In July 2021, in the context of a review of the secondary school curriculum
National Certificate of Educational Achievement
The National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) is the official secondary-school qualification in New Zealand. Phased in between 2002 and 2004, it replaced three older secondary-school qualifications. The New Zealand Qualifications Au ...
(NCEA), seven
University of Auckland
, mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work
, established = 1883; years ago
, endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021)
, budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021)
, chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant
, vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...
professors and emeriti professors (known informally as the Listener Seven) published a letter titled "In Defence of Science" in the current affairs magazine ''
New Zealand Listener'', which generated considerable controversy for claiming indigenous knowledge (or
Mātauranga Māori
Mātauranga (literally ''Māori knowledge'') is a modern term for the traditional knowledge of the Māori people of New Zealand. Māori traditional knowledge is multi-disciplinary and holistic, and there is considerable overlap between concepts. ...
) "falls far short of what can be defined as science itself."
[ Kendall Clements, Garth Cooper, ]Michael Corballis
Michael Charles Corballis (10 September 1936 – 13 November 2021) was a New Zealand and Canadian psychologist and author. He was Emeritus Professor at the Department of Psychology at the University of Auckland. His fields of research were c ...
, Doug Elliffe, Robert Nola, Elizabeth Rata, and John Werry. “In Defence of Science.” '' New Zealand Listener'', 31 July 2021. p.4. The text of their letter was republished online a
'In Defence of Science Article', with a claim of permission
/ref>
Background
In February 2020, the New Zealand Cabinet
The Cabinet of New Zealand ( mi, Te Rūnanga o te Kāwanatanga o AotearoaTranslated as: "The Rūnanga (literally 'Council') of the Government of New Zealand") is the New Zealand Government's body of senior ministers, accountable to the New Ze ...
proposed several changes to the country's secondary school curriculum National Certificate of Educational Achievement
The National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) is the official secondary-school qualification in New Zealand. Phased in between 2002 and 2004, it replaced three older secondary-school qualifications. The New Zealand Qualifications Au ...
(NCEA) including according equal status to mātauranga Māori
Mātauranga (literally ''Māori knowledge'') is a modern term for the traditional knowledge of the Māori people of New Zealand. Māori traditional knowledge is multi-disciplinary and holistic, and there is considerable overlap between concepts. ...
(indigenous knowledge). Key changes have included developing new ways to recognise mātauranga Māori, building teacher capability, and improving resourcing and support for Māori learners and Māori worldview pathways.
In response to a 2021 report from a Government NCEA working group which proposed changes to the Māori school curriculum to ensure mātauranga Māori's parity with Western epistemologies, seven University of Auckland senior academics Kendall Clements, Garth Cooper, Michael Corballis
Michael Charles Corballis (10 September 1936 – 13 November 2021) was a New Zealand and Canadian psychologist and author. He was Emeritus Professor at the Department of Psychology at the University of Auckland. His fields of research were c ...
, Doug Elliffe, Robert Nola, Elizabeth Rata, and John Werry penned a letter that was published in the 31 July issue of the ''New Zealand Listener'' expressing disagreement with two of the report's assertions:
*That science has been used to support the domination of Eurocentric views including colonialism and the suppression of Māori knowledge.
*The notion that science is a Western European invention and itself evidence of domination over Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
and other indigenous peoples.
The authors argued that science was universal to humanity with origins in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...
, ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of Classical Antiquity, classical antiquity ( AD 600), th ...
, and India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. They also noted the Muslim world
The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. I ...
's significant contributions to mathematics, astronomy, and physics; which later passed onto Europe and North America. The authors also asserted that science was neutral rather than a tool of colonialism, highlighting its contributions to tackling global issues such as the COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
pandemic, climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
, pollution, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation.
While recognising the contributions of indigenous knowledge to culture, public policy and scientific knowledge, the authors contended that it was not science since it did not meet what they regarded as the scientific criteria for "empirical, universal truths." They alleged that placing indigenous knowledge on the same level of science would patronise and fail indigenous populations. Instead, they proposed ensuring that everyone had the opportunity to participate in the world's scientific enterprises.
Investigation
In mid-November 2021, the Royal Society Te Apārangi
The Royal Society Te Apārangi (in full, Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi) is an independent, statutory not-for-profit body in New Zealand providing funding and policy advice in the fields of sciences and the humanities.
History
The R ...
launched an investigation into two of the ''Listener'' letter's co-authors: biological scientist Garth Cooper and philosophy professor Robert Nola, who were fellows of the Royal Society. A third co-author and society fellow, psychology professor Michael Corballis
Michael Charles Corballis (10 September 1936 – 13 November 2021) was a New Zealand and Canadian psychologist and author. He was Emeritus Professor at the Department of Psychology at the University of Auckland. His fields of research were c ...
, had passed away earlier in the month. According to Nola, the Royal Society had established a three-person panel to investigate five anonymous complaints leveled against him and Cooper. Nola and Cooper had successfully challenged the appointment of two of the panellists, who had signed the open counter letter to the ''Listener'' letter (see ). In addition, three of the five complainants withdrew their complaints after the Royal Society required that they be identified for the disciplinary process to proceed.
The Royal Society's investigation of Cooper and Nola was criticised by several Royal Society fellows, who threatened to resign if they were disciplined. University of Auckland literature professor Brian Boyd criticised what he described as the "knee jerk" reaction to the ''Listener'' letter and described the view that mātauranga Māori be protected and only transmitted by Māori as contrary to the principles of universities and the Royal Society. Massey University chemistry professor Peter Schwerdtfeger criticised the Royal Socety's investigation as shameful and urged them to be open to debate and discussion. New Zealand Free Speech Union spokesperson Jonathan Ayling argued that the pursuit of science depends on free speech and accused the Royal Society of "abandoning its own heritage and tradition of academic freedom."
On 11 March 2022, the Royal Society published the decision of its Initial Investigation Panel, which concluded that the "complaints should not proceed to a Complaints Determination Committee" on the basis of clause 6.4(i) of the Complaints Procedures: "the complaint is not amenable to resolution by a Complaint Determination Committee, including by reason of its demanding the open-ended evaluation of contentious expert opinion or of contested scientific evidence amongst researchers and scholars".
Responses
Criticism
University of Auckland
, mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work
, established = 1883; years ago
, endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021)
, budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021)
, chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant
, vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...
vice-chancellor Dawn Freshwater
Dawn Freshwater is a British academic, university professor, mental health researcher, and the incumbent Vice-Chancellor of the University of Auckland.
Early life and education
Freshwater was born in a mining family in Nottingham, with tw ...
said the letter "caused considerable hurt and dismay among our staff, students and alumni" and that "the institution had respect for mātauranga Māori as a valuable knowledge system, and that it was not at odds with Western empirical science and did not need to compete." The Tertiary Education Union
The New Zealand Tertiary Education Union (in Māori: Te Hautū Kahurangi o Aotearoa) is the main trade union in the New Zealand tertiary education sector, and represents the interests of more than 10,000 workers employed within the sector across ...
(TEU), the union which represents academics such as the professors, released a statement saying they "neglected to engage with or mention the many highly accomplished scholars and scientists in Aotearoa who have sought to reconcile notions of science, mātauranga Māori, and Māori in science." The Royal Society Te Apārangi released a statement saying "The Society strongly upholds the value of mātauranga Māori and rejects the narrow and outmoded definition of science outlined in he letter" The New Zealand Association of Scientists
The New Zealand Association of Scientists is an independent association for scientists in New Zealand. It was founded in 1941 as the New Zealand Association of Scientific Workers, and renamed in 1954Gregory, G., 2013. Not to be forgotten: New Ze ...
released a statement saying "we were dismayed to see a number of prominent academics publicly questioning the value of mātauranga to science."
Daniel Hikuroa, also an academic and associate Professor in Maori Studies at the University of Auckland, asserted that Mātauranga Māori like Māramataka (the Māori lunar calendar) "was clearly science." University of Canterbury academic Tara McAllister said "we āoridid not navigate to Aotearoa on myths and legends. We did not live successfully in balance with the environment without science. Māori were the first scientists in Aotearoa." Blogger Tina Ngata claimed that "this letter, in all of its unsolicited glory, is a true testament to how racism is harboured and fostered within New Zealand academia."
In late July 2021, University of Auckland epidemiologists Professor Shaun Hendy and Associate-Professor Siouxsie Wiles
Siouxsie Wiles (born Susanna Wiles) is a British microbiologist and science communicator. Her specialist areas are infectious diseases and bioluminescence. She is based in New Zealand.
She is the head of University of Auckland's Bioluminescent ...
penned an open counter-letter expressing disagreement with the views expressed by the "Listener Seven". They argued that indigenous knowledge was compatible with Western understandings of the scientific method. They claimed that Mātauranga Māori was unique and complemented Western knowledge systems. Their letter also asserted that the diminishing role of indigenous knowledge in science was "simply another tool for exclusion and exploitation". They also claimed that science's "ongoing role in perpetuating scientific racism
Scientific racism, sometimes termed biological racism, is the pseudoscience, pseudoscientific belief that empirical evidence exists to support or justify racism (racial discrimination), racial inferiority, or racial superiority.. "Few tragedies ...
, justifying colonisation, and continuing support of systems that create injustice" was fueling mistrust in science.
Support
The letter writers were supported by National Party Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
Paul Goldsmith
Paul Goldsmith (born October 2, 1925) is a former USAC and NASCAR driver. He is an inductee of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, and the USAC Hall of Fame. Later in life Goldsmith became a pilot and, flying ...
, who stated that "we should learn about Māori understandings of the world, but not at the expense of our expertise in what the rest of the world call science." In addition, American biologist Jerry Coyne
Jerry may refer to:
Animals
* Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National
* Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fi ...
, British biologist Richard Dawkins, and University of Auckland literary academic Brian Boyd likened moves to elevate Māori indigenous knowledge to the same level as science as the equivalent of teaching creationism and Intelligent Design
Intelligent design (ID) is a pseudoscientific argument for the existence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins". Numbers 2006, p. 373; " Dcaptured headlines for its bold attempt to ...
in the school curriculum. Coyne and Dawkins also objected to the Royal Society of New Zealand's investigation of Cooper and Nola. Similar sentiments were echoed by conservative British social commentator and associate editor of ''The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'' Toby Young
Toby Daniel Moorsom Young (born 17 October 1963) is a British social commentator. He is the founder and director of the Free Speech Union, an associate editor of ''The Spectator'', and a former associate editor at ''Quillette.''
A graduate of ...
, who defended Cooper and likened the Royal Society's investigation to a witch hunt
A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern perio ...
.
In mid-November 2021, the New Zealand Free Speech Union objected to the Royal Society's investigation as an attack on academic freedom and organised a fundraiser to support Cooper and Nola.
In late December 2021, seven academics (Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand.
The university is well kno ...
Associate Dean Michael Johnston, Victoria University of Wellington Senior Lecturer James Kierstead, Dr David Lillis, Massey University chemistry professor Peter Schwerdtfeger, Auckland University of Technology
Auckland University of Technology (AUT) ( mi, Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau) is a university in New Zealand, formed on 1 January 2000 when a former technical college (originally established in 1895) was granted university status. AUT ...
environmental science professor Lindsey White, and University of Auckland professor Brian Boyd) published a joint letter in the website ''Newsroom'' defending the co-authors of the ''Listener'' letter from accusations of racism and urging universities and the Royal Society to uphold academic freedom and scientific inquiry.
2022 symposium
In mid December 2021, University of Auckland Vice-Chancellor Freshwater announced that a symposium would be held in early 2022 to discuss and debate the relationship between matauranga Māori and science. The symposium would host representatives from various viewpoints including mātauranga Māori, science, the humanities, and Pacific knowledge systems. Freshwater stated that the University of Auckland had also been undergoing a programme to "review and refresh" its commitment to academic freedom and freedom of expression. This programme is headed by Professor Peter Hunter, who confirmed that the University had a mechanism to debate controversial issues via its "Hot Topics" forum.
According to Stuff, in March 2022 a spokesman for the university confirmed that the symposium had been delayed.
Motion of no confidence
At the end of March 2022, 73 Royal Society fellows signed a motion of no confidence in the Society over its treatment of the signatories of the letter.
Recognition
The issue of addition of Mātauranga Māori to the science curriculum in New Zealand, and a more general exploration of the issue of intrusion of ideology into scientific institutions, was discussed in a paper by Abbot et al. entitled "In Defense of Merit in Science", published in April 2023 in the Journal of Controversial Ideas
See also
*Indigenous science
Indigenous science is the application and intersection of indigenous knowledge and science. In ecology this is sometimes termed traditional ecological knowledge.
Traditional and scientific
Indigenous knowledge and experiences have traditionally ...
References
{{reflist
2021 controversies
Controversies in New Zealand
Education in New Zealand
Higher education in New Zealand
Māori science
University of Auckland
July 2021 events in Oceania
Criticism of postmodernism