Man’s Social and Cultural

Background
 
What changes and
developments in today’s
society can you cite?
 Nation-state

A sovereign state whose citizens or
subjects have a common culture.
They speak the same language, have a
common descent, and share a common
history.
Major component of personal identity.
 Personal identity

The concept you develop about
yourself that evolves over the course of
your life.
Both cultural and political guided by
personal encounters or experiences.
These personal experiences are created
by man’s interaction with his
environment.
According to David Bohm,

“Each individual already contains the
whole information field of society.
It is the whole information field, but
each individual contains that
information field in his own way.
 
As primary actors,we create the
type of society that we want to
have which also includes our
customs and traditions.
Cultures differ depending on the
needs of individuals.
 Schwartz pointed out,

“The culture of any society
represents an adaptation or
adjustment to the various
conditions of life, including their
physical, social, and supernatural
environment.”
 Banaag, 2012, p.54

People who need more will be pushed more
by their inner drives to attain something.
These drives consist of biological and
psychological drives such as cravings,
wealth, power, greatness, successes, etc.
Variations in geographical features, climatic
conditions, and historical experiences
contribute to man’s development as well as a
reference of differentiation among people
such as race, customs, and traditions.
 Edward Tylor

“Culture refers to that complex whole
which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts,
morals, laws, customs, and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by man
as a member of a society.”
Culture serves as a foundation of man’s
continuing interaction with his
surroundings.
 CULTURE

knowledge

beliefs
morals

CULTURE

arts
customs

laws

Culture refers to that complex whole which includes knowledge,

beliefs, arts, morals, laws, customs and any other capabilities and
habits acquired by man as member of society (Edward B. Tylor)
 Culture

K-nowledge
A-rts
M-orals
B-eliefs
L-aws
C-ustoms
 Significance of Studying
Culture, Society and Politics

According to Mark Banaag, culture functions in
the following ways and from which we can
realize the significance of culture as well:
1. Culture makes it possible for man to
adapt and integrate himself to his
environment.
2. Culture establishes patterns of acceptable
social behavior.
 Significance of Studying
Culture, Society and Politics

3. Culture conveys and facilitates meanings
through verbal and non-verbal
communication, written and non-written
language, forms of expression, and
symbolisms.
4. Culture produces man-made things such
as clothing, tools, instruments, machines,
equipment, structures etc. made possible by
technological know-how.
 Significance of Studying
Culture, Society & Politics

5. Culture contributes to overall
human satisfaction as we develop
ways to make life more enjoyable,
more comfortable, easier, and more
rewarding such as recreational
activities, leisure, entertainment and
arts, etc.
 Significance of Culture
Develop ways to make life
more enjoyable, more
comfortable, easier, and more
rewarding such as recreational
activities, leisure,
entertainment and arts, etc.
Human
satisfcation
Significance
Culture makes it possible for man
to integrate himself to his
environment by being creative
Adaptation and resourceful in coming up
& with ways and means of survival.
Integration
Etiquettte, protocols,
Patterns of good manners and
Acceptabl right conduct, roles,
e Social
Behavior duties estblished by
of Culture folkways, mores and
laws

Clothing, tools, Verbal and non-

Production
Conveys and verbal
instruments, machines, Facilitates
of man- communication,
equipment, structures made meaning
made possible by things written and non-
technological know- written language,
how forms of expressions
and symbolisms
Society
• Generally defined as an organized group or
groups of interdependent people who
share a common territory, language, and
culture, and who act together for
collective survival and well-being.
• The ways in which these people depend
upon another can be seen in features such
as their economic, communication, and
defense systems.
Society and Culture
• They are also bound together by a general
sense of common identity and pride of
place.
• In reality, there can be no culture without
society and so far there are no known
human societies that do not exhibit
culture (Haviland, et.al:312).
 Represent
ation of
our
identity

Avenue Significan Characteriz

for ce of e the
economic totality of a
interdepe Studying territory
ndence Society

Symbol
of
political
independ
ence

Significance of Studying Society

Politics
• The “theory, art, and practice of
government
• The political institution is a relatively stable
cluster of statuses, general norms, and role
behavior, which are involved in the
acquisition and exercise of society of wide
power and making decision (Turner:215)
• The institution that sets up the social norms
and values as to who will possess “the
monopoly of legitimate use of physical
force within a given territory”, how that
power is acquired and maintained, and how
that power is organized and exercised,
comprised the state (Weber:216).
Politics may be viewed in
different ways:

Consensus &
Compromise

Society
Academics
Politics

Power and
Public affair distribution of
resources
Art of
government
 Two things to be emphasized in describing
the characteristics of politics:
1. All questions involve the making of
common decision for a group of people,
that is, a uniform decision applying in the
same way to all members of the group.
2. All involve the use of force by one person
or a group of people to affect the behavior
of another person or group of people.
 Politics
• Talks about collective decision of
individuals based on defined rules of
society.
• These rules bind people together in order
to preserve culture and improve human
life.
 Politics

Collective Initial diversity Reconciliation Authoritative

activity of views of difference Policy
 Four important points inherent
to politics according to Haque:
1. Politics is a collective activity,
involving people who accept a
common membership or at least
acknowledge a shared fate.
2. Politics presumes an initial diversity
of views, if not about goals then least
about means;
3. Politics involves reconciling
differences through discussion and
persuasion; and
4. Political decisions become
authoritative policy for a group binding
members to decisions that are
implemented by force if necessary.