Society and Culture-fc1d4321e7e501ab7e76e647245b3f9f.pptx

Society and culture UAE society  Everyone often defines society as an aggregation or collection Society of individuals. But in sociology and anthropology, the term is used in a different sense. The term “society” refers not just to a group of people but to a complex pattern of norms of interact...

Society and culture UAE society  Everyone often defines society as an aggregation or collection Society of individuals. But in sociology and anthropology, the term is used in a different sense. The term “society” refers not just to a group of people but to a complex pattern of norms of interaction that exist among them.  Society is not just a mere agency for the comfort of the beings, but it is the whole system of social relationships.  Humans are social beings.  That is why we live together in societies.  Day-to-day we interact with each other and develop social relationships.  Every society has a culture, no matter how simple that culture may be. Culture is shared. The members of every society share a common culture which they have to learn.  Culture is not inherited; it is transmitted from one generation to the other through the vehicle of language.  Like societies, cultures differ all over the world. The two concepts society and culture are closely related and sometimes can be used interchangeably. Society The roots of the term society can be traced to the Latin word socius which means companionship or friendship. George Simmel an eminent sociologist has stated that it is the element of sociability or companionship which defines the true essence of society. As Aristotle stated centuries ago, man is a social animal; it brings into focus that man always lives in the company of other people. Society has become an essential condition for human life to continue. Herein, we will discuss some of the views of the social thinkers who had on society and how they have perceived the same. Society  August Comte viewed society as a social organism possessing a harmony of structure and function.  Emile Durkheim regarded society as a reality in its own right.  For Talcott Parson Society is a total complex of human relationships in so far as they grow out of the action in terms of means-end relationship intrinsic or symbolic.  Morris Ginsberg defines society as a collection of individuals united by certain relations or mode of behaviour which mark them off from others who do not enter into these relations or who differ from them in behaviour.  Cole saw Society as the complex of organised associations and institutions with a community.  A society is generally conceived of as a human group which is relatively large, relatively independent or self-perpetuating in demographic terms, and which is relatively autonomous in its organisation of social relations.  1. Likeness:  McIver says, “society means likeness”. Therefore, likeness is an Characteristics of society essential prerequisite of society. The sense of likeness was focused in early society on kinship, that is, real or supposed blood relationships. In modern societies the conditions of social likeness have broadened out in the principle of nationality of one world. “Comradeship, intimacy, association of any kind or degree would be impossible without some understanding of each by the other, and that understanding depends on the likeness which each apprehends in the other.  Society also implies difference, but this sense of likeness does Difference not exclude diversity or variation. Society also implies difference, and it depends on the latter as much as on likeness. A society based exclusively on likeness and uniformity is bound to be loose in socialites. All our social systems involve relationships in which differences complement one another, for e.g., family rests upon the biological difference between sexes. Besides the difference in sex there are other natural differences of aptitude, of interest of capacity. While difference is necessary to society, difference by itself does not create society. Interdependence  Interdependence is another essential element to constitute society. Family, one of the important units of society with which we all are closely associated, is based on the biological inter-dependence of the sexes. None of the two sexes is complete by itself and therefore each seeks fulfillment by the aid of the other. The Social organisation diversifies the work of each, making each more dependent on others, in order that by the surrender of self sufficiency he may receive back thousand fold in fullness of life. This interdependence is both extensive as well as intensive.  Lastly, cooperation is also essential to constitute society. Without Co-operation cooperation no society can exist. Unless people cooperate with each other, they cannot live a happy life. All social institutions rest on cooperation. The members in social institutions cooperate with one another to live happily and joyfully. Cooperation avoids mutual destructiveness and results in economy. For want of cooperation the entire fabric of society may collapse. From an anthropological perspective every society has a culture, it is universal, though in some societies it may be simple, while complex in others. Likewise, every human being is cultured and culture is an attribute of the genus Homo.  It is not possible for human beings to live without the minimum material objects (tangible). Without a network of social relations among people, human life is impossible. Human existence is impracticable without ideas, rules, ideals, symbols and patterns of thinking (intangible).  Culture is a framework of behavioral patterns, values, assumptions and experiences shared by a social group.  Culture is mostly automatically or unconsciously applied orientation system of collective values, which makes its group members’ behavior comprehensible and to a certain degree predictable for each other.  Implicit consent between the members of the culture on what is acceptable and what is not. Culture is communication. It impacts how we send and interpret messages, Culture shapes human conduct within a cultural group, Culture is something we learn, Culture is like mental software and has accordingly been defined as “the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from others” (Geert Hofstede), Culture acts as a kind of filter or lens through which we view others, affecting the way we see them and creating multiple perspectives, Can you think of any shortcomings or complications to that?