Re: how would we define "kin"?

[Jan Schneider]

>
        i like to contribute another perspektive to the question, what
"kinship" in 
        an Alife context could mean.

        In the realm of human beings, kinship- structures are mainly defined by
        a commomly shared knowledge. The kin-based knowledge pool consists
of norms, values and "actions" 
        ( for example: accepted modes of marriage, reproduction, inheritance
... )
        It is possible to understand these pools as rules of accepted modes
of behavior.
        The pools can be termed as "Institutions", which means as a
framework of possible actions, inside which 
        members have to choose between accepted alternatives.
        To cite E.Ostrom (1990 Governing the commons) :
        "Institutions can be defined as the sets of working rules that are
used to determine who is eligible
        to make decisions in some area, what actions are allowed or
constrainted, what aggregation rules 
        will be used, what provided, and waht payoffs will be assigned to
individuals dependent on their actions"

        In an Alife context i like to mention at least three dimensions of
"kinship" :
        
        . kinship-structures can be used to implement areas of distinctive
action-sets.
        These areas consists one the one hand of "actions sets" of
individuals, and on the other hand of
        emergent dynamics ( like specific growth-rates, mobility-patterns,
network-structures ...)

        - kinship-structure, as institutions, are evolving structures, which
means in my
        opion that there is a mechanism of cultural inheritance, which is
driven by the ability to adapt 
        to a dynamic enviroment

        - kinship- structures are at least one mode of providing, enforcing
and monitoring social behavior in a 
        way, able to generate long-enduring patterns of cooperation         


  


  Jan 

        student