Overlapping ontologies and Indigenous knowledge. From integration to ontological self-determination.

Area of Science:

• Philosophy of Science
• Indigenous Studies
• Ethnoscience

Background:

• Growing interest in integrating Indigenous and Western scientific knowledge across disciplines.
• Criticisms that integration often prioritizes Western scientific utility over Indigenous knowledge value.
• Controversies surrounding the concept of 'taking Indigenous knowledge seriously'.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a philosophical model for understanding successful knowledge integration and integration failures.
• To analyze the conditions that facilitate or hinder the integration of Indigenous and Western scientific knowledge.
• To propose a framework for more equitable and effective knowledge integration.

Main Methods:

• Application of philosophy of science tools to analyze knowledge integration.
• Examination of cross-cultural recognition of property clusters and ontological overlap.
• Analysis of ontological divergence as a limitation to integration.

Main Results:

• Ontological overlap, facilitated by cross-cultural recognition of property clusters, can lead to epistemically productive and socially useful knowledge integration.
• Ontological divergence acts as a significant limitation to successful knowledge integration.
• Integration failures are as crucial to understand as successes.

Conclusions:

• Successful knowledge integration hinges on recognizing ontological overlaps.
• Addressing ontological divergence is key to overcoming integration limitations.
• Effective integration requires complementing efforts with a political concept of ontological self-determination for Indigenous knowledge systems.