Ruth Benedict's anthropological book, Patterns of Culture explores the dualism of culture and personality. Benedict studies different cultures such as the Zuni tribe and the Dobu Indians. Each culture she finds is so different and distinctive in relation to the norm of our society. Each difference is what makes it unique. Benedict compares the likenesses of culture and individuality, "A culture, like an individual, is a more or less consistent pattern of thought or action" (46), but note, they are not the same by use of the word, "like." Benedict is saying that figuratively, cultures are like personalities. Culture and individuality are intertwined and dependent upon each other for survival. The Zuni's, according to Benedict, are …show more content…
According to Benedict, it is not important to stress what sets culture and individual apart. It is important to concentrate on what it is that brings them together, "It is always a give-and-take. The problem of the individual is not clarified by stressing the antagonism between culture and the individual, but by stressing their mutual reinforcement" (253).
It is the differences between culture and individuality that allow for a healthy friction to occur. In the process of give-and-take, culture is fed into the individual at a very early age and as the child grows he is able to have feedback into culture (either by adapting or rebelling). When Benedict says that cultures are like personalities she means this figuratively. Benedict seems to blend individuality and culture in "The Individual and Culture." Perhaps what Benedict means is that individuality and culture work so closely that they can be confused as the same. "His culture provides the raw material of which the individual makes his life. If it is meagre, the individual suffers; if it is rich, the individual has a chance to rise to his opportunity" (252).
Benedict clarifies perfectly in this statement. Culture acts as the starting point for an individual. If an individual is blessed with the riches of a particular culture, then they are that much better off. However, if a person is not blessed with the riches of their culture, they are at a disadvantage and must work
Culture builds up and shapes how people view the world and the people in it. It determines how we judge and view the way others act, look, and even how they think. In the texts “Where worlds collide”, “An Indian Father’s Plea”, and “Two Kinds”, it is shown that a person’s views of others and the world are solely determined by their culture.
Take a moment to think about the following question: what is culture? Culture is everything a person does, believes in, creates, came from, and has done. It is also so much more than this simple list, but this is a good idea of what it generally is. Culture affects a lot of things as well. It can affect what you do, how you do certain things, and how you see things comparison to others. Culture is a major factor in how people perceive the world and those around them. Everybody sees the world differently through their cultural glasses. Some people see things as foreign and confusing, while others see the same things as daily life. The idea of different cultural viewpoints is shown in many articles throughout the years. Each of these stories
Culture incorporates many different aspects of life such as religion, food, language, ethnicity, and many more. All of these aspects influence the way a person lives and acts. Although culture provides a positive influence by bestowing self worth, it could also negatively affect someone’s life. Culture affects a person in many ways by creating internal and external conflict, which influences the way others view them and therefore affects their actions and how they feel about themselves.
Culture plays a paramount role in our lives. “It is what shapes who we are and how we view the world” (Thorp & Sanchez, 1998,
Culture is one of the most relevant elements that can define not only a society but also a country’s cumulative beliefs and system. Often noted as the origins of a country, culture is definitive in the sense that it harbors all the elements that can provide justification on the traditions and norms set by the society for its members. More often than not, the society members follow norms in order to create a harmonious community, and the beliefs and the traditions serve as the poles or grounding rules for each member to follow. Culture is very dynamic in the way that it can change over a variety of foreign influences but what is permanent about it is that original elements about it often lingers with the influences, therefore making it multi-faceted and broad. More importantly, culture serves as an individual and unique trait each society has, and therefore sets it apart from other countries and other societies.
Culture and personality work together in unison in a process of giving-and-taking. According to Benedict, it is not important to stress what sets culture and individual apart. It is important to concentrate on what it is that brings them together, “It is always a give-and-take. The problem of the individual is not
In Elise Trumbull and Maria Pacheco’s essay “What is Culture Identity?” it explains how culture has a lot to do with the way someone views other. “Nonetheless, one’s beliefs and action; they have emerged from the ways one’s own group has dealt with and interpreted the particular conditions it has faced” (Trumbull 10). With this text it is basically saying that as a person the choices that are made are based on culture. People stick to how others from their culture have deal with a similar choice. “When we encounter a culture that is different from our own, one of the things we are faced with is a set of beliefs that manifest themselves in behaviors that differ from our own” (Trumbull 01). This quote gives a real world example where a different person with different thoughts, and behaviors are shown up when with someone completely different from their own culture. Ones behaviors are
In this paper I will begin by defining personal culture and national culture. After, I will then elaborate my own personal and national culture. I will continue to talk about the subject with the person that I have chosen for my cultural group, my mother, and I will identify her personal and national culture. Lastly, I will talk about my own personality and how it has a connection with my own natural culture; knowing this is important, it lets us know who we are, and how we act with people who are from different cultures.
In this paper, I’m going to discuss the argument that the famous American anthropologist, Ruth Benedict, has put forth regarding ‘ethical relativism’. Ethical relativism is the theory that holds that morality is relative to the norms and values of one's culture or society. That is, whether an action is classified as right or wrong depends on the moral norms of the society in which it is practiced. The same action may be morally right in one society but be morally wrong in another. For the ethical relativist, there are no universal moral standards -- standards that can be universally applied to
Some may ask what it means to be a part of a specific culture. It may be believed that it merely means to share the same qualities of race, language, and social beliefs. What is not really known are the rise of expectations to fill, repressed wants and needs, or even the binding religious beliefs. A person must begin to recognize the holdings a culture may have on them and how it affects their free will as an individual.
Culture is universal and inescapable. Its expressed through different beliefs and ideas. It follows someone through their ethnicity and communities. The cultural impact is inevitable and permanent. Someone’s culture has a significant impact on the way they view the world and others. This influence is communicated through the individual's upbringing, their culture, as well as their current environment. Situations are perceived differently by those with different values. The fairly full extent of one’s cultural impact is clear.
In school, I had to understand differences and prevent misunderstanding in order to work with others effectively. “Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner’s Seven dimension of Culture” helps me to relate and explore my own situation. From my experience, I have realized that people differ from one another in specific ways; this is all due to the fact that we have our own beliefs and values due to different factors. When trying to distinguish people from different cultures, I automatically consider the seven
Several factors affect the formation of one’s culture, Palispis, E. (2007) quoted Sir Edward Tylor, “Culture… refers to that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as member of society.” (Palispis, E., 2007) In this context culture is something we acquire from the people we have lived with since we were born, it is not something a person can learn overnight nor can be disposed effortlessly.
Fundamental beliefs surrounding the very idea of culture separate the cross-cultural and sociocultural approach, which may seem to suggest incompatibility. Sociocultural psychological understanding of culture is that it employs a “mutually constitutive” or “cyclic model”. (Eom & Kim, 2014) The idea of culture in the sociocultural model is that culture influences people on a
As a baby we aren’t born with culture. The people who are responsible for our socialization are our parents and others who we might associate with…teachers, friends, etc. As a very small child we learn about the culture we were born in as well as our gender roles. Depending on some cultures women for example are taught that they will be homemakers and do a large share of work. In my culture I learned my future role which would be a daughter, friend, sister, a wife in the future possibly, and then maybe a mother. This is also the time we learn what society expects of us; the norms per say. This is also the time in our lives that our personality forms. While our personality has much to do with our upbringing and genes it also is created by the culture we are in. “Research in geographical sciences has shown regional variation on a number of indicators—including public