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Traditional People, Collectors of Diversity

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The Anthropology of Sustainability

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Anthropology of Sustainability ((PSAS))

Abstract

Using as a parable the work of Schrodinger and Georgescu-Roegen, who established that diversity is a necessary condition for life, this chapter calls on ethnography to argue that traditional people seem to value diversity per se and, moreover, that they may actively produce it. A sustainable future may well hinge on their own diversity.

This chapter relies on and dialogues with texts presented by Mauro W.B. Almeida in symposia held in 2014 and 2016, “Desenvolvimento Entrópico e a Alternativa da Diversidade” and “Metafísicas do Fim do Mundo e Encontros Pragmáticos com Entropia” (see References).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Manuela Carneiro da Cunha

  2. University of São Paulo, State of São Paulo, Brazil

    Manuela Carneiro da Cunha

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  1. Manuela Carneiro da Cunha
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Correspondence to Manuela Carneiro da Cunha .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, United Kingdom

    Marc Brightman

  2. Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, United Kingdom

    Jerome Lewis

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da Cunha, M.C. (2017). Traditional People, Collectors of Diversity. In: Brightman, M., Lewis, J. (eds) The Anthropology of Sustainability. Palgrave Studies in Anthropology of Sustainability. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56636-2_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56636-2_15

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-56635-5

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