Anthropology, Department of
Date of this Version
2006
Abstract
Tribal traditions and the western scientific tradition are not investigated for congruency or correspondences. The tribal order of the universe concerns itself with wholeness while the western order, in comparison, is fragmented The tribal order is introduced first through correspondences alluding to physics. The feature that both the tribal order and the western order, through modern physics, will speak to is reductionistic-externalistic mechanism The relativity and quantum theories illustrate inadequacy with mechanism; a feature central to the tribal Lakota order, wakan, is used to bring both theories together through its internal, qualitative nature. The tribal order clearly has no issues in dealing with problems baffling to the western order.
Comments
Published in Nebraska Anthropologist Vol. 21 (2006). Copyright © Denny Gayton; published by The University of Nebraska-Lincoln AnthroGroup.