Exploring Cultural Diversity in Mirror for Man :: Mirror for Man Essays

Exploring Cultural Diversity in Mirror for Man   Why do men do the things they do? prof Kluckhohn attempts to explore, define and explain the do to this complex question in one brief passage. He reasons that we are all given the same basic biological tools at birth, so it should descend then, that we should all behave in similar ways. But, because of culture, defined as the total life way of a people, we do not fight down to similar situations in exactly the same way. Culture is the main reason we can not explain other peoples actions in terms of biological properties. Professor Kluckhohn proceeds to explain cultural differences and similarities through some experiences of his own. First he parallels an American wo adult males view of polygamy to a Koryak womans. Then he shares an anecdote of an American man who was raised as a Chinese. Lastly, he tells a tale of a woman serving rattlesnake sandwiches to her guests. After each example he points come forth that it is a persons upbringing and way of life that dictates how he or she pull up stakes act in or react to a given situation. I am in total agreement with Professor Kluckhohns views. I found his passage to be very interesting reading because it put into words views and ideas I had suppose through dealing with people of other nationalities. It also pointed out that a body doesnt make a man, a mind does. How the mind is trained and nurtured will decide what the man is and how he thinks. I am what some would call a people-person. I love being with new people and learning some what makes them tick. I have been lucky enought to travel through Europe and the Orient so I have seen first hand whether East does meet air jacket or not. But the place where I learned the most about people and the way they live would have to be right here at home - Southern California. Living here in an area with a rich ethinic mixture has opened my eyes to things like the Philippine tendency to carry off with a s poon and fork while Americans tend to use mainly the fork, the Orientals tight family ties and the growing rate of American divorces, etc. The mixture of traditional Filipino parents and growing up in California has given me a chance to glimpse how some cultures go hand in hand while others clangor violently.