Van Der Elst Culture As Given, Culture As Choice

In 1871, Sir Edward B. Tylor, the ‘‘Father’’ of modern Cultural Anthropology, in his most influential book, Primitive Culture, came up with the overt anthropological definition of ’’culture’’, defining it as ’’that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, law, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by [a human] as a member of society.’’ As of today, based on Webster Merriam’s dictionary, culture is defined today as ’’the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group." According to Dirk Van Der Elst’s Culture As Given, Culture As Choice, culture is defined as "everything that human beings have created and transmitted socially across time and space (32)." Although the words change, the
Following my analysis of Van Der Elst Culture As Given, Culture As Choice, the impression left on me was that Van Der Elst’s goal was to lead his reader to the conclusion that culture is what people make it to be, each culture, defines itself and people are able to develop a perception of their own on what influences and constitutes ``culture.`` Culture to me is a concept that identifies the lifestyle, habits, and customs of varying races, religions, and social groups that correlate to the group's perception, prosperity, and role in society.
In Dirk Van Der Elst’s Culture As Given, Culture As Choice, Van Der Elst says that in order to understand culture’s complexities and purpose within society one needs a differentiated view of culture when discussing culture in intellectual conversation. Like Van Der Elst, Tylor says that culture is an