Concept of culture

[Your full full June 19, Concept of Culture Before going into the discussion regarding conceptof culture, let us get a better understanding of what culture actually is. Culture represents customs and traditions, which people belonging to any specific country or society adopt. The concepts of culture and society have a deep association with each other. A society cannot make its foundations strong without a strong culture and no culture can survive without presence of a large group of people observing the customs and traditions of that culture. “ Culture is essential for the existence of a society, because it binds people together” (Kartha). Some of the major aspects of culture include social norms and values, language, religion, ceremonies and festivals, food, clothing, and arts and literature. Cultural relativity is an important concept related to culture. It means that any good or bad deed is related to the cultural norms and values. An action, which is socially approved in a culture, is good whereas an action, which is not approved in a culture, is a bad action. Almost all cultures tend to be ethnocentric in nature. The reason is that people belonging to any specific culture or society usually perceive things according to the perspective of their own cultures. For example, a person living in the Indian society will see every matter of life according to the mindset developed by Indian culture. He/she will not see any matter from the perspective of American or European culture. Therefore, we can say that culture not only influences the living style and mindset of people but also plays a considerable role in shaping behaviors and characteristics of the people living in any society. Works Cited Kartha, Deepa. “ What is Culture.” Buzzle. com, n. d. Web. 19 Jun. 2011.