our language,social values and norms, traditions, religions, music, celebrations etc. are attributed to our culture.We know that every person has a unique personality. An individual’s personality is a set of relatively permanent and stable traits. Our personality influences the way we act and interact with others. When we describe someone as warm, open, relaxed, or conservative, we’re describing personality traits. An organization too has a personality, which we call its culture. Temples, monasteries, old palaces and buildings, musical instruments, dances, songs etc. also refer to our cultural heritages. They are associated with our life, identification and dignity.
The simplest way to think about culture is to think about the distinction between nature (our biology and genetics) and nurture (our environment and surroundings that also shape our identities). Because of our biology and genetics, we have a particular form and we have certain abilities. But our biological nature does not exclusively determine who we are. For that, we need culture. Culture is the non-biological or social aspects of human life, basically anything that is learned by humans is part of culture.
The simplest way to think about culture is to think about the distinction between nature (our biology and genetics) and nurture (our environment and surroundings that also shape our identities). Because of our biology and genetics, we have a particular form and we have certain abilities. But our biological nature does not exclusively determine who we are. For that, we need culture. Culture is the non-biological or social aspects of human life, basically anything that is learned by humans is part of culture.
To summarize, culture encompasses objects and symbols, the meaning given to those objects and symbols, and the norms, values, and beliefs that pervade social life. "The definition is understood to include two elements - that which differentiates one group or society from others and the concept of acquired or learned behavior". Keep in mind that culture is not necessarily monolithic in a given society. As is the case with most elements of social life, culture is relatively stable (thus it is functional in the structural-functionalist sense) but at the same time contested (in the conflict sense). Culture is in flux, especially in our modern world in which different cultures are in constant contact with each other.
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