In the language of a person, the meaning of culture is applied to refined, interesting or beautiful etc. Sometimes we also mean it with ‘discipline’, like if we find a person’s behavior disciplined, then we consider that person cultured. In this way, we see that the notion of culture is also sometimes found in the form of evaluation. Some behavior or thoughts are acceptable because of being good or high, so we call them ‘cultured’ and on the contrary, we do not consider the behavior which is less good or harmful as ‘cultured’.
We interpret the meaning of culture in different ways in sociology. From the beginning of creation, man has been trying to fulfill his needs. To survive, man has needed food, clothing and shelter, which he has been fulfilling according to his abilities. To maintain his existence as a social animal, man has always been flexible, for which he has been creating systems and reactions like family, ideals, behavior etc. In general, it can be said that the material or non-material resources that man has created and developed from the past to the present to fulfill all his needs and to maintain his existence as a social animal in his life-process, are his culture. These resources keep being transferred from one generation to another. Culture is the fund on the basis of which a person can be separated from other people, a group from other groups and a society from other society. To understand the meaning and characteristics of culture, we have to pay attention to one or two definitions.
Among all the definitions of culture given, probably the most popular and well-known definition has been given by Britain’s famous anthropologist E.B. Tylor. According to him, ‘culture is such a complex thing’. Under which are included knowledge, belief, art, morality, custom and all kinds of abilities and habits that man acquires by virtue of his membership in society.
Professor D. N. Majumdar and T. N. Madan have said that culture is an art of living. On the other hand, according to Dr. Shyama Charan Dube, “that totality of learned behavior patterns that give distinctiveness to a group can be termed as culture”. There is a kind of similarity between the views of Professor Dube and Piddington. Both these thinkers have placed both material and non-material achievements under culture. On the contrary, MacIver, while explaining culture, has said that only non-material achievements can be kept under it, such as art, religion, morality etc. According to him, material things come under the category of civilization.
Therefore, culture is a broad term, whose sociological meaning is different from the general meaning. Everything comes under culture, such as material production, practices, intellectual abilities etc. With the help of these, our biological and social needs are not only fulfilled, but with the help of them, we also establish protection from nature and other circumstances.
Elements of culture:- Every culture has some essential elements, whether it is of a developed society or of tribals. Any culture is formed by the combination of these elements.
- Cognitive element:- Under every culture there exists knowledge about the physical and social environment around it. This knowledge is related to practicality, such as how to save oneself from the wrath of nature, how to do farming, how to protect oneself from enemies, etc. Not only this, knowledge related to nature can also be seen in it. Like – why and how it rains, why there are storms, etc. The summary is that every culture has some interpretations etc. related to its surrounding environment, which establishes a prosecution in the person and the situation.
- Beliefs:- A pattern of belief is seen in every culture, such as true devotion to God fulfills desires, special prayer cures a disease, fasting on a particular day pleases God, etc. Patterns of this type of belief are also found in tribals. There is a belief in the Munda culture that if a sound like the thunder of a cloud is made, it rains. Such belief patterns, beliefs etc. are important elements of culture.
- Values and norms:- Values and norms are essential elements in different cultures. There are many social rules and values related to religion, social relations, family relations or kinship system, such as America has a different social value related to beef and different in Hindu culture.
- Sign:- Through symbol we say and understand something. Many traffic related symbols are seen on the road, which have a special meaning. Similarly, the flag of a country is also a symbol which has a special meaning. In Indian culture, welcoming the guest with folded hands is also a symbol, which we attach a special meaning to. The totem symbol also clarifies some meaning among the tribals. In this way, we see that different types of symbols are found in culture, which are related to our social life and towards this we display behavior in a special way. Language is also a kind of symbol in an educated society.
- Ideas:- The members of every society have some or the other views on various issues. In educated societies, these ideas can be seen in the literature there, whereas in tribal societies, where there are no educated people, their ideas are contained in the folk tales and folk songs prevalent there. In fact, only through these thoughts we can understand the lifestyle etc. of a society. What do the members of a society think and why do they think so, the nature of that society lies in the answer to this question. Examples of ideas can be countless, such as religious ideas, political ideas, philosophical ideas, scientific ideas etc. The differences between the two societies can also be understood on the basis of these ideas. Bierstedt has said that the ideas and way of thinking present in the society are important elements of culture.
- Norms:- The concept of norm is an important concept in the field of sociology of the time and in Bierstedt’s view it is an essential element of culture. Bierstedt has said that when we talk of rules, we do not mean the way of thinking, but the way of behaving. As members of the society, the nature of the behavior we do or do not do is basically cultural. Whenever we talk about behaviour, we are not interested in knowing or understanding ‘behaviour’, but in the way of behaving. Human beings and animals and birds deal with all nature to prosecute or to fulfill their needs. But, there is a fundamental difference in the behavior of different animals and humans. The behavior of humans is influenced by social rules, while the behavior of other animals is determined by their basic instincts. Human behavior is not only subject to rules, it is also in accordance with social values and accepted by them.
- Material production:- Like other elements of culture, material production is also found in all societies and thus they are also universal elements of culture. Material productions are tangible and with the help of these our needs are fulfilled. Under these come all the things that the society has and which it uses. It is not possible to fix the number of such items. Thus, Bierstedt has discussed three important elements of culture, but in addition to these three elements he has discussed two more elements- (i) ideals (ii) technique.
- Ideal:- When an idea comes or takes birth in a society or group, then a question arises in our mind whether this idea is right or wrong. We know that whether a thought is right or wrong – in both cases it affects us simply by its existence. Similarly, when a new rule of behavior comes, then a question arises in our mind whether it is ‘fair’ or ‘unfair’, ‘good’ or ‘bad’ etc. Sometimes these types of questions also ask about our thoughts. Many types of apprehensions arise in our mind related to these questions. In this process, we evaluate ideas or rules, that is, we try to know whether adopting the idea or rule is ‘good’ or ‘bad’, ‘unfair’ or ‘fair’ etc. Thus, the evaluated idea itself is called ideal. Many examples of such ideals can be given. As God is one. Monogamy is a good system, soul is immortal, atheism is a bad concept, capitalism is based on exploitation and exploitation is bad, etc. Many examples can be given. It is clear from the above discussions and examples that ideals are found in all societies. This proves that ideal is also an important element of culture.
- Technology:- As we know from the common day experiences, it is not enough just to have physical products and various tools to do work, but we also need to know how to use them. For example, despite having various ingredients to make a cake, we cannot make a cake, if we do not know which ingredients to mix in what quantity. Similarly, technology is not the same in all societies. Somewhere it is of high quality, and somewhere it is of low level. An attempt has also been made to differentiate different societies on the level of their technological achievements. The way we live is closely related to the level of technology available in society and thus is an important element of culture. Therefore, different elements in culture have been given by different thinkers. Culture is created by the combination of these elements.