ABSTRACT
This chapter explores what makes human's unique and examines the importance of symbols, especially language. It discusses why culture is responsible for human progress and the social evolution of societies. The chapter describes the difference between the attitudes of ethnocentrism and cultural relativity and refers to the existence of subcultures and countercultures. In heterogeneous societies, in which members have been drawn from a variety of locations, different groups may be characterized by distinct traits. Culture is the product of a social group and the group that is generally considered today is society, the largest group in which people live. Culture is extremely important to people and becomes so much a part of individual personality and group characteristics that it has often been mistaken for having a biological origin. If people's common humanity unites them, the differences in cultures tend to divide them. In a society in which a number of cultural groups coexist, therefore, tensions are common.
