Ecological complexity, fuzzy logic, and holism in indigenous knowledge

Some indigenous knowledge is said to be holistic in the way it deals with the environment. Given the difficulties of Western science with complex environmental problems, any insights from the holism of indigenous knowledge are of major interest. Based on examples from Inuit and other northern peoples, it appears that indigenous knowledge approaches complex systems by using simple prescriptions consistent with fuzzy logic. Specifically, indigenous knowledge pursues holism through the continued reading of the environment, collection of large amounts of information, and the construction of collective mental models that can adjust to new information. Such an approach serves the assessment of a large number of variables qualitatively. as opposed to focusing on a small number of variables quantitatively. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd.