Analyzing Knowledge as Part of a Cultural Framework: The Case of Traditional Ecological Knowledge

The traditions of many civilizations are repositories of environmental knowledge. The present debate on sustainability has drawn attention to traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), emphasizing, above all, its empirical and practical value. TEK corresponds to a living knowledge embedded in indigenous worldviews that can provide new insights into the relationship human beings can establish with nature. Despite the different forms in which it is shaped at a local level, there are some common general features. For example, the human and the natural are viewed as interconnected and interdependent rather than separate domains, linked by a kind of symbiotic relationship in which indigenous peoples get their subsistence and autonomy from the natural environment, at the same time contributing to its preservation. This paper introduces some basic aspects of TEK and deals with the question of how to compare culturally biased knowledge systems, such as TEK and scientific ecology (and therefore Western science). Epistemological aspects of this issue are introduced. Attempting to integrate notions derived from Western contemporary thought--notably, complexity thinking, post-positivist epistemology and hermeneutics--an approach based on a form of weak realism is outlined. By this approach any system of knowledge is regarded as part of a cultural framework, but at the same time also as an expression of a common human nature and employed by different societies to refer to the same fundamental reality. Dialogue is explored as a way to address the differences, based on the similarities, and with respect to its implications for the possibility of integrating TEK and Western science