The tensions between indigenous knowledge and western science

Abstract

In their paper Ramos de Robles, Gariby-Chavez and Curiel-Ballesteros offer that indigenous traditional knowledge (IK) concerning edible wild plants in Mexico, part of the historic culture, is fading through successive generations. Furthermore, they argue that a return to this knowledge which proved valuable for many ancestors is desperately needed in modern times. I agree that this deficit is alarming and wish to add to the discourse by problematizing the tensions between IK and western science (WS). While attempts to consider IK in WS have been documented in the literature, especially with respect to environmental concerns, the fear is that IK will be subsumed under WS, and considered only to the degree that the former confirms the latter. I urge for the consideration of both ways of knowing if we are to advance on the problems and issues we have created.