Table of Contents
Societies without scale
Societies without scale, ontologies without mereologies, Complexity contra modernity
Ryan Schram
University of Sydney
November 22, 2024
Slides available at https://anthro.rschram.org/talks/complexity
Segmentary order: Nested levels
Figure 1: A social order based on the principle of unilineal descent is segmentary, with segments of different levels performing distinct functions.
A wide network based on analogies
Figure 2: Social order is assembled by links based on analogies among elements. Similarities at one level are the basis for positing a more abstract unity, yet the bases for similarities are many.
Different combinations of yams and humans over time
Figure 3: Yams move along chains of people. A society is merely a specific configuration of yams and humans.
Two types of complexity
- Type I complexity: Parts and wholes
- Type II complexity: Potential relationships established through recursive loops of feedback
When an era of reflexive modernization ends, how should we conceptualize complexity?
What conceptualizations of the complexity of social reality are needed for an era of deglobalization and competing alternatives to (neo)liberal governmentality?