Referential Ambiguity in the Calculus of Brazilian Racial Identity
- 1 April 1970
- journal article
- Published by University of Chicago Press in Southwestern Journal of Anthropology
- Vol. 26 (1) , 1-14
- https://doi.org/10.1086/soutjanth.26.1.3629265
Abstract
Categorizations elicited from 100 Brazilian informants through the use of a standardized deck of facial drawings suggests that the cognitive domain of racial identity in Brazil is characterized by a high degree of referential ambiguity. The Brazilian calculus of racial identity departs from the model of other cognitive domains in which a finite shared code, complementary distribution, and intersubjectivity are assumed. Structurally adaptive consequences adhere to the maximization of noise and ambiguity as well as to the maximization of shared cognitive order.Keywords
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