Basic elements of culture. Functions of culture

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:40

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 refers to all the achievements of mankind in spiritual, industrial or social terms.

The study of the concept of "culture" by university students

Sociology and cultural studies are studied by students of many speci alties as general disciplines. Particular attention is paid to these sciences in the humanities:

• future psychologists study sociology as the doctrine of a "multiple" society, not a single individual;
• literature teachers are more busy with the cultural component, the history of the development of the language and ethnography;
• historians consider the material components of culture, that is, household items of ancestors, architecture characteristic of different eras, the customs of the people in the process of historicaldevelopment and so on;
• even law students study sociology and the intangible elements of culture, namely institutions, norms, values and beliefs.

Thus, almost all students of not only humanitarian, but also technical faculties face the task “Characterize the main elements of culture” in classes in cultural studies, business ethics, performance psychology or sociology.

Introduction: what is culture and how does it relate to other sciences

Culture is a very ambiguous concept, which still does not have a single clear definition. The main 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 attitude to art. In a simplified sense, culture can be called common habits and customs, traditions, language and ideas of people living in the same area and in the same historical period.

The concept includes a set 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. It is she who is one of the main properties that are inherent in any stable association of people, a permanent group, whether it be a family, a tribal community, a clan, an urban and rural settlement, a state, a union.

Cultureis the subject of study not only cultural studies. The main 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.

Objectives of culture: vector development, socialization, formation of the socio-cultural environment

To understand 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 bind individuals into a single humanity, to ensure communication and continuity of generations. Each function is designed to solve a specific problem, but all of them can be reduced to three super-tasks of culture:

1. Vector development of mankind. Culture determines the values, directions and goals of the further development of human society in order to improve the created material and spiritual world.
2. Socialization of an individual in a society, a particular social group. Culture provides social organization, as already mentioned, binds people into a single humanity or other small social group (family, labor collective, nation).
3. Formation of the socio-cultural environment and creation of means for the best implementation and reflection of the ongoing cultural process. It means the creationmaterial and spiritual means, values and concepts, conditions, which are then included in the cultural process.

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:

1. Educational and educational function. Culture makes a person a personality, because it is in the process of socialization that an individual becomes a full member of society. Socialization also includes the process of mastering the norms of behavior, language, symbols and values, customs and traditions of their people. The culture of the development of an individual is associated with erudition, the level of familiarization with cultural heritage, understanding of works of art, creativity, accuracy, courtesy, fluency in native and foreign languages, self-control, high morality.
2. Integrative and disintegrative functions. They determine what culture creates in people who make up a particular group, a sense of community, belonging to one nation, religion, people, and so on. Culture provides integrity, but also, uniting members of one group, separates them from another community. As a result, cultural conflicts can arise - this is how culture also performs a disintegrative function.
3. Regulating function. Values, norms and ideals formulate the behavior of the individual in society. Culture defines the limits within which one can and mustact a person, regulates behavior in the family, at work, in the school team and so on.
4. The function of broadcasting social experience. Information, or the function of historical continuity, allows you to transfer certain social experience from generation to generation. Human society, apart from culture, has no other mechanisms for concentrating and transferring accumulated experience. That is why it is called the social memory of humanity.
5. Cognitive or epistemological function. Culture concentrates the best social experience of many generations and accumulates the richest knowledge, which creates unique opportunities for learning and mastering.
6. 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 normative systems, such as temper and morality.
7. Sign function of culture. Culture is a certain system of signs, without studying which it is not possible to master cultural values. Language (also a system of signs), for example, is a means of interaction between people and is the most important means of mastering national culture. To learn the world of painting, music and theater allow specific sign systems.
8. Holistic, or axiological, function. Culture forms value needs, acts as a factor that allows you to determine the culture of a person.
9. Social functions: integration, organization and regulation of jointactivities of people, provision of livelihoods (knowledge, accumulation of experience, and so on), regulation of certain spheres of life.
10. Adaptive function. Culture ensures the adaptation of people to the environment and is a necessary condition for the evolution and development of human society.

Thus, the cultural system is not only diverse, but also extremely mobile.

Types and types of culture: overview and enumeration

Culture has a rather complex structure. The section of the science of cultural studies 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, household, communicative, behavioral, religious, and so on.

Artistic solves the problem of sensual reflection of being in images. The central place in this kind of culture is occupied by the art itself, that is, literature, painting, architecture, music, dance, cinema, circus.

Household defines traditional production and home life, crafts, folk crafts, national costume, rituals, traditions and beliefs, applied arts and so on. This type of culture is very close to ethnic.

Economic culture and its elements

Economic culture is a respectful attitude to private property and commercial success, the creation and development of a suitable social environment for entrepreneurship, a system of values ineconomic (entrepreneurial, working) activity. What are the main elements of economic culture? Everything that in one way or another is connected with human economic activity and correlates with culture. So, the main elements of economic culture are certain knowledge and practical skills, ways of organizing economic activity and the norms that regulate relations, the economic orientation of the individual.

Political culture, its characteristics and elements

Under the political culture understand the qualitative characteristics of the political life of society in a broad sense, or a set of ideas of a particular group about politics. Political culture determines the "rules of the game" in the political sphere, sets certain limits, and contributes to the formation of basic types of behavior. The main elements of political culture are political values, generally accepted assessments of the state and prospects of the political system, accumulated experience in this area, conviction 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 social culture of the organization. This term refers to the norms, values and rules adopted by the majority of members of an organization or enterprise. Its outward manifestationcalled organizational behavior. The main elements of organizational culture are the rules that the employees of the organization adhere to, corporate values, symbols. Also elements are the dress code, established standards of service or product quality, moral standards.

Moral and spiritual culture

Signs and symbols, rules of behavior in society, values, habits and customs are all elements of culture. Also elements are spiritual and social values, works of art. All of these individual components can be classified in different ways.

In the most general sense, the main elements of culture are the material and spiritual components. Material identifies the material (material) side of any cultural activity or process. The 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 spiritual culture include a set of certain ideas and ideas that reflect the existing reality, the ideals and values of mankind, the creative, intellectual, aesthetic and emotional activity of people, its results (spiritual values). The components of spiritual culture are values, rules, habits, manners, customs and traditions.

Indicative of spiritualculture 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 subject, behavioral and verbal form.

Summary of the main elements of culture

The concept of culture, the main elements of culture, its types and types constitute the generality, the integrity of this concept itself. Its morphology, that is, its structural elements as a system, is even a separate, rather extensive section of cultural studies. The study of all diversity is carried out on the basis of 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:

1. Signs and symbols, that is, objects that serve to designate other objects.
2. Language as a class of sign systems and as a separate sign system used by a specific group of people.
3. Social values, that is, those preferences that are given priority by various social groups.
4. The rules that govern the behavior of group members set the framework in accordance with values.
5. Habits as permanent patterns of behavior.
6. Habits based manners.
7. Etiquette as a socially accepted system of rules of conduct that is inherent in individual individuals.
8. Customs, that is, the traditional order of behavior inherent in the broad masses.
9. Traditions passed down from generation to generationgeneration.
10. Rituals or ceremonies as a set of collective actions that embody certain ideas, norms and values, ideas.
11. Religion as a way of understanding and knowing the world and so on.

The main elements of culture are considered in the aspect that is associated with the functioning of society as a whole, as well as in connection 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 modern and traditional societies, in every social culture.

Which basic elements of culture are the most sustainable? Language, traditions and rituals, social values, as well as certain norms are distinguished by constancy. These basic elements of culture distinguish one social group from another, unite members of the same family, collective, tribal, urban or rural community, state, union of states, and so on.