Concept Of Culture

Study cultural anthropology perspective suggests that there are cultural concepts appear diverse, which according to Kluchohn there are about 260 cultural concept. The concept of cultural diversity among anthropologists as if indicating the absence of a shared understanding or basic idea is to hold together. This assumption seems not entirely true, given the cultural issues are very complex, and businesses establish a shared understanding or thinking is only one problem. It is based on the fact that culture is phenomenal, because culture appears as a colorful mosaic, in accordance with the community as a supporter of cultural diversity. When the cultures studied scientifically, it looks phenomenal cultural properties related to human nature as social beings. The results of field research anthropologists on culture has given rise to various views and conclusions that enrich the cultural development of the theory.Ward Goodenough (Suparlan, 1983:193) argues that in anthropology there are two different perspectives in viewing the concept of culture. First, culture is seen as patterns of behavior (patterns for behavior), the culture is seen as ideas, concepts, and knowledge embodied in and give the style and direction to behavior. Second, culture is seen as patterns of behavior (patterns of behavior), which is seen as a cultural behavior (see Figure 1). Different perspectives lead to different theoretical and methodological issues.One school of cultural theory, with some branches of the flow, such as cognitive and symbolic, and the most influential in anthropological theory is idealism. Ward Goodenough, as a character stream pengemuka cognitive anthropology, see culture as a system consisting of knowledge, beliefs, and values, which exist in the minds of individuals in society.The concept of culture can be described in some sense. First, culture is in the order of reality or the reality of the ideational. Second, culture is used as supporters in the orientation process, transaction, meetings, formulation of ideas, classification, and interpretation of real social behavior in society. Thirdly, culture is a guideline and guidance for individual members of the public in appropriate social behavior as well as an interpreter for the behavior of other individuals. Therefore, culture is the whole of human knowledge as a social being used to understand and interpret the experience and the environment (natural, social, and cultural), as well as a guideline for the realization of behavior. Culture is a control mechanism for human behavior.For Clifford Geertz (1994:2-3 Kalangie), culture is a system of symbolic meaning, namely as: (1) a pattern of meanings that are historically transmitted, embodied in symbols, and (2) a system of concepts inherited concepts, expressed in symbolic forms by which human beings communicate, preserve, and develop their knowledge of life and attitudes towards life. As with language, culture is a semiotic system that contains symbols, and which serves to communicate and suggest meanings of thoughts between individuals. Therefore, for Geertz, culture is a object, actions, or events in the community is phenomenal, and that can be observed, felt, and understood.In view of Keesing (1981:48), the main differences between Geertz and Goodenough about the culture, are: to Geertz, symbols and cultural meanings in the minds of individuals, which is jointly owned by all actors as a public reality; whereas for Goodenough, symbols and cultural meanings in the mind of individuals, as a personal reality.For Colleta (1987:2), culture is a patterned behavior that exist in certain communities, whose members have the same meaning and the same symbols to communicate that meaning. Meanings held in common is functionally manifested through institutions or political structures, economic, religious, and social. For Suparlan (1986:107), culture is the knowledge that belongs to all human beings as social creatures, which contains the knowledge models, which are selectively used by the proponents or perpetrators to understand and interpret the environment (physical / natural, social, and cultural ) faced and to encourage and create the need for action. The device includes a model of knowledge: knowledge, belief / beliefs, values ​​and norms, all of which exist in human thought or cognition. The third definition of culture Geertz, Colleta, and Suparlan, as the adherents of this idealism, can develop a model of the relationship of culture and behavior as in Figure 1.The concept of culture described above do not assume that all societies have cultural unity and to be understood and integrated into the handle of behaving. Instead, in every community disintegration are common problems, controversies, and cultural mismatch, all of which is a common reality. These circumstances indicate a problem regarding the similarities and differences between cultures (relations with other cultures) and intra-cultural (the culture of their own relationship).Each culture is a guideline, as well as the design of a comprehensive benchmark for public life. Therefore, the culture tends to be traditional, in a sense tends to be the traditions that are not easily changed. If culture is constantly evolving, the guidelines also changed people's lives, and consequently the life of society will be chaotic. However, culture also tends to be dynamic and always changing to follow the changes in the environmental elements of life in society, namely the natural / physical, social, and cultural.