A Neutrosophic Epistemic Framework for Intangible Cultural Heritage Resources: Modeling Authenticity, Uncertainty, and Fragmentation in Tourism Development Potential Analysis

Abstract

 The sustainability of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) increasingly depends on 
its interface with cultural tourism. While this interaction brings visibility and economic 
benefit, it often introduces epistemic tension: different stakeholders interpret the same 
heritage in conflicting ways, with diverging views of authenticity, uncertainty, and threat. 
Conventional models grounded in fuzzy or static neutrosophic logic are insufficient to 
capture the dynamic, evolving nature of these perceptions. This study proposes a novel 
neutrosophic epistemic framework designed to evaluate ICH within tourism systems by 
modeling three distinct phenomena: (1) identity drift, where perceptions of authenticity 
change over time; (2) uncertainty accumulation, which captures the growing ambiguity 
of stakeholder consensus; and (3) narrative fragmentation, a condition in which 
stakeholder interpretations diverge beyond coherence. These processes are formalized 
using newly defined mathematical constructs, including a Neutrosophic Identity Drift 
Function (NIDF), an Epistemic Uncertainty Accumulation Function (EUAF), and a 
Structural Collapse Warning Score (SCWS). Each construction is precisely defined and 
demonstrated with computational examples.

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15514511