Cultural Complexity

This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data

Cultural Complexity

Author Info

Wolfgang Fikentscher

Abstract

This paper is divided into four parts. The first section (I.) consists of definitions which center on the concept of complexity. As a minimum, the terms, system, complexity, and adaptation as used in this paper need an explanation. The second section (II.) is a sketch of cultural complexity in the real world. I will use Pueblo tribal laws and other ethnographic material as examples of that complexity. This part draws on anthropological fieldwork on the customary laws of Southwestern Indian tribes, especially the Pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona. With intermissions, this fieldwork took place between 1987 and 1998, comprising periods of time that add up more than thirteen months.

This research included the internal laws ("tribal law") of the following nations: White Mountain Apache, San Carlos Apache, Jicarilla Apache, Yavapai-Apache, Pascua Yaqui, Tohono O`odham, Pima-Maricopa, Navajo, Kaibab Paiute, Moapa Paiute, Las Vegas Paiute, Taos Pueblo, Picuris Pueblo, San Juan Pueblo, Santa Clara Pueblo, Pojoaque Pueblo, Nambe Pueblo, San Ildefonso Pueblo, Tesuque Pueblo, Jemez Pueblo, Zia Pueblo, Cochiti Pueblo, Santa Domingo Pueblo, Santa Ana Pueblo (I and II), San Felipe Pueblo, Sandia Pueblo, Isleta Pueblo, Laguna Pueblo, Acoma, Zuni, and Hopi. The third part of the paper is (III.) what a lawyer would call a subsumption, and a logician a minor premise. In a brief but central remark I would like to state that cultural variety (II.) meets the requirements of complexity in the defined sense (I).

A fourth and final section (IV.) offers some implications of this theoretical point of departure. The implications are, in part, of philosophical nature, and, among other aspects, deal with the ontological and epistemological difficulties of drawing conclusions in complex settings (in nature and culture). Ontology in this sense is - in short - the philosophy of truth, and epistemology the philosophy of discovering truth. A summary (V.) and some theses (VI.) conclude the paper.

Download Info
To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
1. Check below under "Related research" whether another version of this item is available online.
2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
3. Perform a search for a similarly titled item that would be available.

Publisher Info
Paper provided by Santa Fe Institute in its series Working Papers with number 98-10-087.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: Oct 1998
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:wop:safiwp:98-10-087

Contact details of provider:
Postal: 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
Web page: http://www.santafe.edu/sfi/publications/working-papers.html
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Thomas Krichel).

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

Tiktik Dewi Sartika, 2004. "Tracing Cultural Evolution Through Memetics," Computational Economics 0405007, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]

Statistics

Access and download statistics

Did you know? You too can volunteer with RePEc.

This page was last updated on 2009-12-16.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.