image Bank Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Technology and Culture • Every culture includes a wide range of physical human creations called artifacts • Material culture can seem as strange to outsiders as their language, values, and norms • Society’s artifacts partly reflect underlying cultural values • Why do we value automobiles in the U.S.? Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Technology and Culture • Material culture reflects a society’s level of technology – Knowledge that people use to make a way of life in their surroundings • The more complex a society’s technology, the easier it is for members of that society to shape the world for themselves Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Technology and Culture • Lenski – A society’s level of technology is crucial in determining what cultural ideas and artifacts emerge or are even possible Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Technology and Culture • Lenski (continued) – Sociocultural Evolution The historical changes in culture brought about by new technology In terms of four major levels of development – – – – Hunting and gathering Horticulture and pastoralism Agriculture Industry Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Technology and Culture • Lenski (continued) – How would our lives be different if our society had not evolved to an industrial level of development? Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Hunting and Gathering • The use of simple tools to hunt animals and gather vegetation for food • Oldest and most basic way of living • Today, supports only a few societies • Societies are small • Simple and egalitarian way of life • Limited technology Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Hunting and Gathering • These societies are vanishing as technology closes in • Studying their way of life produced valuable information about our sociocultural history and our fundamental ties to the natural environment Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Horticulture and Pastoralism • Horticulture – The use of hand tools to raise crops • Pastoralism – The domestication of animals • Many societies combine agriculture and pastoralism • Pastoral and horticultural societies are more unequal Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Agriculture • Large-scale cultivation using plows harnessed to animals or machines • “Dawn of Civilization” because of inventions • Large food surpluses • Agrarian society members became more specialized in their work Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Agriculture • Agriculture brought about a dramatic increase in social inequity • Men gained pronounced power over women at all levels Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Industry • The production of goods using advanced sources of energy to drive large machinery • Occurred as societies replaced muscles of animals and humans • Industrialization pushed aside traditional cultural values Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Industry • Schooling is important because industrial jobs demand more skills • Industrial societies reduce economic inequality and weaken human community Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-Industrial Information Technology • Many industrial societies have entered a post-industrial era – New information technology – Industrial societies center on factories that make things – Post-industrial production centers on computers and other electronic devices Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-Industrial Information Technology • Many industrial societies have entered a post-industrial era (continued) – Information economy changes skills that define a way of life – People must learn to work with symbols as society now creates symbolic culture on an unprecedented scale Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Cultural Diversity • In the U.S., we are aware of our cultural diversity • Japan – Historical isolation – Most monocultural of all high-income countries • U.S. – Centuries of heavy immigration – Most multicultural of all high-income countries Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. High Culture and Popular Culture • Cultural diversity can involve social class • In the U.S., what type of person is more likely to attend the opera? Rich or Poor? • Does high culture mean superior culture? • High Culture – Refers to cultural patterns that distinguish a society’s elite Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. High Culture and Popular Culture • Popular Culture – Describes cultural patterns that are widespread among a society’s population Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Subculture • Subculture – Cultural patterns that set apart some segment of a society’s population Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Subculture • Why is it considered easy but inaccurate to put people in sub-cultural categories? – Almost everyone participates in many subcultures without much commitment to one of them – Ethnicity and religion set people apart with tragic results Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Subculture • Why is the U.S. viewed as a melting pot? – Nationalities blend into a single “American” culture – How accurate is the melting pot image? Subcultures involve not just difference but hierarchy What we view as dominant or “mainstream” culture – View the lives of disadvantaged people as “subculture” • Sociologists prefer to level the playing field of society by emphasizing multiculturalism Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Multiculturalism • Multiculturalism – A perspective recognizing the cultural diversity of the United States and promoting respect and equal standing for all cultural traditions – U.S. society downplayed cultural diversity Defines itself in terms of its European immigrants, especially the English Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Multiculturalism • E pluribus unum – “Out of many, one” Motto symbolizes not only our national political union but also the idea that the varied experiences of immigrants from around the world come together to form new ways of life Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Multiculturalism • English way of life – Historians reported events from the English and European point of view – Eurocentric The dominance of European (especially English) cultural patterns Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Multiculturalism • Language – Controversial issue – Some believe English should be U.S. official language – Afrocentrism Emphasizing and promoting African cultural patterns A strategy for correcting centuries of ignoring the cultural achievements of African societies and African-Americans Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Multiculturalism • What are some arguments that you can think of in favor of our society sharing a common culture? Further, can you think of any arguments against multiculturalism? Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Image Bank Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Counterculture • Cultural diversity includes outright rejection of conventional ideas or behavior Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Counterculture • Counterculture – Cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society – Counterculturalists favor a collective and cooperative lifestyle “Being” more important than “doing” – Some people “dropped out” of the larger society – Do countercultures exist in the U.S. today? Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Cultural Change • Most basic human truth, “all things shall pass” Change in one dimension of a cultural system usually sparks changes in others Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Cultural Change • Cultural Integration The close relationships among various elements of a cultural system – Some parts of a cultural system change faster than others – William Ogburn (1964) Technology moves quickly, generating new elements of material culture faster than nonmaterial culture can keep up Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Image Bank Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Cultural Change • Cultural Lag – The fact that some cultural elements change more quickly than others, disrupting a cultural system Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Cultural Change • Cultural changes are set in motion in three ways: – Invention The process of creating new cultural elements that change our way of life – Discovery Recognizing and better understanding something already in existence Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Cultural Change • Cultural changes are set in motion in three ways: (continued) – Diffusion The spread of objects or ideas from one society to another Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism • Confucius – “All people are the same; only their habits are different” Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism • Ethnocentrism – The practice of judging another culture by the standards of one’s own culture – Exhibited by people everywhere – Can you give examples of how ethnocentrism can generate misunderstanding and sometimes conflict? Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism • Cultural Relativism – The practice of judging a culture by its own standards – Alternative to ethnocentrism – Requires openness to unfamiliar values and norms – Requires the ability to put aside cultural standards known all our lives Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism • Why is it important for businesses in the global economy to have an awareness of cultural patterns around the world? Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism • Cultural relativism problems – If almost any behavior is the norm somewhere in the world, does that mean everything is equally right? – We are all members of a single human species, what are the universal standards of proper conduct? – In trying to develop universal standards, how do we avoid imposing our own standards on others? Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. A Global Culture? • English is firmly established as the preferred second language in most parts of the world – Are we witnessing the birth of a global culture? Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. A Global Culture? • Societies around the world have more contact than ever before – Flow of goods – Flow of information – Flow of people Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. A Global Culture? • Three important limitations to the global culture thesis: – Flow of goods, information, and people is uneven – The global culture thesis assumes that people everywhere are able to afford the new goods and services – Although many cultural elements spread throughout the world, people everywhere do not attach the same meanings to them Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Theoretical Analysis of Culture • Sociologists investigate how culture helps us make sense of ourselves and the surrounding world – Examine several macro-level theoretical approaches to understanding culture Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Theoretical Analysis of Culture • Sociologists investigate how culture helps us make sense of ourselves and the surrounding world (continued) – A micro-level approach to the personal experience of culture Emphasizes how individuals conform to cultural patterns How people create new patterns in their everyday lives Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Functions of Culture: Structural-Functional Analysis • Explains culture as a complex strategy for meeting human needs • Draws from the philosophical doctrine of idealism • Structural-functional analysis helps us understand unfamiliar ways of life • Cultural universals – Traits that are part of every known culture Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Functions of Culture: Structural-Functional Analysis • As it relates to culture, what are the functions of sports, July Fourth celebrations, and Black History Month? Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Functions of Culture: Structural-Functional Analysis • Strength of structural-functional analysis lies in showing how culture operates to meet human needs • This approach ignores cultural diversity • Emphasizes cultural stability, downplays the importance of change Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Inequality and Culture: Social-Conflict Analysis • Draws attention to the link between culture and inequality • Any cultural trait benefits some members of society at the expense of others • Culture is shaped by a society’s system of economic production • How might a social-conflict analysis of college fraternities and sororities differ from a structural-functional analysis? Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Inequality and Culture: Social-Conflict Analysis • Social-conflict theory is rooted in the philosophy of materialism • Social conflict analysis ties our cultural values of competitiveness and material success to our country’s capitalist economy • Views capitalism as “natural” • Strains of inequality erupt into movements for social change Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Inequality and Culture: Social-Conflict Analysis • Social-conflict approach suggests that systems do not address human needs equally • Inequality, in turn, generates pressure toward change • Stressing the divisiveness of culture, understates ways in which cultural patterns integrate members of a society Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Evolution and Culture: Sociobiology • Sociobiology – A theoretical approach that explores ways in which human biology affects how we create culture – Rests on the theory of evolution proposed by Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species – Natural selection Organisms change over a long period of time Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Four Principles of Natural Selection • All living things live to reproduce themselves • Some random variation in genes allows each species to “try out” new life patterns in a particular environment • Over thousands of generations, the genes that promote reproduction survive and become dominant Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Four Principles of Natural Selection • Large number of cultural universals reflects the fact that all humans are members of a single biological species • Sociobiology provides insights into the biological roots of some cultural patterns • Defenders state that sociobiology rejects past pseudoscience of racial and gender superiority Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Four Principles of Natural Selection • Research suggests that biological forces do not determine human behavior • Humans learn behavior within a culture • Contribution of sociobiology lies in explaining why some cultural patterns are more common and seem easier to learn than others Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Culture and Human Freedom • To what extent are human beings, as cultural creatures, free? Does culture bind us to each other and to the past? Or does it enhance our capacity for individual thought and independent choice? • As symbolic creatures, humans cannot live without culture Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Culture and Human Freedom • Culture is a matter of habit, which limits our choices and repetition of troubling patterns • Culture forces us to choose as we make and remake a world for ourselves • The better we understand the workings of culture, the better prepared we will be to use the freedom it offers Society: the basics, Eleventh Edition John J. Macionis Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
