-
II. The properties of
culture:
1.
Culture is a
way of thinking, a way of feeling and a way of
believing.
This
property
of
culture
demonstrates
itself
in
dimensions
like
thinking
patterns,
world
views,
beliefs,
attitudes
as
well
as
cultural
values.
As
you
may
probably
know,
the
cultural
differences in these areas are vast.
For instance,
Towards
the
relationship
between
man
and
nature,
the
Chinese tend to believe in the
philosophical principle that man
and
the universe form a unified whole whereas the
Westerners
tend to adopt an
attitude that man dominates over nature.
Towards
the
human
relationship
,
the
Chinese
tend
to
value
more
of
old
friendship
while people
in
the
West
tend
to
value more new
friendship. The Chinese tend to believe that the
older the better while the Westerners
tend to believe the newer
the better.
Towards the relationship between the
old and the young,
the
Chinese tend to respect the old and love the
young.
Towards
the
disputes
between
different
countries,
the
Chinese tend to adopt an attitude that
peace is most valued of all
things.
Towards collectivism and
individualism,
the Chinese tend
to value more collectivism while the
people in the West tend to
value more
individualism.
2.
Culture is
learned by individuals as a result of belonging
to
some
particular
group,
and
it
constitutes
that
part
of
learned
behavior
which
is
shared
with
others.
It
is
our
social legacy, as
contrasted with our organic or biological
< br>heredity
(
生物遗传
)
.
a)
Culture
is
learned
rather
than
innate,
and
therefore
it
is
knowledge.
b)
It is social
knowledge rather than biological heredity. We
are
not
born
with
it.
Our
parents
do
not
pass
it
onto
us