Defining Culture in Anthropology

Questions and Answers

What is the primary goal of cultural materialism?

To create a false consciousness among the lower classes

To understand how human symbolic culture arises from material conditions (correct)

To promote multiculturalism and peaceful coexistence

To evaluate cultures objectively using a universal value system

Which philosophical perspective argues that culture is used to manipulate the lower classes?

Cultural Relativism

Marxism (correct)

Cultural Materialism

Conflict Theory (correct)

What is the term for the set of customs, traditions, and values of a society or community?

Counter-culture

Culture (correct)

Multiculturalism

Subculture

What is the analytical stance that holds that cultures cannot be objectively ranked or evaluated?

Cultural Relativism Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the peaceful coexistence and mutual respect between different cultures inhabiting the same territory?

Multiculturalism Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a characteristic of culture as defined by EB Taylor?

A complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society Signup and view all the answers

What is the main distinction between high culture and low culture?

High culture is associated with social elites, while low culture is associated with the lower classes Signup and view all the answers

What is an example of an immaterial aspect of culture?

Mythology Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the mass-produced and mass-mediated forms of consumer culture of the 20th century?

Mass culture Signup and view all the answers

What is a cultural universal, according to the concept of culture?

An aspect of human behavior found in all human societies Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Definition of Culture

Culture is the complex whole that includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.
It is the way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs, of a particular group of people at a particular time.

Aspects of Culture

Cultural universals are aspects of human behavior found in all human societies, such as language, social practices, expressive forms, and technologies.
Material culture includes physical expressions of culture like technology, architecture, and art.
Immaterial culture includes principles of social organization, mythology, philosophy, literature, and science.

Cultural Sophistication

Cultural sophistication is the degree to which an individual or society has cultivated a particular level of sophistication in the arts, sciences, education, or manners.
This level of sophistication can distinguish civilizations from less complex societies.

Hierarchy of Culture

Hierarchical perspectives on culture distinguish between high culture of the social elite and low, popular culture or folk culture of the lower classes.

Other Aspects of Culture

In common parlance, culture often refers to symbolic markers used by ethnic groups to distinguish themselves visibly from each other.
Mass culture refers to mass-produced and mass-mediated forms of consumer culture.
Cultural materialism holds that human symbolic culture arises from the material conditions of human life.

Theoretical Perspectives

Marxism and Conflict Theory argue that culture is often used politically as a tool of the elites to manipulate the lower classes and create a false consciousness.
Cultural relativism holds that cultures cannot easily be objectively ranked or evaluated because any evaluation is necessarily situated within the value system of a given culture.

Subcultures and Multiculturalism

A subculture is a specific practice within a subgroup of a society.
Multiculturalism values the peaceful coexistence and mutual respect between different cultures inhabiting the same territory.