Module 2: Understanding Filipino Culture and Values PDF

Module 2: Understanding Filipino Culture and Values What is Culture? Defining Culture The term "culture" comes from the Latin word "cultus," which means tilling, cultivating, refining, or nurturing. It is a collection of shared ideas - customs, beliefs, and knowledge learned fro...

Module 2: Understanding Filipino Culture and Values What is Culture? Defining Culture The term "culture" comes from the Latin word "cultus," which means tilling, cultivating, refining, or nurturing. It is a collection of shared ideas - customs, beliefs, and knowledge learned from others and passed down from generation to generation. Here are a few other definitions of culture: "That complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society" -Edward B. Tylor "A system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which men communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life." -Clifford Geertz "The acquired knowledge people use to interpret experience and generate behavior." -James Spradley Culture is a way of life. It is how people think and behave. It includes the food you eat, your clothes, the language you speak, and the God you worship. It is the embodiment of how we think and act. It also includes the things we have inherited as members of society. It refers to all of the human beings' achievements as members of social groups. It includes art, music, literature, architecture, sculpture, philosophy, religion, and science. It also includes one's customs, traditions, festivals, and outlook on various life issues. Understanding culture necessitates understanding differences not only in language but also in knowledge, perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. Characteristics of Culture 1. Culture is learned. It is not biological - we are not born with culture. We learn culture through enculturation or socialization. 2. Culture is shared. Members of a group share culture because they grew up in the same culture. However, not all aspects of a culture are interconnected. Some elements of a culture may be diametrically opposed. 3. Culture is based on symbols. A symbol refers to something that stands for another thing. Symbols differ and are arbitrary across cultures. They have meaning only when people in a culture agree on their use. 4. Culture is integrated. All aspects of a culture are interconnected or related to one another. However, not all aspects of a culture are interconnected. Some elements of a culture may be diametrically opposed. 5. Culture is adaptive. Cultural adaptation refers to the process of adjusting to a new culture. Learning language and phrases from the new culture is an example. Not all aspects of culture, however, are adaptive. Some elements of culture can be maladaptive, which can endanger people's survival in the long run. 6. Culture is dynamic and ever-changing. In our day-to-day existence, new objects are introduced into material culture (the physical objects, resources, and spaces such as homes, neighborhoods, cities, schools, churches, offices, factories, tools, means of production, goods and products, stores, etc., that people define their culture), and they have an impact on nonmaterial culture (nonphysical ideas that people have about their culture, such as beliefs, values, rules, norms, morals, language, organizations, and institutions). Culture changes over time due to: diffusion (the spread of idea, behavior or something between cultures). acculturation (the process of adopting, acquiring, adjusting, and learning the cultural traits or social patterns of another group as a result of being placed in a new culture). technology (methods, systems, and devices derived from scientific knowledge and used for practical purposes); and an globalization (the increasing interdependence interconnectedness of the world's economies, cultures, and populations as a result of trade and commerce, technology, migration, and media). ACTIVITY No. 2 In one paragraph, please describe some cultural practices that you still observe in your household.