1. Summary
This article explains us about what culture is. It starting with an explanation about high culture. It regards other cultures as uncultured. It only thinks that their culture is liberal.
This article also explaining the changing concept of culture. According to the passage, anthropologists changed the concept of culture end of the 19th century, eventually, it brought the concept of objects, symbols, symbols and beliefs, and the concepts, values, and beliefs that pervade society. For clear understanding the concept of culture, abstraction is important. In addition, artificial categorization is also important. Subculture is a culture that is actively participated and shared by ethnic minorities within a broad culture. Ethnocentrism looks the world from the perspective of its own culture. Cultural relativism is that the concept of culture and values can't be fully understood entirely in other languages. Culture can do certain functions within a society. For example, the maintenance of order as a result of shared understandings and meanings. It can have utilitarian function, however, it can also function that made and support social inequalities.
Therefore, cultures contain a variety of aspects, which involve a variety of aspects that are not limited to norms values, beliefs, or expressive symbols. Cultures can include anything that can give meaning or can be given meaning to others.
2. What is interesting
I was interested in view of how to understanding other cultures. It was differ in the way they are looking at other cultures. It was based on their view point. For instance, ethnocentrism looks the world from the perspective of their own culture. So they may be hard to understand about different cultures and may be selfish. And cultural relativism is cultural concepts and values can not be fully understood or translated in other languages. I really agree about the position of cultural relativism. For example, Korean novels or poetry's expression are fully understood and translated in Korean, but other languages can not revive the sounds or feelings of the Korean language.
3. Discussion point
Every countries have their own cultures and lifestyle. And later, you will be able to face someone different from what you usually have. Then, you should respect their culture as their culture and never neglect or belittle it. We must look at other cultures in neutral rather than in our culture's side.
I agree with your idea. I think people should look another culture on cultural relativism perspective while being aware of radical universalism. Because there is a big difference between word 'different' and 'wrong'. The reason I said we should watch over radical universalism is that cultural relativism easily can change into radical universalism which would say culture is irrelevant to the universal moral rules.
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