People learn some information about the other persons with the help of comparing and contrasting their features, behaviors, and appearances. Moreover, people are inclined to pay attention to the definite norms, values, and beliefs followed by one person but not followed by the other. The explanation to the situation is in the field of the people’s culture which can be diverse because of several ethnicities and cultural groups.
Focusing on differences in cultures, people discuss the phenomenon of cultural diversity. However, in spite of all the racial, ethnic, and cultural differences, people from different societies are inclined to share principles, traditions, and notions which are adopted globally and which unite all the people in one nation. These principles and notions are known as cultural universals.
Thus, the cultural anthropology and the discussion of the people’s culture as the phenomenon are based on the unity of such notions as cultural diversity and universality. In spite of their race or ethnicity, all people have the same biological characteristics which can affect their behaviors and visions. That is why the behavior of different persons can be similar or based on the same principles.
Thus, these characteristics can even influence the social interactions of people. From this point, all the societies have the age grading, gender division, and the customs associated with marriage and family. There are a lot of traditions and visions which are discussed as cultural universals because they accentuate the unity of the nations in spite of their people’s race and ethnicity.
The custom to give people personal names, definite religious rituals, and certain organization are typical for different societies (Haviland). Thus, cultural universals are based on humans’ natural characteristics and the necessity to organize their life. However, the accents on definite religious rituals and certain social organizations which are various in different societies emphasize the idea of cultural diversity.
Cultural universals depend on the general characteristics of people as human beings living in society and on the developed cultural patterns and stereotypes. The notion of cultural diversity accentuates the idea that all the cultures with references to ethnicities are different because people belonging to the definite ethnic group share concrete ideas, beliefs, and norms which can seem abnormal and strange to the members of the other ethnic communities.
It is possible to discuss and evaluate different cultural norms and beliefs basing on two approaches which are ethnocentrism and cultural relativism (Park). However, these two approaches cannot reflect the unity of the cultural diversity and cultural universality to present the complete vision of the people’s culture as the anthropological phenomenon because these approaches are based on the opposite extremes.
Culture is a complex phenomenon which should be discussed from both perspectives. According to Scupin and DeCorse, “anthropologists have discovered that culture can be both diverse and universal. The challenge for anthropology is to understand the basis of both this diversity and this universality” (Scupin and DeCorse 240).
Thus, it is possible to speak about the relation of cultural diversity and cultural universals as the key aspects to analyze the nature of the human culture. Each phenomenon should be discussed from many perspectives to make conclusions about its nature. The people’s culture is diverse, but it is based on definite universals. That is why the notions of cultural diversity and universality should be examined in their unity.
Works Cited
Haviland, William. Anthropology. USA: Harcourt College Publishers, 2000. Print.
Park, Michael. Introducing Anthropology: An Integrated Approach. USA: McGraw-Hill, 2003. Print.
Scupin, Raymond, and Christopher DeCorse. Anthropology: A Global Perspective. USA: Pearson Education, 2003. Print.