Culture: the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group
Personally, I define culture as core values, beliefs, traditions, and customs to create a worldview. When trying to understand what culture is, it’s important to learn the universals. This means that there are certain elements and factors in every culture that applies to all people, also known as the human condition.
There are 10 basic elements of every culture: geography, language, family, FCTS (food, clothing, transport, shelter), economics, education, politics, technology, VBR (values, beliefs, rituals), and cultural expression.
As mentioned, it’s important to learn and respect people of your own or different cultures. This requires an open mind and being able to listen to others. To be culturally aware, here are the best ways to develop a positive outlook:
Self-Knowledge - It’s imperative to know who you are. Self-identity is at the root of cultural identity.
Become more self-aware - Reflect on why you think the way you think, believe what you believe, and value what you value.
Appreciate other viewpoints - Don’t always assume that someone is wrong just because you don’t agree, or that you’re right because you have strong feelings about a certain topic. Take the time to learn from others.
Do NOT stereotype - Be cognizant of stereotyping. No one wants to be negatively stereotyped. A lot of times, opinions are not factual idealizations. Although it’s not easy, make an effort to listen to other ideas and perspectives without placing judgment on what we believe is good or bad, right and wrong.
Trust the Process - During your journey of cultural learning, be patient with how you absorb information. Forgive yourself when you find yourself being biased or downright ignorant. Take it as an opportunity to learn, change, and grow!
Having lived in 23 countries for over seven years, I was able to get a better understanding of others through visiting various nations, observing different cultures, and the people I encountered. I cultivated an inner connection with others based on our shared humanity.
If you don’t have the means to travel, it’s still possible to open your mind to understanding others within your own country. By experiencing other cultures, reflecting on those experiences will help you acquire a deeper connection with others. It’s also important to reflect and challenge your assumptions and motives.
As Sri Sathya Sai Baba says, “life is the greatest teacher.”
There are 10 basic elements of every culture: geography, language, family, FCTS (food, clothing, transport, shelter), economics, education, politics, technology, VBR (values, beliefs, rituals), and cultural expression. As mentioned, it's important to learn and respect people of your own or different cultures
different cultures
Different countries have different cultures. For example, some older Japanese people wear kimonos, arrange flowers in vases, and have tea ceremonies. Some countries oppose some things in their culture, like discrimination or religion. Some countries also have multiple cultures within them.
A cultural universal (also called an anthropological universal or human universal) is an element, pattern, trait, or institution that is common to all known human cultures worldwide. Taken together, the whole body of cultural universals is known as the human condition.
Cultural universals are best described as concepts, social constructs, or patterns of behavior that are common to ALL human cultures; meaning every society in existence exhibits some form of the universal.
Despite their differences, researchers have found that all societies have certain common practices and beliefs, or cultural universals. George Murdock's list of cultural universals included athletic sports, cooking, funeral ceremonies, medicine and sexual restrictions.
We all share commonalities, known as cultural universals; the differences emerge in how we express them. In other words, when they become culture-specific. Cultural universals are human activities, organizational patterns, characteristics, or traits that are common to all societies around the world.
Why do cultural universals exist? Cultural universals (elements of a culture that exist in every society such as food, religion, language, etc.) exist because all cultures have basic needs and they all develop common features to ensure their needs are met.
There are 10 basic elements of every culture: geography, language, family, FCTS (food, clothing, transport, shelter), economics, education, politics, technology, VBR (values, beliefs, rituals), and cultural expression.
In the cultural realm, human universals include myths, legends, daily routines, rules, concepts of luck and precedent, body adornment, and the use and production of tools; in the realm of language, universals include grammar, phonemes, polysemy, metonymy, antonyms, and an inverse ratio between the frequency of use and ...
Religion is also an example of a cultural universal because it is found in all societies in one form or another. Functionalism, conflict theory, and interactionism all provide valuable ways for sociologists to understand religion.
As an example, the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights asserts various rights to all people – e.g., to marry, own property, and access equal protection under the law – regardless of culture or nationality.
New philosophical ideas and technological advances can lead to cultural change. Cultural change can also occur through diffusion, when contact with other cultures and ideas are transferred. This is occurring more in the world today as communication, travel, and the Internet are creating a global society.
What are examples of cultural universals? There are many examples of cultural universals. These include language, humor, religion, burial rituals, family structures, dancing, music, and more.
One of the primary (and very obvious) cultural universals is language. In some form or other, it is, of course, found worldwide across all cultures. And not just language in general, but many basic elements of language are also cultural universals, used by all humans (we'll get into those specifics further down).
The idea of cultural universals—that specific aspects of culture are common to all human cultures—runs contrary to cultural relativism. Cultural relativism refers to an awareness of the wide diversity of beliefs, norms, values and cultural practices that exist.
Culture is the holistic combination of learned and shared beliefs, values, and practices that create cohesion in a group and is the core concept within which anthropologists work. It is dynamic, evolving based on the needs of the people within it and as one culture comes into contact with another.
For example, in some countries like China, it is acceptable to stare at others in public, or to stand very close to others in public spaces. In South Africa, if you board a nearly empty bus or enter a nearly empty movie theater, it is regarded as polite to sit next to the only person there.
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