INTERCULTURAL
COMMUNICATION
CHAPTER 1 THE SURVIVAL OF THE MOST CULTURED
1.1 THE NATURE OF CULTURE
Many definitions of culture → evolutionary biology provides a better understanding of the nature of
culture and its definition in our study’s context
1.1.1 A POWER TRANSITION FROM GENE TO CULTURE
Study of human diversity consists of evolutionary biology and anthropology
- Evolutionary biology: a discipline of biology concerned with the processes and patterns of biological
evolution especially in relation to the diversity of organisms and how they change over time
- Anthropology: the science of human beings
1.1.1.1 GENES OR CULTURE?
Genes: parts of cells in a human-being or animal which controls the physical characteristics, growth
and development
Culture: consists of activities which are considered to be important for the development of people’s minds
and how people behave
Genes can overrule the social environment (a wolf living with humans, does not behave like a human →
social environment does not ‘change’ the genes of animals)
Genes can give way to the social environment (a human living with wolves, does behave like a wolf →
social environment does ‘change’ the genes of humans)
1.1.1.2 CULTURE AS A SURVIVAL STRATEGY
Pagel (evolutionary biology): social interaction, or culture, is the last stage of replacing genes in order to
enable humans to deal with survival issues
- Human are much less dependent on their genes to tell them what to do than animals → humans
take their survival information from culture and animal take their survival information from DNA
In animals, genes evolve to guide their behaviors and their survival. In human, genes have been
largely replaced by culture (humans are actors in culture). Culture evolves and guides the behavior
and teaches how to survive
1.1.2 HOW DID THIS POWER TRANSITION HAPPEN
Culture (ability to learn from others) appeared later in an existing world
(1) Symbolic thinking in the form of art and adornment → (2) communicate ideas to others through the
meanings attached to each object or symbol → (3) able to observe, copy, pick the best practices and
transfer them to others → (4) new sphere of evolution
, - Humans are conscious of this process, animals are not conscious of this process. Through
social learning humans do not need genetic improvement
→ humans are no longer confined to one environment
but are able to transform the environment to suit the needs of humans
Culture is a set of evolving man-made elements that have increased the probability of survival and thus
become shared among those who could communicate with each other
Culture is initially formed by the ability to imitate, to select the best practices and to transfer
them to others. Instead of waiting for a change in genes so humans can evolve wings to fly,
culture allows to pull ideas together and build airplanes
1.2 CULTURAL DIVERSITY
Because of culture, humans are the only species which might not be able to communicate with each other in a
certain situation
1.2.1 THE INTERACTION OF ENVIRONMENT - CULTURE
Biodiversity is the wide range of different human species living in their natural environment
- Biodiversity is used as a hypothesis to explain the cultural diversity among humans
1. 2.1.1 ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINISM (ENVIRONMENT DETERMINES HUMAN BEINGS)
Darwin’s work on natural selection is the foundation for the THEORY OF ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINISM → living
environment is the major reason why our societies developed in different ways
! This theory justifies imperialism and racism
THEORY OF NEO-ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINISM steered away from issues of race and ethnicities and
focused on the impact of environment on economic and political development
- Europe became a power base because its nations grew out of the first farming societies with the
world’s most easily domesticable animals
! Environmental determinism cannot explain phenomena such as cultures living next to each other
differing profoundly in terms of their physical measurements and culture
1. 2.1.2 ENVIRONMENTAL POSSIBILISM (ENVIRONMENT MIGHT INFLUENCE HUMAN BEINGS) ENVIRONMENTAL
POSSIBILISM THEORY claims that human beings are active rather than passive agents who see numerous
possibilities in nature and actively shape it to suit the need for survival
ENVIRONMENTAL PROBABILISM THEORY claims that the physical is the most influential factor
1.2.1.3 CULTURAL ECOLOGY
THEORY OF CULTURAL CHANGE claims that humans are part of the environment, intrinsically embedded in earth
surface processes, neither ‘’victims’’ of its force (determinism), nor an outside force making an impact on it
(possibilism) → culture is not a ‘’consequence’’ of nature or a tool to ‘’control’’ nature, but rather a strategy to
interact with nature
=
, Humans are expected to develop a sustainable and harmonious cultural relationship with the
environment in which they live, this dynamic interaction leads to diversity in culture
1.2.2 CULTURAL DIVERSITY AS A TOOL FOR RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
The world can be seen as a bio-culturally collaborative product → why did humans form so many different
cultures to interact with an identical environment?
- The capacity of having a culture also means that ideas, knowledge and resources can be stolen by
one group at the expense of the other → developed a system that humans can communicate with
others to convince that cooperation is better than stealing.
Language (inherent regulator) facilitates deal making, negotiation and agreement and it safeguard
knowledge and information in competition with other groups (Pegal)
Managing cultural resources enable diverse languages to evolve but also channels people into different
sub-groups → cultural diversity becomes an element to recognize an ingroup we can trust
Cultural diversity can be explained by
The impact of environment with theories ranging from a deciding factor
(determinism), an influential factor (probabilism), a source of possibilities
(possibilism) to an entity inseparable from the human species (ecology)
The role of linguistic and cultural diversity, which are regulators for (1) safe- guarding cultural
resources, recognizing who we can trust and (2) negotiating cultural resources with other
human groups for mutual interests
1.3 DIVERSITY PATHWAYS
1.3.1 THE INTERACTION OF ENVIRONMENT - CULTURE - GENES
Genes are the fundamental physical and functional unit of heredity → genes are crucial mechanisms
for turning useful cultural values into genetic traits
THE GENE-CULTURE COEVOLUTION THEORY claims that while culture shapes the expression and selection of
genes, genes also influence the adoption and formation of certain values
The dynamic of the culture-genes coevolution shows that it can be problematic to structure our understanding
along the traditional binary spectrum om nature-nurtured opposites → vicious circle of cause and effect
What has been culturally ‘nurtured’ for long enough (group mindset) will
slowly become ‘nature’ with genetic traits (depression gene).
In turn, nature with genetic traits (depression gene) reinforces those
behaviors that are part of the culture (group mindset)
The selection of genes depends on the coevolution with culture:
a specific cultural value may prefer a certain gene may slowly
reinforce a certain cultural value
‘
, 1.3.2 THE INTERACTION OF ENVIRONMENT - CULTURE - GENES - BRAIN
1.3.2.1 CULTURE’S INFLUENCES ON THE BRAIN
Brains across different cultures and contexts do not work in
the same way, because neural functions are shaped by
culture, social experience and religious beliefs
The culturally patterned brain enables to voluntarily take
action that are appropriate in a specific culture
1.3.2.2 THE BRAIN’S PLASTICITY
The constant morphing and shifting of the brain tells us that our neural machinery system us intrinsically
malleable or has ‘PLASTICITY’ (the brain can develop and induce changes in both its functions and structures)
- The brain’s plasticity shows that the neural mechanism is able to adapt to a new environment that
is as subtle as some cultural cues
- Repeated behaviors can rewire the brain and change both its physical form and functional features
Neurons that fire together, wire together. Thoughts change the brain physically. The brain’s
plasticity means that humans are capable of adapting to new environments and representing
multiple cultures in our mind, depending on the context
1.3.2.3 THE SEXIST BRAIN?
If neural differences between men and women exist they should always be seen in specific cultural contexts
Humans are not born with a specific feature within the brain, the brain creates that feature because
stereotypes in the social environment
1.3.3 THE INTERACTION OF ENVIRONMENT - CULTURE - GENES - BRAIN - BEHAVIOUR
Environment can influence the coevolution of culture-genes, the
brain takes guidance from genes and responds to demand from
culture by sending signals to instruct behavior
Behavior not only changes the structure and function of the
brain, but have an impact on culture, genes and environment
