Where the Buffalo Roam – How Science Ignores the Natural World : An interview with Vine Deloria, one of the most important living Native American writers. Central to Deloria’s critique of Western culture is the understanding that, by subduing nature, we have become slaves to technology and its underlying belief system.
“…Indians experience and relate to a living universe, whereas Western people – especially scientists – reduce all things, living or not, to objects. The implications of this are immense. If you see the world around you as a collection of objects for you to manipulate and exploit, you will inevitably destroy the world while attempting to control it. Not only that, but by perceiving the world as lifeless, you rob yourself of the richness, beauty, and wisdom to be found by participating in its larger design.”
“Science insists, at a great price in understanding, that the observer be as detached as possible from the event he or she is observing. Contrast that with the attitude of indigenous people, who recognize that humans must participate in events, not isolate themselves.”
This is the sort of thing you don’t hear very often and its very interesting. Deloria makes some great points (along with some I don’t particularly agree with, but are interesting nonetheless), especially about science and how it attempts to reduce everything to a paradigm. Doing so certainly has its value, but much like every other version of reality that is forwarded, science is not completely satisfactory.
“…the point is to ask the questions, and keep asking them.”
Right on. [via liquid gnome]
Count me in please.
Interesting. My previous post is missing.