Change within a Culture

Regardless of which culture a person grows up in, there are cultural universals which are for the most part common to all cultures. Cultural universals are certain aspects of cultures which are found among peoples of all cultures throughout the world.

Cultural universals are ways that different cultures address biological human functions.

For example, cultures address courtship in different ways. In some cultures, courtship might be an arranged marriage. In others, it might be a form of dating. All cultures have courtship; it just takes different forms, depending on the culture.

Anthropologist George Murdock developed an extensive list of cultural universals. Some of these universals include: family, games, courtship, language, medicine, religion, and sexual restrictions. All cultures have examples of these universals, but HOW the universal is practiced will differ from culture to culture.

Cultural lagĀ is the process whereby one part of culture changes faster than another part to which it is related.

Cultural lag can lead to ethical dilemmas, particularly when it comes to scientific discoveries.

Today, we find ourselves collectively using the scientifically-developed euthanasia, congenital birth defect detection, and other scientific procedures that were made available before evaluating the ethics and values of the many complex issues surrounding these and other procedures.

Questions arise about whether or not we should do all of the things we are capable of doing.

For example, euthanasia is the act of either putting a person or animal to death painlessly or allowing that person or animal to die by withholding extreme medical treatment. American culture has generally accepted this for pets, but has been more hesitant to accept it for humans.

Consider the non-medical example of same-sex marriage:

There has been a shift in attitudes about same-sex marriage, causing many state governments and the federal government to change views on this issue. In 2000, zero states allowed same-sex marriages or civil unions, but by 2014, same-sex marriage is legal in 19 states and Washington DC. During the same time period, 31 states passed bans on gay marriage (some of which are currently being challenged in the courts).

Consider an example in technology. Technology is often changing faster that society can create new social rules:

As technology use becomes widespread, schools have had to develop new policies regarding proper use of technology. It becomes a challenge to limit cell phone use, when a student may be able to utilize the tools on the phone in a productive way. These rules often change from year to year as new technology is developed or discovered. Culture lag can occur when the school is unable to change policies fast enough to meet these changes.

As you see, there is a great deal of importance to stuyding culture and cultural change. Your culture plays an enormous role in the person which you have become. Your culture will continue to have a major impact for the remainder of your life. In the next Unit, you're going to learn about the process of becoming fully functioning human beings. This process is called socialization.

 

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