What is culture?

Often, we find people objecting to the latest gossip or some event on television, shaking their heads and saying, “This kind of behavior is not part of our culture.” But if people are doing it, isn’t it part of the culture?

Is culture simply a collection of everyone’s behavior and rituals in a particular community? Or is it the accepted and norm of each community? Is it perhaps only the respected and prized behavior and rituals? Is it the behaviors and rituals of the founding members of that community? Does it grow and change as the community evolves?

Can culture be defined? What is our culture? What is Pakistani culture? What is American culture? What is British Culture? What is Canadian culture? What is Muslim culture?

Some dictionary definitions presented to help the discussion (though they are certainly only a starting point, as the topic is more complex):

From the Oxford English Dictionary
culture
c. The philosophy, practices, and attitudes of an institution, business, or other organization. Cf. corporate culture n. at CORPORATE adj. and adv. Additions

From Dictionary.com*
**cul·ture **
3. a particular form or stage of civilization, as that of a certain nation or period: Greek culture.
5. the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group: the youth culture; the drug culture.
6. Anthropology. the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another.

see wat people dont understand is cultural change,no society can survive if there is no mobilty,cultural change is difficult to realise because it an ongoin process thats y they say its not part of our culture without realising thats its important to change n even if you dont like it people will adapt new ways.

Re: What is culture?

So culture is dynamic. Should we accept the change whole-heartedly? Is then pretty much anything part of a culture? Is there any point then in defining and distinguishing cultures?

Re: What is culture?

change could be good or bad and views of that change vary from person to person. a few changes we can have soem absolute statement that they were good or bad but i think majority can be argued for from either side.

Re: What is culture?

one makes a habit, two or more will make a culture.

culture essentially is a complex beliefs, practices, individual and collective values, traditions, customs, and popular opinions or way of doing things in a social establishment.

but, each and every person can create her/his own culture and inspire with it.

the trick is to be not on the fault lines of selfish and narcissistic behaviors, but in sync with the morality of a well-reasoned social living within a group of conscientious people, such as a family, community or a nation and even as world citizenry.