Science with Lawrence Krauss The Shape of Dialogue Podcast No 12
Professor Krauss - https://www.lawrencemkrauss.com/
In 2021, seven University of Auckland professors published a letter titled In Defence of Science.
The professors' were responding to a Government education report (link below), recommending parity for Mātauranga Māori in the secondary school curriculum, and in particular, in the science classroom.
The report states:
”Our goal is to ensure parity for mātauranga Māori with the other bodies of knowledge credentialed by NCEA (particularly Western/Pākehā epistemologies)."
The report also states:
"Philosophy and History of Science is a unique strand in Pūtaiao [Māori word for Science], with no equivalent in the New Zealand Curriculum. It promotes discussion and analysis of the ways in which science has been used to support the dominance of Eurocentric views (among which, its use as a rationale for colonisation of Māori and the suppression of Māori knowledge); and the notion that science is a Western European invention and itself evidence of European dominance over Māori and other indigenous peoples. Pūtaiao allows opportunities to incorporate Māori perspectives and knowledge about the natural world into the classroom. In this regard, it decentres Western epistemologies and methodologies."
The professors' letter arose from their concern for "the disturbing misunderstandings of science emerging at all levels of education and in science funding", which they state is encourages a mistrust of science. Their concern is in the context of the decline in maths and science achievements in New Zealand schools, particularly by Māori and Pacific Island students.
Their letter stated that:
"Indigenous knowledge is critical for the preservation and perpetuation of culture and local practices, and plays key roles in management and policy. However, in the discovery of empirical, universal truths, it falls far short of what we can define as science itself. To accept it as the equivalent of science is to patronise and fail indigenous populations; better to ensure that everyone participates in the world's scientific enterprises. Indigenous knowledge may indeed help advance scientific knowledge in some ways, but it is not science".
The reaction to the "In Defence of Science" by the University of Auckland, the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi, the Tertiary Education Union, and the New Zealand Association of Scientists was not positive and can be viewed in the following articles…
NZ Herald - Scientists rubbish Auckland University professors' letter claiming Māori knowledge is not science
https://tinyurl.com/2p8v2h9s
RNZ - University academics' claim mātauranga Māori 'not science' sparks controversy
https://tinyurl.com/2ybvk3ja
Research Professional News - Public letter from academics sparks Māori science row
https://tinyurl.com/3juc66yc
An open letter in response to the professors' letter by professors Hendy and Wiles, "An open response to In defence of science" was co-signed by 2000 people.
https://tinyurl.com/2p8m65xn
Sadly, professor Corballis is no longer with us, having been diagnosed with cancer in October. The same month the Royal Society announced a breach of conduct inquiry into Corballis and two of his co-authors, Nola and Cooper, all fellows of the Society. The Society had publicly criticised the professors for the letter. Furthermore, it initially included two panellists who had signed the Hendy/Wiles letter against the professors, and all five complainants who sparked the inquiry were anonymous. The Royal Society's role is to "advance and promote research and scholarly activity, the pursuit of knowledge". However, the Society seems blind to their lack of impartiality and due process and to the irony of prosecuting some of New Zealand's most preeminent scholars for academic expression well within the limits of their professional, legal and ethical obligations.
After pressure from renowned international scientists such as Richard Dawkins, Steven Pinker and Jerry Coyne, in April 2022, the Royal Society announced that it would no longer proceed with the investigation. Professors Nola and Cooper resigned from the Society in protest of their treatment. Also, 73 RSNZ Fellows signed a petition objecting to the Society's treatment of Cooper and Nola. They called for an apology and a thorough investigation of the Society's practices and dubious investigation of three of its most renowned members.
Unfortunately, Professor Corballis can no longer clear his name from the Society's erroneous charges. For professors Nola and Cooper, the threat of an investigation may well have been the punishment itself.
Links…
Government report - https://tinyurl.com/3yfry76h
“In Defence of Science”
“More In Defence of Science” - Supplementary Note
Briefing document - professors Corballis, Nola and Cooper and the Royal Society of New Zealand.
https://medium.com/@shapeofdialogue
Music: Kyrie from Bach B Minor Mass conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Buy it here: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232-cum-sancto-spiritu/1053521016
