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Cultural additivity: behavioural insights from the interaction of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism in folktales

Author

Listed:
  • Quan-Hoang Vuong

    (Thanh Tay University, Centre for Interdisciplinary Social Research)

  • Quang-Khiem Bui

    (Hanoi College of Arts)

  • Viet-Phuong La

    (Vuong & Associates Co.)

  • Thu-Trang Vuong

    (Sciences Po Paris Campus de Dijon)

  • Viet-Ha T. Nguyen

    (Thanh Tay University, Centre for Interdisciplinary Social Research)

  • Manh-Toan Ho

    (Thanh Tay University, Centre for Interdisciplinary Social Research)

  • Hong-Kong T. Nguyen

    (Vuong & Associates Co.)

  • Manh-Tung Ho

    (Thanh Tay University, Centre for Interdisciplinary Social Research
    Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies
    Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences Institute of Philosophy)

Abstract

Computational folkloristics, which is rooted in the movement to make folklore studies more scientific, has transformed the way researchers in humanities detect patterns of cultural transmission in large folklore collections. This interdisciplinary study contributes to the literature through its application of Bayesian statistics in analyzing Vietnamese folklore. By breaking down 307 stories in popular Vietnamese folktales and major story collections and categorizing their core messages under the values or anti-values of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, the study shows how the Bayesian method helps discover an underlying behavioural phenomenon called “cultural additivity.” The term, which is inspired by the principle of additivity in probability, adds to the voluminous works on syncretism, creolization and hybridity in its technical dimension. Here, to evaluate how the values and norms of the aforementioned three religions (“tam giáo” 三教) co-exist, interact, and influence Vietnamese society, the study proposes three models of additivity for religious faiths: (a) no additivity, (b) simple additivity, and (c) complex additivity. The empirical results confirm the existence of “cultural additivity” : not only is there an isolation of Buddhism in the folktales, there is also a higher possibility of interaction or addition of Confucian and Taoist values even when these two religions hold different value systems (β{VT.VC} = 0.86). The arbitrary blend of the three religions is an example of the observed phenomenon of Vietnamese people selecting and adding ideas, beliefs, or artefacts—which may sometimes appear contradictory to principles of their existing beliefs—to their culture. The behavioural pattern is omnipresent in the sense that it can also be seen in Vietnamese arts, architecture, or adoption of new ideas and religions, among others. The “cultural additivity” concept, backed by robust statistical analysis, is an attempt to fill in the cultural core pointed out by syncretism and account for the rising complexity of modern societies.

Suggested Citation

  • Quan-Hoang Vuong & Quang-Khiem Bui & Viet-Phuong La & Thu-Trang Vuong & Viet-Ha T. Nguyen & Manh-Toan Ho & Hong-Kong T. Nguyen & Manh-Tung Ho, 2018. "Cultural additivity: behavioural insights from the interaction of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism in folktales," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 1-15, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:4:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-018-0189-2
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-018-0189-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Quan-Hoang Vuong & Tung-Manh Ho & Hong-Kong Nguyen & Thu-Trang Vuong, 2018. "Healthcare consumers’ sensitivity to costs: a reflection on behavioural economics from an emerging market," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Quan-Hoang Vuong & Manh Tung Ho & Viet-Phuong La & Van Nhue Dam & Bui Quang Khiem & Nghiem Phu Kien Cuong & Thu-Trang Vuong & Hong Kong Nguyen & Ha Viet Nguyen & Hiep-Hung Pham & Nancy K. Napier, 2018. ""Cultural additivity" and how the values and norms of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism co-exist, interact, and influence Vietnamese society: A Bayesian analysis of long-standing folktales,," Working Papers CEB 18-015, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    3. Vuong, Quan-Hoang, 2017. "Open data, open review and open dialogue in making social sciences plausible," OSF Preprints du8tj, Center for Open Science.
    4. David Budtz Pedersen, 2016. "Integrating social sciences and humanities in interdisciplinary research," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 2(1), pages 1-7, December.
    5. Mason Youngblood & David Lahti, 2018. "A bibliometric analysis of the interdisciplinary field of cultural evolution," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 1-9, December.
    6. John A. Bunce & Richard McElreath, 2018. "Sustainability of minority culture when inter-ethnic interaction is profitable," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 2(3), pages 205-212, March.
    7. Mason Youngblood & David Lahti, 2018. "Correction: A bibliometric analysis of the interdisciplinary field of cultural evolution," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 1-2, December.
    8. Gino D’Oca & Iain Hrynaszkiewicz, 2015. "Palgrave Communications’ commitment to promoting transparency and reproducibility in research," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 1(palcomms2), pages 15013-15013, May.
    9. Quintana, Daniel S & Williams, Donald Ray, 2018. "Bayesian alternatives for common null-hypothesis significance tests in psychiatry: A non-technical guide using JASP," OSF Preprints wun5v, Center for Open Science.
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