Understanding Cultural Diversity, Social Stratification, and Philosophical Concepts
Cultural Diversity
Cultural diversity encompasses a multitude of cultures, each with unique languages, customs, and traditions. When studying different cultures, it’s crucial to avoid two extreme viewpoints: ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.
Ethnocentrism involves judging other cultures based on one’s own cultural criteria. This can mask racist attitudes, particularly when cultural differences are mistaken for biological differences. Cultural relativism, on the other hand, suggests accepting any practice or custom if it’s part of an established tradition.
Tolerance is essential when interacting with members of other cultures, but it has limits rooted in the dignity of human beings.
Stratification and Social Change
In stratified societies, individuals’ roles are associated with varying degrees of power. Power is defined as the ability to exert one’s will and applies to the economy. Stratification models include:
- Corporate Slave: Even in the 21st century, some people live in conditions resembling slavery.
- Castes: The caste system, peculiar to India, is linked to beliefs about reincarnation. This system features groups between which relationships are restricted, and social mobility is limited.
- Estates: This division was typical of the Middle Ages. Medieval society was divided into three estates: nobility, clergy, and peasantry. Birth determined membership in one of these groups, granting privileges to the nobility and clergy while burdening the peasantry.
- Social Class: This system is more fluid and characteristic of capitalist societies, although birth still influences social status. Economic factors primarily determine class membership.
Average Age and Human Nature
According to Augustine of Hippo, human beings are formed by the union of body and soul. The body is finite and mortal, but it’s not a prison for the soul; rather, it’s an instrument the soul can use. The soul is immortal. Human intelligence is the father, the knowledge it has of itself is the son, and the love between them is the dove.
Aristotle’s Hylemorphism
The word “hylemorphism” comes from Greek, meaning matter (hyle) and form (morphe). For Aristotle, all material reality is composed of matter and a specific form. Matter cannot exist without form, and form cannot exist without matter. Form gives meaning and life to raw materials. The organizational form is the order in which components of matter are articulated. The soul gives life to the body, activating its functions. When matter and form imply each other, the human being is a substantial unity. The soul cannot exist without the body, and vice versa.
Aristotle distinguishes different types of soul based on different types of life: vegetative, sensitive (or animal), and rational (human). He argues that humans possess a rational soul, characterized by reasoning and language. Aristotle also differs from Plato in believing that human nature is realized in the tangible world, not in the eternal world of ideas.
Anatomy, Genetics, and Language
The human capacity for language primarily resides in the brain, specifically in the left hemisphere. Key brain regions include:
- Broca’s area: Damage to this area impairs the ability to speak.
- Wernicke’s area: This area relates to compressive ability.
- Arcuate fasciculus: Nerve fibers connecting Wernicke’s area.
- Motor cortex: Related to tongue muscle movement.
- Hypoglossal canal: Essential for precise tongue movement.
Platonic Dualism
Platonic dualism posits that humans are composed of two realities: body and soul. The body belongs to the sensible and mortal world, destined for death. The soul, a spiritual reality, belongs to the immortal world of ideas. Because of its imperfection, the soul is forced into the body, which acts as a prison, prompting reminiscence.