I believe the
verdict of most “hard-nosed” scientists would be that, while
Indigenous metaphysics and philosophy is certainly fascinating and,
to the extent that brings people close to nature, attractive;
nevertheless, it should not be called a science. This is the
inevitable conclusion within a worldview whose values are dominated
by the need for progress, development, improvement, evolution, and
the linear unfolding of time. Within such a world it stands to reason
that things evolve, that automobile engines become more efficient,
that new computers are faster, and that some societies are more
highly developed than others.
Our Western concept
of nature is based on an evolutionary model. Left to the natural
forces around them, things will “progress,” getting better and
better. Going along with this worldview is the need, when faced with
alternatives, to decide which one is “better” than the others. It
goes without saying that when it comes to other people’s cultures
we are generally the ones who are doing the measuring, and are
supplying the yardstick as well!
- F. David Peat, Blackfoot
Physics
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