The key difference between culture and civilization is that culture exists within a civilization whereas a civilization can be made up of several cultures.
Culture and civilization are two of the factors that determine the nature of the society we live in. Although the two words often go hand in hand, it would be inaccurate to use them synonymously since culture and civilization stand for very different concepts.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Culture
3. What is Civilization
4. Culture vs Civilization in Tabular Form
5. Summary
What is Culture?
Culture, a concept that emerged in the 20th century, is a central concept in anthropology referring to various human phenomena that cannot be directly attributed to one’s genetics. Culture is usually interpreted in various ways, but one of the most common definitions is “the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group” (Merriam Webster online dictionary). Culture can refer to an integrated system of learned behavioral patterns that are not of biological origin and are characteristic of the members in a certain society, ethnic, or social group.
Culture can exist in either tangible or intangible form. Physical artifacts of culture would include any physical material that is materialized as a product of beliefs, traditions and customs of a certain group of people with a definite culture. For example, clothes, artifacts like statues and art. The intangible aspects of a culture would be the customs, traditions, beliefs, language, and behaviors of people belonging to a definite culture. Culture often refers to an internal aspect of the human being, representing one’s feelings, thoughts, ideals, art, literature and values.
What is Civilization?
Civilization can be generally defined as a stage of advanced human social development and organization. It is an ensemble of geographic, political, economic, religious and social structures, and a ceremonial center for social and cultural activities. Civilization is a specific type of human community, made up of large, complex societies based on domestication of animals, plants, people, knowledge, beliefs and practices.
Civilization can also refer to an advanced state of the human society, where a high level of science, culture or industry has been reached. This would also refer to a stage where authority of man over natural phenomena is practiced while social technology would control the man’s natural behavior.
What is the Difference Between Culture and Civilization?
Civilization is much larger than a culture. It is a complex aggregate made up of many things out of which one aspect is culture. Therefore, the key difference between culture and civilization is that culture exists within a civilization whereas a civilization can be made up of several cultures.
According to anthropologists of 19th century, culture developed earlier while civilization was created later. Civilization is a state of cultural development that is well advanced. Moreover, a culture can exist by itself, but a civilization cannot be identified as a civilization if it does not have a certain culture. Another difference between culture and civilization is that culture exists in both tangible and intangible forms, whereas civilization is more or less tangible.
The following table summarizes the difference between culture and civilization.
Summary – Culture vs Civilization
The key difference between culture and civilization is that culture exists within a civilization whereas a civilization can be made up of several cultures. Moreover, a culture can exist by itself, but a civilization cannot be identified as a civilization if it does not have a certain culture.
Image Courtesy:
1. “History People Culture Women Tradition India” (CC0) via Max Pixel
2. “Chinese civilization” By Priya2005 – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
Further Readings:
1. Difference Between Culture and Tradition
2. Difference Between Culture and Heritage
3. Difference Between Eastern and Western Culture