VineDeloria2
Summary
TLDRThe transcript discusses the systematic and scientific nature of indigenous knowledge, particularly among the Dakota and Lakota Sioux, as presented by Vine Deloria Jr. It challenges the stereotype of indigenous knowledge as primitive, highlighting its rigor and value. The script also contrasts Western science's repeatability and control with indigenous epistemology's attentiveness to experience, which includes dreams, visions, and inter-species communication. It emphasizes the importance of interpreting all experiences, ordinary and extraordinary, within a coherent narrative that guides moral and practical choices, reflecting a holistic view of the world.
Takeaways
- đ Deloria aims to present the foundational principles of Indigenous philosophy in North America, drawing heavily from Dakota and Lakota Sioux traditions.
- đ He emphasizes that Indigenous knowledge is systematic and not inferior or primitive when compared to Western science.
- đŹ Deloria critiques the misconception that Indigenous epistemologies are unscientific, highlighting their rigor and advancement.
- đŽ A missionary's account from 1919 illustrates that Indigenous peoples were capable of understanding and appreciating early 20th-century scientific concepts.
- đ± Indigenous people saw value in all experiences, considering them instructive and integral to their knowledge systems.
- đ The Indigenous approach to knowledge is holistic, incorporating all experiences, including dreams, visions, and communications with non-human entities.
- 𧩠Indigenous knowledge is based on a system of pattern interpretation, where every experience is seen as part of a larger, coherent narrative.
- đ The philosophy values attentiveness to experience, suggesting that the world communicates with us and reveals itself through our interactions.
- đż There's an emphasis on the practical use value and moral content of knowledge, which contrasts with the value-neutral stance often associated with Western science.
- đ” The Indigenous epistemology includes a reflective process where wisdom from old age can uncover previously unnoticed relationships and insights.
Q & A
What is the main goal of Deloria's discussion in the script?
-Deloria aims to present the basic tenets of indigenous philosophy in North America, emphasizing that indigenous knowledge is systematic and not unscientific or primitive, drawing from his Dakota and Lakota Sioux background.
How does Deloria respond to the claim that indigenous knowledge is less advanced than Western science?
-Deloria critiques this notion by asserting that the philosophical knowledge of tribal peoples is as systematic as Western science, and that indigenous forms of knowledge are not a prior stage of human development.
What is the significance of the account by A.M. Bead mentioned in the script?
-The account by A.M. Bead, a missionary from 1919, is significant as it illustrates that Native Americans were capable of understanding modern scientific concepts and did not find them in conflict with their own systems of knowledge.
According to the script, how do indigenous people view the scientific view presented by modern science?
-Indigenous people, as represented by Old Rising Sun, found the scientific view to be inadequate, not because it was untrue, but because it could not fully explain certain aspects of life and human experience.
What is the basis for the systematic knowledge that Deloria speaks of?
-The systematic knowledge of indigenous people in North America is rooted in experience, with a focus on pattern interpretation to understand and make use of all experiences, including emotions, dreams, and communications with non-human species.
Why is every experience considered valuable in indigenous epistemology according to the script?
-In indigenous epistemology, every experience is seen as instructive and valuable because it contributes to the understanding of life. The fundamental premise is that nothing can be missed or is false; only misinterpretations are possible.
How does the indigenous system of knowledge differ from exclusive epistemologies of control?
-The indigenous system includes all experiences and does not discard any data. It seeks to find the proper pattern of interpretation for all experiences, ordinary and extraordinary, rather than excluding what does not fit a predefined paradigm.
What is the role of mystery in the indigenous system of knowledge as described in the script?
-Mystery is accepted and valued in the indigenous system because it represents something that can be learned from. The system does not discard inexplicable experiences but instead seeks to understand them as part of a comprehensive narrative.
How does the concept of 'self-showing' relate to the indigenous approach to knowledge?
-The concept of 'self-showing' aligns with the indigenous approach by suggesting that all things have an inherent language that reveals themselves to us. This is similar to how indigenous people believe the world communicates with them and they with it.
What is the importance of ethics in the indigenous system of knowledge as discussed in the script?
-Ethics play a crucial role in the indigenous system of knowledge as it guides the interpretation of experiences in ways that are morally valuable and practical. It helps in making choices that benefit not just individuals but the broader community of humans and non-human beings.
Outlines
đ Indigenous Philosophy and Epistemology
The paragraph introduces the goal of Deloria to outline the fundamental principles of indigenous philosophy in North America, with a focus on the Dakota and Lakota Sioux traditions. Deloria aims to demonstrate that indigenous knowledge is systematic and not less rigorous than Western science. He challenges the stereotype that indigenous knowledge represents a primitive stage of human understanding. The text includes an account from 1919 by a missionary named A.M. Bead, who suggests that Native Americans were capable of understanding modern scientific concepts and did not view them as contradictory to their own systems of knowledge. The paragraph emphasizes the idea that indigenous knowledge is not unscientific and is as systematic as Western science, with a methodology rooted in experience and interpretation of patterns.
đż Systematic Indigenous Knowledge and Experience
This paragraph delves into the systematic nature of indigenous knowledge, which is based on experience and the interpretation of patterns. It contrasts with exclusive epistemologies that discard certain experiences. Indigenous philosophy values all experiences, including emotions, dreams, visions, and communications with non-human species. The paragraph discusses the idea that every experience has value and instructs us, and no experience is false or to be discarded. It introduces the concept of a system of patterns used to interpret experiences, which is a holistic approach that includes both ordinary and extraordinary experiences. The paragraph also touches on the idea that the world is constantly creating itself and that all data must be considered in the indigenous system of knowledge, with the task of finding the proper pattern of interpretation.
đ± Ethical and Practical Knowledge in Indigenous Systems
The final paragraph discusses the difference between knowledge developed for repeatability and paradigm-making versus the discernment of patterns that have practical use value and moral content. It introduces the concept of an 'epistemology of attentiveness,' where indigenous people are attentive to their own experiences and the world around them, suggesting a form of communication between humans and the environment. The paragraph also hints at the integration of ethics into the indigenous system of knowledge, contrasting with the notion of value-neutral science. It sets the stage for further discussion on the type of knowledge that arises from such a perspective, which will be explored in the next video.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄIndigenous Philosophy
đĄEpistemology
đĄSystematic Knowledge
đĄPattern Interpretation
đĄExperience
đĄSpirit
đĄAnomaly
đĄAttentiveness
đĄMoral Content
đĄInter-species Communication
Highlights
Deloria's goal is to present basic tenets of indigenous philosophy in North America.
Deloria critiques the notion that indigenous knowledge is unscientific or primitive.
Indigenous knowledge is systematic and not less advanced than Western science.
The account by a missionary named Bead in 1919 shows Native Americans understood early 20th-century science.
Native Americans saw scientific views as inadequate, not untrue.
Systematic knowledge is rooted in experience and the need to interpret it.
All experiences have value and instruct us; none are to be discarded.
Experiences are not false; they can only be misinterpreted.
There are no coincidences or incidental meetings in indigenous epistemology.
Indigenous people take all experience and create a system of pattern interpretation.
The world is constantly creating itself, and everything is alive and making choices.
Anomalies are accepted because of the value in their mystery.
All data must be considered, and the task is to find the proper pattern of interpretation.
Ordinary and extraordinary experiences must come together in a coherent narrative.
Wisdom from old age brings reflection and discovery of relationships.
Epistemology of attentiveness involves communication with the world around us.
Indigenous knowledge includes discernment of patterns with practical use value and moral content.
Future discussion will address the ethical implications of knowledge production.
Transcripts
foreign
okay so
part of deloria's goal here is to give
us some basic tenets of
um indigenous philosophy in North
America and he is Dakota or he was
Dakota Sue and so I'm pretty sure that a
lot of what he's drawing from is from uh
Dakota and Lakota Sioux
um in any case he mentioned somewhere
that you know
um certain particulars may be disagreed
upon but he's confident that he's giving
us a good overview but before he does
that
um in relation to the distinction
between the types of epistemologies that
I was just making he wants to also show
show us show the reader that
this the knowledge that they have is
just as systematic
as our knowledge so um he also wants to
show that it's not anti or
non-scientific and that it's not uh
primitive in any way because you know um
the idea is that
um
um
people make claims like well these
indigenous forms of knowledge uh
represent a prior stage of human
development and they're somehow
um less
um rigorous or less Advanced as if these
people were the past just living in the
future
um so he critiques the notion that
indigenous knowledge is unscientific or
might represent a more primitive or
earlier stage in humankind's
understanding of the world
um
and says that philosophical knowledge of
tribal peoples is as systematic as
Western science
and I'm going to talk about the
methodology in a second but before I do
so on page 65 there is an account by a
man called bead
um
and I'm just going to read some of it
because I think this is important right
this is coming from uh when is this
coming from
1919
a MCG bead a missionary
title
um
so he says this is the middle
um of course the history of any people
contains mythology
but is such a mythology composed
entirely of myths added one to another
or is there beneath all and through all
and in all and all compelling something
unexplained by our scientific force and
energy
which the Western Sioux thought of
sincerely
um claim to know of
as spirit
it does not bother the old Indians to
understand in an elementary way what we
mean by the modern scientific attitude
there is no difficulty in leading an old
tetonsu
Indian to understand the scientific
attitude
and that the processes that give rise to
the phenomena may be more and more known
by man and maybe to some extent
controlled by man
and that in this way the forces of
nature may become a mainspring of
progress in the individual
and in the human race
the idea of atoms and electrons is easy
and pleasing to an old Indian
and he grasps the idea of chemistry
such things make ready contact with his
previous observation and thinking
so
it wasn't difficult to teach
well the modern science of the early
20th century
um
to native peoples here they understood
exactly what was going on according to
this account and how these conclusions
were come to so they understood the
method
um
and understood that many of the things
that science claimed were also many of
the things that their systems of
knowledge claimed so to return to this
idea not false but inadequate
um continuing in the turtle mountains
North Dakota hairy boys
was with me eight months at his request
I allowed him to teach the old Chippewa
and Cree Indians
uh the modern scientific attitude with
its view of things
the chief among his peoples was old
Rising Sun
But Rising Sun speaking the conclusion
of all pronounced the scientific view
inadequate not bad or untrue but
inadequate to explain among many other
things how man is defined and know a
road along which he wishes and chooses
to make this said progress
um
so there you have it
um I think this is a really important
passage in this essay so
um what is the system of knowledge or
how does it come about
okay so the system
um or the way in which this philosophy
this this mode of production producing
knowledge is also systematic
systematic knowledge that deloria speaks
of is rooted and built from experience
um and what we're going to find is that
because Spirit experience is treated in
such a way
the production of knowledge arises out
of the need to be able to interpret
experience and so the systematic
knowledge
um that the indigenous people in North
America have was a system of pattern
interpretation or a system of patterns
used to interpret so on
um everything that we experience has
value and instructs Us in some way
so our experience must be the basis for
our knowledge about the world
no experience is to be discarded and no
experience is false experience can be
misinterpreted but it cannot be wrong
there are no coincidences or cases of
incidental meeting
so we take everything in we take all
experience we throw nothing out this is
very much the opposite of the exclusive
epistemologies of control we were
talking about
this includes not only emotions but
things like dreams Visions or the
perceived Communications with non-human
species or inter-species communication
being attempted to experience
understanding the experience as a whole
is something with the life of its own
and he says the sum total of our
experiences has a reality
um leads to the development of a system
of patterns used to interpret experience
and make use of
um
and so I'm going to read a little bit
from page 69.
um
Indians believed that
everything the humans experience has
value and instructs Us in some aspect of
life
the fundamental premise is that we
cannot miss experience anything
we can only misinterpret what we
experience therefore in some instances
we can experience something entirely new
and so we must be alert and try not to
classify things too quickly
the world is constantly creating itself
because everything is alive and making
choices that determine the future
there cannot be such a thing as an
anomaly in this kind of framework
some things are accepted because there
is value in the very mystery they
represent
so we don't get rid of we don't throw
out things
that don't fit the Paradigm or that
don't
um aren't immediately explicable by the
system we have in place
because in the Indian system all data
must be considered
the task is to find the proper pattern
of interpretation for the great variety
of ordinary and extraordinary
experiences we have
ordinary and extraordinary must come
together in one coherent comprehensive
storyline
sometimes this narrative will deal with
human behavior and sometimes with the
behavior of higher powers
but it will have a point to it and will
represent a direction of future growth
finally with the wisdom that old age
brings there will be a time for
reflection and the discovery of
unsuspected relationships that make
themselves manifest in Consciousness and
so come to be understood
and another important thing about this
which I'm not sure if deloria says this
directly anywhere in this essay in
particular
is that when when I mention an
epistemology of attentiveness
we're attentive to our own experience
and in our experience we're in some
sense communicating with the world
around us the world around us is
communicating to us and the idea in part
here
um is that the things in the world the
territory that we're trying to map uh
will tell us about themselves right
um this is not
um something which Western science uh
doesn't believe in some sense or another
um and in fact uh there's a philosopher
named Martin Heidegger who defined
language which inheres in all things for
him
uh he defied language as self-showing
which is to say that language is the
Revelation whereby things reveal
themselves to us
um and sort of tell us what they are
yeah self-showing so
here we see the difference between
developing knowledge for repeatability
for Paradigm
um
making patterns of observation definite
and stably true and the discernment of
patterns that have practical use value
and moral content and we'll talk about
this more and I'll talk about this more
in the next video because this is very
important this is where we come back to
this critique of well if science is
value neutral
where do ethics come from
um I.E patterns for interpreting our
experience in ways that make us are that
help us make the right choices not only
for ourselves but for a broader
community of human and non-human beings
um and so the next time around I will
talk a little bit about
what type of knowledge there is
um
from such a perspective
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