Culture

Culture

Integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that is both a

result of and integral to humankind's capacity for learning and transmitting

knowledge to succeeding generations.


Culture thus consists of language, ideas, beliefs, customs, taboos, codes,

institutions, tools, techniques, works of art, rituals, ceremonies, and symbols. It

has played a crucial role in human evolution, allowing human beings to adapt the

environment to their own purposes rather than depend solely on natural selection

to achieve adaptive success. Every human society has its own particular culture,

or sociocultural system. Variation among cultures is attributable to such factors

as differing physical habitats and resources; the range of possiblities inherent in

areas such as language, ritual, and social organization; and historical

phenomena such as the development of links to other cultures. An individual's

attitudes, values, idea...