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I like the idea of assigning meaning. In Anthro 101, what we usually teach undergrads is that "culture" is what differentiates humans from other animals. Of course, other animals certainly have societies, but do they have cultures?
One must define culture, of course, and here roachboy's posts fit right in.. culture is process, culture is patterns being passed down from one generation to the next, and culture is rather arbitrary, in that we assign all meanings to each symbol, each event, each pattern. None of the meanings within our cultures are pre-existing, and yet our entire lives revolve around their practice and observation. To me, that is what makes humans quite interesting.
Culture is not always a positive thing, of course... it can be quite destructive, especially if a society does not allow itself to evolve/adapt to new social and physical environments over time. Us vs. them is not going to be sustainable for much longer into the future, as a form of obtaining and hoarding resources to preserve "our" group over another's. But it has also been the key to our success as a species ever since we stepped out of Olduvai. We just have to see what the next incarnation of it will be, if we can get to that point.
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And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran
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