Saturday, August 30, 2014

THE VIRUS OF PROGRESS #2

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

No comments:

Post a Comment