Cultural Animal

Definition

Cultural animal is a term used to refer to human beings. The core idea is that human beings differ from other animals in the extent to which they create, sustain, and participate in culture.

There are hundreds of definitions of culture. However, there are several main themes in understanding what culture is. Culture refers to learned behavior rather than innate predispositions. Culture is not created or owned by a specific person but rather requires a group, usually a large group. (You cannot have culture by yourself.) Crucially, a culture must reproduce itself, so it includes some means by which it is passed down from one generation to another. Culture consists of shared ideas and shared ways of doing things. Thus, American culture includes shared values such ...