The Anáhuac Knowledge System: a Dialogue Between Toltecs and Descartes

Rudolph C. Rÿser, PhD

Abstract

Indigenous political leaders and indigenous peoples’ diplomatic representatives urge states’ government and international organization representatives to sit at the negotiating table to ensure that traditional knowledge becomes incorporated in local, regional, and international agreements aimed at mitigating and organizing adaption strategies to remedy the adverse effects of climate change. How can traditional knowledge be employed along with conventional sciences? When indigenous peoples’ advocates call for scholars, representatives of states’ governments, and international institutions to recognize and respect “traditional knowledge,” what features of traditional knowledge should they recognize and respect? How will they know the difference between conventional knowledge and traditional knowledge—are there differences and what are they? Can traditional knowledge inform modern climate change food security adaptation strategies, and if so what form does the application of traditional knowledge take? In this essay I offer an answer to these questions by explaining a Fourth World scientific method for deciphering the knowledge system of proto-historic West Mexico (600 CE to 1540 CE) and blending that method with conventional scientific methods. I discuss a method of multi-variant domain retrodiction and the transposition of elements of the ancient Anáhuac scientific system into a contemporary structure blended with aspects of conventional scientific methods, thus providing details about the construction, internal coherence, and conceptual foundations of a knowledge system
that extends throughout the western hemisphere. The conceptual framework presented can be incorporated into agreements between indigenous peoples’ representatives and their counterparts in states’ governments as they seek approaches to mutually understanding strategies for tackling vexing complex problems. Discussing a method for “blending” the Anáhuac knowledge system with the Cartesian knowledge system that arose in 17th century Europe may be possible if the two systems are used “in parallel” to facilitate collaboration between indigenous scientists and conventional scientists permitting them to formulate adaptation strategies that help all populations. The method of decipherment and transposition may have wider application when the need exists to blend ancient knowledge systems from various parts of the world with conventional knowledge systems used to address complex challenges in many parts of the world.