In sociology - the science of human society and the systems that make it up, the laws of development of society - the concept of culture is a central forming element. Culture from the point of view of sociology is nothing more than a special way of society, which means all the achievements of mankind in a spiritual, industrial or social sense.
Studying the concept of "culture" by university students
Sociology and cultural studies are studied by students of many specialties as general disciplines. Particular attention is paid to these sciences in the humanities:
- future psychologists study sociology as a doctrine of a "plural" society, and not an individual person;
- teachers of literature are more occupied with the cultural component, the history of the development of language and ethnography;
- historians consider the material components of culture, that is, household items of ancestors, architecture characteristic of different eras, the mores of the people in the process of historical development, and so on;
- even students of the specialty "jurisprudence" study sociology and the intangible elements of culture, namely institutions, norms, values and beliefs.
So, the task “Describe the basic elements of culture” is faced by almost all students of not only humanitarian, but also technical departments in the classes of cultural studies, business ethics, psychology of service activities or sociology.
Introduction: what is culture and how does it compare with other sciences
Culture is a very ambiguous concept that still does not have a single clear definition. The basic elements and functions of culture are so interconnected that they create a single whole. The term denotes the totality of the general development of human society in the process of evolution and formation, from ancient times to the present, the concept of beauty and relation to art. In a simplified understanding, culture can be called common habits and customs, traditions, language and representations of people living in the same locality and in the same historical interval.
The concept includes a combination of material and spiritual values that characterize the level of development of both society as a whole and an individual. In a narrower sense, culture is only spiritual values. That it is one of the main properties that are inherent in any sustainable association of people, a permanent group, be it a family, tribal community, clan, urban and rural settlement, state, union.
Culture is a subject of study not only of cultural studies. The basic elements of culture, values and norms, the achievements of mankind in spiritual, industrial and moral relations are also studied:
- literature;
- sociology;
- geography;
- art history;
- philosophy;
- ethnography;
- psychology.
Tasks of culture: vector development, socialization, the formation of a sociocultural environment
To realize the true role of culture in the life of an individual and society as a whole, it is necessary to analyze its specific functions. In a generalized sense, its task is to connect individual people into a single humanity, to ensure communication and continuity of generations. Each function is designed to solve a specific problem, but all of their many can be reduced to three cultural tasks:
- Vector development of mankind. Culture defines the values, directions and goals of the further development of human society in order to improve the created material and spiritual world.
- The socialization of an individual in a society, a particular social group. Culture provides a social organization, as already mentioned, connects people into a single humanity or other small social group (family, work collective, nation).
- The formation of a sociocultural environment and the creation of means for the best implementation and reflection of the ongoing cultural process. This refers to the creation of material and spiritual means, values and concepts, conditions, which are then included in the cultural process.
The functions of culture that ensure the implementation of tasks
Thus, it is culture that acts as a means of accumulation, storage and transmission of human experience from generation to generation. These tasks are implemented through a number of functions:
- Educational function. Culture makes a person a person, because it is with the socialization that the individual becomes a full member of society. Socialization includes the process of mastering the norms of behavior, language, symbols and values, customs and traditions of their people. The culture of development of an individual is associated with erudition, the level of familiarization with cultural heritage, understanding of works of art, creative abilities, accuracy, courtesy, fluency in native and foreign languages, self-mastery, high morality.
- Integrative and disintegrative functions. They determine what culture creates in people who make up this or that group a sense of community, belonging to one nation, religion, people, and so on. Culture provides integrity, but by uniting members of one group, it separates them from another community. As a result of this, cultural conflicts may arise - so culture also performs a disintegrative function.
- Regulatory function. Values, norms and ideals formulate the behavior of the individual in society. Culture defines the framework within which a person can and must act, regulates behavior in the family, at work, in the school team and so on.
- The function of transmitting social experience. Information, or the function of historical continuity, allows the transfer of certain social experience from generation to generation. Human society, in addition to culture, does not have other mechanisms for concentration and transmission of accumulated experience. That is why it is called the social memory of mankind.
- Cognitive, or epistemological, function. Culture concentrates the best social experience of many generations and accumulates rich knowledge, which creates unique opportunities for knowledge and development.
- Normative, or regulatory, function. In all spheres of public life, culture in one way or another affects interpersonal relationships, the interaction of people. This function is supported by regulatory systems such as morale and morality.
- The symbolic function of culture. Culture is a certain system of signs, without the study of which it is not possible to master cultural values. Language (also a system of signs), for example, is a means of interaction between people, acts as an important means of mastering the national culture. Cognitive world of painting, music and theater allows specific sign systems.
- Integral, or axiological, function. Culture forms value needs, acts as a factor that allows you to determine the culture of a person.
- Social functions: integration, organization and regulation of people’s joint activities, provision of livelihoods (cognition, accumulation of experience, and so on), regulation of certain areas of life.
- Adaptive function. Culture provides the adaptation of people to the environment and is a necessary condition for evolution, development of human society.
Thus, the culture system is not only diverse, but also extremely mobile.
Species and types of culture: an overview and listing
Culture has a rather complex structure. The branch of science of culturology that studies culture as a system, its structural elements, structure and special features is called the morphology of culture. The latter is divided into economic, technological, artistic, legal, professional, domestic, communicative, behavioral, religious and so on.
Artistic solves the problem of sensory reflection of being in images. The central place in this type of culture is occupied by art itself, that is, literature, painting, architecture, music, dance, cinema, and the circus.
Household determines traditional production and domestic life, crafts, folk crafts, national costume, rituals, traditions and beliefs, applied art and so on. This type of culture is very close to ethnic.
Economic culture and its elements
Economic culture is called a respectful attitude to private property and commercial success, the creation and development of a suitable social environment for entrepreneurship, the value system in economic (entrepreneurial, working) activities. What are the main elements of an economic culture? Everything that is in one way or another connected with the economic activity of a person and correlates with culture. So, the basic elements of an economic culture are certain knowledge and practical skills, ways of organizing economic activity and the norms that govern relations and the economic orientation of an individual.
Political culture, its characteristics and elements
Political culture is understood as a qualitative characteristic of the political life of society in the broad sense or a complex of representations of one or another group about politics. Political culture defines the "rules of the game" in the political sphere, establishes a certain framework, contributes to the formation of the main types of behavior. The main elements of a political culture are political values, generally accepted assessments of the state and prospects of the political system, accumulated experience in this area, a belief in the truth of one’s knowledge, certain legal norms, means of political communication and the practice of functioning of political institutions.
Organizational (professional, business, corporate) culture
Organizational culture is inherently close to professional; it is often called the business, corporate, or sociocultural organization. This term refers to the norms, values and rules adopted by the majority of members of an organization or enterprise. Its external manifestation is called organizational behavior. The main elements of organizational culture are the rules followed by employees of the organization, corporate values, symbols. Also elements are a dress code, established standard service or product quality, moral standards.
Moral and spiritual culture
Signs and symbols, rules of conduct in society, values, habits and customs are all elements of culture. Also elements are spiritual and social values, works of art. All these individual components can be classified in different ways.
In the most general sense, the basic elements of culture are the material and spiritual components. The material identifies the material (material) side of any cultural activity or process. Elements of the material component are buildings and structures (architecture), tools of production and labor, vehicles, various communications and roads, agricultural land, household items, everything that is commonly called the artificial human environment.
The main elements of a spiritual culture include a set of certain ideas and ideas that reflect the existing reality, ideals and values of humanity, creative, intellectual, aesthetic and emotional activities of people, its results (spiritual values). The components of spiritual culture are values, rules, habits, manners, customs and traditions.
An indicator of spiritual culture is social consciousness, and the core is spiritual values. Spiritual values, that is, worldview, aesthetic and scientific ideas, moral norms, works of art, cultural traditions, are expressed in objective, behavioral and verbal form.
Brief description of the basic elements of culture
The concept of culture, the basic elements of culture, its types and types make up the community, the integrity of this very concept. Its morphology, that is, structural elements as a system, is even a separate, rather extensive section of cultural studies. The study of all diversity is based on the study of the basic elements of culture. Everything that was created by man in the process of spiritual, historical development is subject to consideration. So, the main elements of culture are:
- Signs and symbols, that is, objects that serve to designate other objects.
- Language as a class of sign systems and as a separate sign system used by a specific group of people.
- Social values, that is, those preferences that are given priority by various social groups.
- Rules that define the behavior of group members set the framework in accordance with values.
- Habits as permanent patterns of behavior.
- Manners based on habits.
- Etiquette as a system of rules of behavior accepted by society, which is inherent in individual individuals.
- Customs, that is, the traditional order of behavior inherent in the masses.
- Traditions passed down from generation to generation.
- Rituals or ceremonies as a set of collective actions that embody certain ideas, norms and values, ideas.
- Religion as a way of understanding and understanding the world and so on.
The main elements of culture are considered in an aspect that is associated with the functioning of society as a whole, as well as in conjunction with the regulation of the behavior of a particular person and certain social groups. These elements are necessarily present in both small and large, both in modern and traditional societies, in every social culture.
What are the most sustainable elements of culture? Constancy is distinguished by language, traditions and rites, social values, as well as certain norms. These basic elements of culture distinguish one social group from another, unite members of one family, collective, clan, urban or rural community, state, union of states, and so on.