Sociology with regards to "Nurture" (Week 3) - Conan Chua

1. Summary

Sociology from 2 aspects of our existence; nature and nurture. Nature is made up of our biology and genetics, basically things that we, at the present state of scientific advancement, are unable to change at will. Nurture on the other hand is the environment in which our “Nature” exists in, the social aspects of our lives which, even though we are born into our first culture, may not determine future decisions to alter it.

Culture dictates the meaning we give to certain objects and symbols, and the norms, values and beliefs that we use to understand ourselves and the world around us. At the root of it all, the tool that we use to communicate with the world, is language. Language is always changing with the times; new words are created as we discover new things, and some words are removed as they lose their purpose.

Culture, as with many intangible ideas in life, is subjected to a certain human value system, where different types of culture are ranked, and some even completely disregarded. High Culture is the more common way that people think of culture, where culture equates to civilization and the creation of elite goods and activities usually related to art. Food, fashion, paintings, sculpture or music are just some of the aspects in which culture can dictate refinement. In this sense, something not as refined is deemed “uncultured”.

As the world evolves and our thoughts and ideas change, people begin to think of more encompassing and understanding ways of using the term “culture”. Culture starting become more inclusive as a worldview, where scholars realized that each and every culture had its value and was worth learning about. Even in this sense, there were some cultures that were seen as more advanced and developed.

Figure A. Perspectives and types of Culture

2. Something of interest to me

Reading about a Sociologist’s point of view regarding religion was quite an eye opener. To study religion as an influential factor in life, instead of evaluating its credibility, takes away many biases that would otherwise hinder religious studies. I think that given the correct environment and research aim, this method of knowledge acquisition can be successfully applied to many other study topics.

3. Discussion point

The definition of religion was also quite intriguing, especially that of “Sacred vs. Profane”. The sacred parts of life are usually what one associates with religion, and as society becomes more accepting of different perspectives, the idea that material objects could also become revered poses an interesting situation. This got me thinking; could the physical church be more influential than the religion it represents?