SOC101Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Ethnocentrism, Cultural Relativism
Document Summary
Culture refers : knowledge, language, values, customs and material objects that are passed from person to person and from generation to generation. Material culture: refers to physical creations that members make, use and share. Non-material culture: consists of the abstract human creations of society, that influence people"s behavior- language, beliefs, values, rules, family, patterns and political systems. Given the extent of differences in the world, people"s tendency to view their own way life as natural, it is no wonder that travellers often find themselves uneasy as they encounter as unfamilar culture (i. e culture shock) No way of life is natural to humanity even though most people around the world view their own behaviour that way. Language produces the cognition through which social reality is understood. Does not simply, describe reality, but also influences our prescription of reality. Lawyers, politicians etc. - all involve in shaping reality to fit their needs- ex. convincing people or juries.
