Social thought in the Amazon

(re) visions of Science

Abstract

Amazonian development has been marked by constant contrast between the occidental way of producing knowledge and existence and the differentiated local ways, developed by the indigenous peoples and whites living in the forests in isolation and in complex interactions. Differentiated moments of overexploitation of man and/or nature have forged a rich and complex mosaic of social conceptions of difficult administration. Modern science became dominant and at the same time developed and accentuated dependence. The new technological determinations tend to promote the conservation of nature, depriving it, however, of its greatest treasure: genes and active principles. What remains is an expropriated nature, carrying only a symbolic value, demanding the obtaining of forms of development starting from elements of reduced exchange value. The basic characteristics of science facilitate the conform ation, and at the same time hinder such a process, but only at the expense of epistemological ruptures and cultural changes in the core of the scientific community.