Civilization definition
To understand the term ‘culture’ clearly it would be desirable to distinguish it from ‘civilization.’ Writers have many different concepts of civilization. Difference between Culture and Civilization :Ĭivilization denoted utilitarian things used as apparatus. (viii) Culture evolves into more complex forms through division of labour which develops special skills and increases the interdependence of society’s members. This he is enabled to do because he possesses language which transmits to him what was learnt in the past and enables him to transmit the accumulated wisdom. Man lives not only in the present but also in the past and future. (vii) Language is the chief vehicle of culture: Its various parts are integrated with each other and any new element which is introduced is also integrated. Man has, therefore, been called the’ culture-bearing animal.Ĭulture possesses an order and system. By picking up the culture and by tapping the heritage of his past, man becomes distinctively human. Thus culture is a system of learned behaviour shared by and transmitted among the members of a group. It is the sum of what the group has learned about living together under the particular circumstances, physical and biological, in which it has found itself. It is the product of human experience, i.e., it is man-made. They have been transmitted to him by someone, be it his school teacher, his parents or friend. Moreover, the behaviours are not his own but are shared by others. Singing, talking, dancing and eating belong to the category of culture. Man learns his behaviour and behaviour which is learnt denotes his culture. The essential factor in this acquisition through tradition is the ability to learn from the group. These points of acquisition and tradition have been emphasized by Tylor and Redfield in their definitions. The essential point in regard to culture is that it is acquired by man as a member of society and persists through tradition. Thus to the student of sociology a person lacking in culture is an impossibility because individuals of necessity share in the culture of their group. It is a heritage into which a child is born. It is an accumulation which a new generation inherits. In sociology we use the word to denote acquired behaviours, which are shared by and transmitted among the members of the society. People often call an educated man a cultured man and regard that man as uncultured who is lacking in education. From these definitions it is clear that in sociology culture is used in a specific sense which is different from the one we have in common parlance. (xxi) “Culture is the sum total of human achievements, material as well as non-material, capable of transmission, sociologically, Le., by tradition and communication, vertically as well as horizontally.” -Mazumdar, H.T.Ĭulture is used in a specific sense in sociology.
