Question- Explain and differentiate between Culture and Civilization.

Answer -

"Culture is what we are, civilization is what we have."

Meaning of Culture

(i) Culture is “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities acquired by man as a member of society.” — Tylor

(ii) Culture is “the handiwork of man and the medium through which he achieves his ends.” — Malinowski

(iii) Culture is “an organized body of conventional understanding manifest in art and artifact, which, persisting through tradition, characterizes a human group.” — Redfield

(iv) Culture is “the quintessence of all natural goods of the world and of those gifts and qualities which, while belonging to man, lie beyond the immediate sphere of his needs and wants.” — Joseph Pieper

The culture in its simplest form refers to the ideas, customs, and social behavior of particular people or society. Moreover, it denotes the arts, events, actions, and objects that clearly show or represent something abstract or theoretical of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively. We also relate culture to the attitudes and behavior characteristic of a specific social group, whether it is hip-hop culture or drug culture. In fact, a cultured person is one who is characterized by refined taste, manners, and good education. All these attributes of culture imply that what we are is what our culture is. We reflect culture.

Characteristics of Culture

(i) Culture is an acquired quality: Culture is not innate. Traits learned through socialization, habits, and thoughts are what is called culture. Culture is learned. Any behavior that is socially acquired is called learned behavior.

(ii) Culture is social, not an individual heritage of man : It is inclusive of the expectations of the members of the groups. It is a social product that is shared by most members of the group.

(iii) Culture is idealistic : Culture embodies the ideas and norms of a group. It is a sum total of the ideal patterns and norms of behavior of a group. It is the manifestation of the human mind in the course of history.

(iv) Culture is the total social heritage: Culture is linked with the past. The past endures because it lives in culture. It is passed from one generation to another through traditions and customs.

(v) Culture fulfills some needs : Culture fulfills those ethical and social needs of the groups which are ends in themselves.

(vi) Culture is an integrated system : Culture possesses an order and system. Its various parts are integrated with each other and any new element which is introduced is also integrated.

(vii) Language is the chief vehicle of culture : Man lives not only in the present but also in the past and future. This he is enabled to do because he possesses language which transmits to him what was learnt in the past and enables him to transmit the accumulated wisdom.

(viii) Culture evolves into more complex forms through division of labour which develops special skills and increases the interdependence of society’s members.

Meaning of Civilization

The word civilization came from the Latin adjective civil, a reference to citizen. Citizen willingly being themselves together Political, Social, economic and religious organizations they merge together that is in the interests of larger Community. Over the time the word civilization has come to imply something beyond Organization it refers to particular shared way of thinking about the world as well as a reflection on that world in art literature drama and a host of other cultural happenings. Its original meaning is the manner or condition in which men live together as citizens. A Civilization is a complex society or culture group characterized by dependence on agriculture, long distance trade, state form of Government, occupational specialization urbanism and class stratification. Along with this core elements, civilization is often marked by combination of a number of secondary elements, including a developed transportation system, writing, standards of measurement, formal legal system, great art style, monumental architecture, the mathematics sophisticated metallurgy, and astronomy.

A civilization is a society in an advanced state of social development (e.g., with complex legal and political and religious organizations). In short, civilization is and advance state of human society the sum of cultures, science, industry, and government. So, you can have several cultures in one civilization.

Definition of Civilization

An advanced state of intellectual, cultural and material development in human society marked by progress in the arts and sciences, that extensive use of record keeping, including writing and the appearance complex political and social institutions. According to Albert Schweitzern “It is the sum total of all progress made by man every sphere of action and from every point of view in so far as the progress helps towards the spiritual perfecting of individuals as the of all Progress” According to Oxford English Dictionary civilization is “the action or process of civilizing or of being civilized, developed or advanced state of human society.”

Characteristics of Civilization

1. Civilization distinguished by traits Civilization have been distinguished by their means of subsistence, types of livelihoods, settlement Patterns, forms of government, social stratification, economic systems, literacy and other cultural traits.

2. All human Civilizations have depended on agriculture for subsistence. Growing food in farms results in a surplus of food, particularly when people use intensive agricultural techniques such as irrigation and crop rotation. A surplus of food permits the people to do things besides produce food for a living and also results in a division of labour and a more diverse range of human activity.

3. Different Settlement Patterns Civilizations have distinctly different settlement patterns from other societies.

4. Complex Political Structure Compared with other societies civilizations have moved to a complex political structure namely the State. There is a greater difference among the social classes. The ruling class, normally concentrated in the cities, has control over much of the surplus and exercises through the actions of a government or bureaucracy.

5. Display more complex patterns of ownership. Living in one place allows people to accumulate more personal possessions than nomadic people. Some people also acquire landed property or private ownership of the land.

6. Development of Writing, developed first by people in Sumer, is considered a hallmark of civilization. Traders and bureaucrats relied on writing to keep accurate records. Like money, writing was necessitated by the size of the population of a city and the complexity of its commerce among people who did not personally acquire early records.

Benefits of Civilization

1. Administrative system.
2. Various law
3. Protection from chaos
4. Protection from hunger, shelter, etc.
5. Sewage system.
6. Technological invention
7. Innovation, learning, etc.
8. People working towards a common goal to survive.
9. People are not independent, so that everyone works, forming an economy, making the group self-sufficient.
10. People can work together to solve problems and create new things.

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