Culture: Innate or Acquired

By: Marie Bernadette Aranas

HUM 3

“Culture is the shared knowledge and schemes created by a set of people for perceiving,
interpreting, expressing, and responding to the social realities around them.” (Lederach, J.P.,
1995, Preparing for peace: Conflict transformation across cultures. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse
University Press, p.9)

Natives in the early times travel a lot on foot or by sea to different parts of the world.
Sharing of knowledge is an evident result of these travels and expeditions considering our
cultures are mixed. Philippine culture, for example, is part Eastern and part Western - highly
influenced by Spaniards during the Spanish Colonization and by the Americans during when the
Philippines became a U.S. territory. Religion, beliefs, festivities, art, entertainment, clothing,
food, education, government, lifestyle, livelihood; are just some of the multiple things we’ve
learned and adapted from different cultures.

Culture surfaced the moment humans started adapting to reality. The struggle to obtain
our basic needs – food, shelter and clothing – are the sole reasons how tradition and culture itself
came to birth. We perceive and interpret events that happen in our lives then express ourselves
through art, music, dances, poetry, etc., and respond to social realities by adapting to the social
environment. Almost all that we are and we do are influenced by varieties of cultures that came
about.

Talking about how culture came about, we reach an argument whether culture is innate
or acquired. Let me first define both.

Innate, I believe, is something within us. It’s present in us even when an idea or knowledge
is consciously unbeknownst to us. We don’t prepare nor practice an innate trait or quality, for
example, beforehand. Innate means: “Existing naturally or by heredity rather than being learned
through experience.” (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition
Copyright © 2013 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company).

On the other hand, ‘acquired’, is connected more or less with the words: gain, own, obtain
and receive. “To obtain or begin to have something.” (Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary
© Cambridge University Press). We get the notion that an idea, trait, quality, knowledge, any of
these are acquired when it has been taught to us or learned from mere experience and is
naturally non-existent.

Some say culture is innate. Others say culture is indeed acquired.

Our ancestors, the hunters, cavemen, men who lived on trees, etc., needed to adapt to
their environment so as to survive. They needed food so they hunt, fish and planted fruit-bearing
plants. They needed fire to stay warm during the cold nights so they made fire out of stones and
sticks. They needed shelter so they lived in caves, other lived on trees and some more civilized
natives lived in huts which they themselves found out how. In need of clothes to protect their
bodies, they made some out of animal skin or leaves from plants. In order to maintain peace,
laws and rules were made to govern the clan. They were nomads at first but when they slowly
adapted to their surroundings, they learned the basics of life. I don’t think the idea of making fire,
hunting or planting was already in them from the moment they were born. No. The thought of
such came into their minds the moment they needed it so they found a way to and eventually
learned. When the Spaniards came to the Philippines, the natives already have their cultures and
way of life, discovered and learned on their own. Even though a culture is already building, they
learned another, thus creating a mixed one.

The same as: we eat when we’re hungry, drink when thirsty, talk when we have
something to say, move our body when we tell our brains to do so. These are some innate
abilities, I believe. We weren’t taught how to chew and sip. Never were we taught how to move
our bodies or cry and wail as babies. These are actions done because we tell ourselves to do so.
However, at birth we don’t know how to cook, what dish to cook and what ingredients to use.
No matter how hungry we may, cooking requires skills and we know nothing of that unless
learned. Babies babble a lot of two-letter words. Without the help of adults, we would still be
speaking that way. We know how to open our mouth at birth but not of what language to speak.
We know how to move our arms but not of how to hip hop dance unless we practice and learn.

Genetics and heredity passes along traits more of which are physically identifiable and
others personality wise like business mindedness. Some families have special talents passed from
generations to generations like dancing and singing. There are also people who they say are
naturally talented or was born for this and that. But I still can’t decipher such talents and traits
be generated from genes and maybe have something to do with psychological aspects and of
course a lot of practice. If culture is not innate, then acquired.

Therefore: “Culture is learned and acquired, not instinctive, acquired through the senses
and from experience, habits, skills, values and knowledge. May be acquired through imitation,
conditioning, suggestion, formal or informal instruction, or mass media.” (Characteristics of
Culture, LinkedIn Corporation © 2017, http://www.slideshare.net/ruth.tabuniar/characteristics-
of-culture). Cultures, traditions and beliefs are passed on from generation to generation,
societies, tribes, clans and individuals. We are taught over and over as kids how to speak our
native language or in vernacular. We are taught the practices in our religion, going to church on
Sundays for example. The social media also played a great role in mixing cultures. There are a lot
of ‘do it yourself’ videos on the web; Google a French recipe and you’re ready to go. Culture is
learned. It is given to us by experience and is something to treasure.