Human Nature: Biological and Cultural Dimensions
Cultural Animal: Human Nature Through Biological Constitution
The human being is a cultural animal; their biological nature is open to culture (language, technical, moral, etc.). Culture is an effective way of adapting. For example, symbolic and technical language leads to orientation in the world. There are two dimensions of human nature:
- Biological relevance, specific to humans, allows cultural life.
- Cultural, increases the power of adaptation of biological nature.
Human beings have animal instincts that are biological. Humans have language, culture, and religion. The animal and culture make us social.
Individual Concept
Complete all belonging to one species, man is someone unique and unrepeatable. Not only the human being, any being of nature, people, animals, other species. Every human individual is a subject of rights that should not be ignored or violated.
Social by Nature
Aristotle says that man is a political animal, is sociable by nature, which needs society and culture. Only in society can he achieve perfection and happiness that their nature allows and demands. Only he can live in society because he alone is endowed with reason to know good and evil. Only he has language able to express it, all you have moral nature, the basis and condition of society. For Aristotle, to be social is to consider ourselves bound to others.
No: the human being is social by nature; society is an artificial construction. In the eighteenth century, there was an absolute monarchy. Hobbes belongs to it, and its regime is absolute. This is what is so, and that’s it. In society, there must be an absolute ruler elected by all, able to enforce laws and to make possible a society in which one can live in peace. Hobbes says that man is a wolf to man by nature, is selfish and bad. The social life of man is due to an original contract or covenant among themselves to live and coexist with others, to comply with rules or laws. Human beings live in a chaotic partnership in which each one, motivated by self-centeredness, is in constant struggle with others, moved by conservation and self-satisfaction.
Rousseau
The necessity of laws and the contract they have in common with Hobbes. The case is to create positive relationships to achieve the common good, love, happiness, and so the laws. Man, in principle, does not need society to live, but yet this moved by a natural piety, meaning that it is good for nature. The egalitarian community is possible and positive for human development, while private property and selfishness create a perverse and wicked society. So the solution is to create a just society based on the agreement of all, oriented towards the common good (“general will”).
Theories of Social Contract
- Hobbes: Believes that human beings are selfish and evil by nature in the seventeenth century.
- Rousseau: Man is good by nature, and society is the one who corrupts it, making it bad. S. XVIII.
Cultural Anthropology
Cultural anthropology explores the ways of life of human groups and the evolution that has experienced, analyzes the material and symbolic culture, how the human interprets, constructs, and expresses reality. What interprets the world are the symbols, language, objects, customs. For example, a fossil is discovered with something, and we get an idea of how the corporation was at the time.
First Societies
In the Upper Paleolithic, there were egalitarian societies based on hunting and gathering. Food is getting consumed by all and in community, through equitable distribution. In these clans, there is a boss, who is a man with experience, counseling, and assistance. They were nomadic and lived in caves and huts. They have magical beliefs about life and nature.
Agricultural Societies
8,000 years B.C., if domesticated animals could have food. Animals need to survive, like us, they evolved, and their domesticated animals. There is a tribal chief, a person with the power to collect and store food and goods to meet the needs of the population. Laced ties was a relationship.
Nascent States
There is a big jump in time from the tribes to the states. Writing and reading the laws do exist. The base was the eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. In each country, there are laws to say that something was wrong. Only the upper-class used writing. Social life is enriched, laws are enacted, intensive farming techniques are used, and there is trade. Example: the Chinese wall, the pyramids are symbols that help us to know their intelligence, their materials, their customs.
Conditions to Move to the State
- Strong centralization of power
- Increasing social stratification
- Cultural growth
- Division of labor
- Urban development
- Inequality in the distribution of wealth
Socialization
Socialization is the incorporation of aspects of society into the individual through family and culture.
Primary Socialization
Introduce the subject in the society within oneself, enter the norms of society, so all world cooperation, the primary school, television, the family. The child takes over the roles, attitudes, and values of people, and learns to accept and understand what they do, identify with them and with the world. There is a process of generalization, namely what is good and bad. It has a great emotional burden (loving relationships).
Secondary Socialization
Complex structure of society. Institutional worlds are internalized in contrast to the world based on primary socialization. Agents: labor institutions, political, religious. The individual may choose and choose the social sector where you want to enter, internalizing the rules that operate on it. Less emotional charge, no emotional or family treatment at school, street, or work. Knowledge renovated specific teaching techniques. During the maturing crisis of growth may exist, the subject recognizes that the world of the parents is not the only one there, but there are different prospects. It raises issues of personal coherence and identity. Secondary socialization does not destroy the past but builds from it.
Resocialization
Take a person and bring in a culture different from theirs. Processes: the dismantling of the previous view of reality and a new strong emotional identification. Usually realized in deep crisis, reasons: people growth processes, rapid social change, cultural clashes caused by emigration. For example, a sect. Brainwashed and change their rules of society.
Tradition
Traits characteristic of our culture, religion, which change over time as people change. We grow and develop. What we bring back, what we collect and develop by those who have preceded us. The traditions are due to a historical process by which previous generations are given a higher form of giving meaning to things, along with the power and possibilities.
Culture
Complex knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, or other skills and habits which man acquires as a member of society. It can also be defined as a system of shared symbols that provide meaning to our lives, a way of seeing the world and interpreting reality.
Subculture
Different cultures within our culture, which is given by age, social class, ethnicity. For example, the Jewish Community of Madrid, a group of immigrants living in a shelter.
Counterculture
Going against the established values in society, alternative societies.
Urban Tribes
Skins, punks. Young people concerned to discover an identity that neither the company nor the family are provided. There is an idol or leader and acquire a code of cultural expressions (clothing, music) that differentiate them from others.
Groups of Social Attacks
Criminal gangs, with violence and direct forms of attack on the established system.
Alternative Social Groups
To find a meaning to life through various means, such as household outputs, meetings, and social reject materialism.
Culture and Civilization
- Culture: Enclosed in a larger one that is civilization, has a partial sense.
- Civilization: Broader term that encompasses all other cultures. It is more global. For example, a native of Huelva can be defined as Huelva, Andalusia, Spanish, and Western Europe. That is, the broadest level of identification, in this case, Western.
Cultural Diversity
Ethnocentrism
Thinking that ethnicity, race, social group of each is the true, the only valid, and all others are wrong. Consequences: lack of understanding to understand who do not share their way of life. Radicalization of the sense of cohesion of the group itself, and makes them feel superior to others adopting a paternalistic attitude. Manifestations: xenophobia (hatred of foreigners), racism (fanatical patriotism), aporophobia (disdain for the poor).
Cultural Relativism
Indifference. Analyze the cultures from their own values and learn to be tolerant of different cultures. Limitations: Supports every culture is enclosed in its own values. It does not prevent:
- Racism: The best way to preserve the cultures are not mixed, each stay at home and live according to their culture.
- Separation: Indifference between cultures that are tolerated but have no interest in establishing contacts.
- Romantic attitude: Those who exaggerate the positive aspects of cultures other than your own. Leading to loss of critical and even to show indifference to human rights violations that may pose some customs (treatment discriminated against women). Hypocrisy.
- Cultural palsy: Defense caused by a static view of culture. Keep the traditions to preserve historical memory. Understand that cultures do not change.
Interculturalism
Meeting between different cultures on an equal footing. Objectives:
- To recognize pluralism.
- Understanding the complexity of the relationship between different cultures.
- Promoting dialogue between cultures.
- Assist in finding answers to global problems.
This is opposed to separation and marginalization and supports integration.