Understanding The Eskimo Science Richard Nelson Summary

Richard Nelson highly praises the Eskimo for their knowledge and adaptation. They are known to be living in the harshest environment, yet they brilliantly adjust their lifestyle to survive it. Nelson describes many events he has encountered during his time in Alaska to demonstrate how deeply the Eskimos are bonded with the nature. His main argument is simply stating their interaction with nature and an affinity with the non-human life. He wants to use the relationship between Koyukon Indians and the nature to show what we once had that was forgotten and ignored.

Unlike us, the Eskimos are very observant of their environment, something that we are lacking of. They observed, learned, and adapted in order to survive with very scared resources. Their knowledge is tested and widely accepted and shared among their own community, thus the title “Understanding the Eskimo Science” is best appropriate for the article. In science, one must observe and carry out an experiment to test their theories. Once it was proven to be true, the theories are shared and must be accepted by the other scientists as well. That is one of a very few things we have in common with the Eskimos

The Koyukon Indians fully embrace the term “biophilia,” which means “a deep, pervasive, ubiquitous, all-embracing affinity for nonhuman life.” For instance, they treat the carcass of the animal in a ceremonious and elaborate way with respect to the animal spirit.

Nelson, however, points the fact that the natural world are deeply embedded into the Eskimo lives. They are unable to grab the true concept of biophilia. In order for them to embrace the meaning, he suggests, they will have to isolate themselves from the nature. To the outsiders, there is no doubt the term is rooted within their culture. It is in every aspect of their lives that it becomes impossible to disassociate themselves from it. So, how would they understand the meaning of biophilia when they have never been without

it?
Many contemporary Americans, who has little to no connection with the nature, could agree that the passage seems “exotic” and quite hard to believe without a proper supporting statement or evidence. The only supports he has for his claims are the stories of his time in Alaska. In addition, his article was very bias in favor toward the Eskimo. Therefore, it makes his argument very weak and unreliable. There were many theories that he was told by the Eskimo people but have never been tested by him. For instance, he was told that the polar bears are left-handed. Nelson is willing to believe in just anything they say without any evidence and openly admitted that he has never tested the theory. The only reason as to why he easily believes them is because he had becomes accustomed to their culture and lifestyle. He began to stop questioning the stories and have faith in them.
I couldn't entirely agree with Nelson's statement of how “we treat our environment as if it were numb” to us. It is, indeed, true that we turn blind-eyed to our ancestral traditions. However, I believe it is perfectly reasonable and understandable for us to change. Our society is greatly dissimilar to the Koyukon Indians society. While they live in a very small population with the scared resources, we are a highly populated community with many useful resources. We can make trades with other countries. We can use our enormous resources to make up for what we don't have. We are adapting to our environment as they are adapting to theirs.