How Culture affects Anthropology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

How Culture affects Anthropology - Essay Example Culture and society are different notions. If culture is a system of learned behavior perceptions and patterns, society is a group of interacting beings.   So animals also have societies. Though it is one of the prerogatives of human societies the ability to interact directly or indirectly with each other.   And one human society is distinguished from another one in terms of shared traditions and expectations.Despite the difference between human societies and cultures, they are closely interrelated because culture is created and transmitted to others in a society.   Cultures are not the product of separate individuals.   They are the permanently developing products of people interacting with each other.   Cultural patterns such as language and politics are useless except if they are not engaged in the interaction of people.   If you were the only human on earth, language or government would of no effect (Bernard, 1998, p. 14).The notion "culture" can be interpreted many d ifferent ways.   Some understand it as an opportunity to insight into a high-quality literature, art, music. Each science has its own understanding of culture. Cultural dimensions of logic, values and aesthetics are indeed of a great concern for philosophers. Social workers and people concerned themselves with the practical problems of minority groups also use this notion as a part of their stock in trade. Important research in medicine and in nutrition is oriented in cultural terms. On the other hand for anthropologists the notion "culture".... Cultures are not the product of separate individuals. They are the permanently developing products of people interacting with each other. Cultural patterns such as language and politics are useless except if they are not engaged in the interaction of people. If you were the only human on earth, language or government would of no effect (Bernard, 1998, p. 14). The notion "culture" can be interpreted many different ways. Some understand it as an opportunity to insight into a high-quality literature, art, music. Each science has its own understanding of culture. Cultural dimensions of logic, values and aesthetics are indeed of a great concern for philosophers. Social workers and people concerned themselves with the practical problems of minority groups also use this notion as a part of their stock in trade. Important research in medicine and in nutrition is oriented in cultural terms. On the other hand for anthropologists the notion "culture" generally means the full range of learned human behavior patterns (Bernard, 1998, p. 27). The term was first used in this meaning by the English anthropologist Edward B. Tylor. He defined culture as a complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. Of course, it is possessed and created not only by men but by women as well. The decisive term in this definition is "acquired." This underlines the feature that, as humans, we are not born with culture itself, but with the ability for culture. That is what we learn it, through our interactions and communication with other people in general. We practice the fundamental constituent of this learning in our childhood,