Concepts Culture Culture may be defined as the learned behaviors and ideas (beliefs, attitudes, values, and ideas) generally shared by the members of a society or other social groups (Ember and Ember, 2007, p.228). The British anthropologist Edward B. Tylor first used the term culture in its anthropological sense. He defines "Culture....is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society" (Tylor, 1871, p.1). The term culture is derived from 'colere' meaning to cultivate. Culture is the social norms and values we found in the society. It is the day to day livelihood activities. The things that we do, we eat what we wear, etc. can be termed as religion. The socio-economic aspect, our belief system can all term as a culture. Culture is a word for people's 'way of life', meaning the way groups do things. Different groups of people may have different cultures. A culture is passed on to the next generation by learning, whereas genetics are passed on by heredity. Culture is seen in people's writing, religion, music, clothes, cooking, and in what they do. The concept of culture is very complicated, and the word has many meanings. The word 'culture' is most commonly used in three ways. 1) Excellence of taste in the fine arts and humanities, also known as high culture. 2) An integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior.
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