Indigenous Philosophies

Question 1

concepts central to Indig philosophy

Answer 1

spirituality and philosophy combined, protocols around discussing certain aspects, oral history, traditions, many Indig groups, weight of history which has placed barriers on its practice

Question 2

the 2 key ideas

Answer 2

• connection to the land
• expansive notion of the “person” (a “person” can expand to include animals and ecosystems)

Question 3

colonialism

Answer 3

one culture trying to dominate another thru the subjugation of its ppl

Question 4

history of colonialism

Answer 4

after Enlightenment, Europe became very racist due to the Industrial Rev. (which created capitalism, led to the expansion of markets globally, and facilitated the movement of ppl and resources across oceans for settlement in colonies), this allowed misconstrued notions of race that justified colonists’ immoral behaviours of exploitation, there are still many attached misconceptions to Indigeneity

Question 5

essentialism

Answer 5

says that there are essential features that distinguish things from other things

Question 6

structuralism

Answer 6

says that there are some hidden causes and structures which explain observable things by influencing them; economic (explains why economic conditions are the way that they are), psychological (things are happening without our conscious awareness), racial (structures discriminate against those of other racial backgrounds)

Question 7

types of racism

Answer 7

• explicit: direct perpetuation of racist behaviours
• systemic: subconscious perpetuation of racism thru structures

Question 8

ethno-metaphysics / ethnophilosophy

Answer 8

the idea that a group of ppl has a philosophy, worldviews may be more practical and general whereas philosophies are more specialized and compartmentalized, there are many diff Indig ppls but there are constants throughout all Indig philosophies

Question 9

relativism

Answer 9

belief that truths are subjective for individuals and groups and based on one’s culture, no absolute truth

Question 10

perspectivism

Answer 10

finding truths is based on one’s experiences, sense of reason, and perception of the world

Question 11

phenomenology

Answer 11

comes from the brackets theory (overcome subject/object divide and subject-object distinction), says that the feelings and value of the phenomena/experience must be considered before allowing theories to explain them away, allows us to see experiences that are dismissed as being subjective, theories and reason obscure the lessons from the experiences

Question 12

key values in Indig philosophy

Answer 12

• experiential knowledge: Q of epistemology is answered thru experiences
• individual moral responsibility: Q of ethics is answered thru the connection with the land (being true with oneself and nature) and practicing humility (willing to be wrong, humanism, reflection, modesty)
• “expansion” of personhood: Q of metaphysics is answered thru the expansive role of the person
• components of philosophical theory: relationships between the self, society, nature, and the divine are ordered in various ways according to importance; in Indig philosophy, self->society->nature->divine (which is found in nature)