The Meaning And Significance Of Culture

Culture is simply an umbrella phrase that cover the shared social behaviors and norms observed in various human cultures, and the beliefs, traditions, arts, laws, skills, customs, intellectual capital, and knowledge of the people in these communities. These shared behaviors and norms are reflected in different industries, social structures, and even sub-cultures. The diversity of a culture on the conscious or unconscious level is what gives it its unique identity. A unique culture is one in which practices and rituals from one culture can be found in other cultures, as is the case with Eastern and Western cultures. Therefore, if we want to compare two cultures, we have to be sure to look at both the conscious and unconscious forms of that culture – the cultural values.

In most cases, there are two forms of culture: conscious and unconscious. For instance, when comparing Chinese culture with that of Europe, one must understand that unlike in the past when Europeans were a seafaring race with seafarers as their only culture, Chinese culture is more of a village-based culture. This has led to the creation of a multiplicity of cultures, each localized to a specific region of China. For instance, in China, you will find Szechuan, Hunan, Tibet, Khmer, Manchuria, and several other regions. It has led to the formation of different norms and traditions connected to these different cultures.

Culture also encompasses beliefs and traditions. People in different cultures have different beliefs and value systems about the worth of things. Because of this, some cultures wear many symbols as adornments, while others value certain symbols and do not wear them at all. However, just because a culture does not value a certain symbol or value does not mean that it does not have any symbol in its culture. For instance, in many Native American cultures, there are many forms of body art including tattooing and body piercing. Thus, the conclusion that can be drawn is that culture is more complex than one may at first suspect.