Week 10 Post 1: Creatures of our Culture

1). Do you agree with anthropologist Ruth Benedict that we are "creatures of our culture" and that our habits, beliefs, and impossibilities are shaped by our culture? If so, how can we break through the limits of our cultures?

I not only agree completely with Benedict, but also think that anyone who denies it is ignorant of their surroundings. Everything we do is a direct reflection of the way we were brought up, even down to the basics. You don’t see anybody in San Jose, CA eating insects out of local trees but in other cultures in other countries it’s a perfectly acceptable way of finding food. Even the way we dress is a reflection of our culture, or even deeper that that to the fact that we get dressed at all in the morning!

To break through these limits we have to encourage an extremely open minded culture – but even that will still make us creatures of our culture. As a collective group of people we need to be open to other cultures to break down limitations that we have grown accustomed to.