erc starting grant 2016 research proposal -...

Stephan Götze Part B2 IEM

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ERC Starting Grant 2016

Research proposal

Part B2: The scientific proposal

Section a: State-of-the-art and objectives

The Context

1.1 Ecological Situation

Clearly climate change and other ecological challenges have reached existential dimensions in the meantime

(EIA 2007, EIA 2012, IPCC 2013). Global warming is at around 0.6 – 0. 8 degrees, and the controversies

surrounding this subject shall not be taken into consideration here (see Buttschardt 2005). There does

however seem to be general agreement that an increase of 2 degrees could be highly dangerous. Despite this,

market shares of products with high or acceptable ecological standards are still at single-digit percentages

overall (Götze 1998; Götze 2010; Weizsäcker, Hargroves, Smith 2010; CSCP 2013).

The overall consumption of materials in Europe – stone, metal, wood, and other resources – is currently at

around 60 tons per citizen per year. To be sustainable this consumption would have to be lowered to 8 tons

(CSCP 2013; CSCP was co-founded by UNEP United Nations Environment Program). Also, any ground

gained by attempts to reduce energy and natural resource consumption is still more or less negated by the so-

called rebound effect (Jevons 1866; Gillingham, Kotchen, Rapson, Wagner 2013; Pfaff, Sartorius 2014).

1.2 Indigenous Context

It is said that Indians and Aborigines had a different sort of relationship with nature than modern societies….

Reports on the mythologies, values, societal structures, histories and habits of indigenous peoples are

numerous, since the scientific disciplines of ethnology (Beer, Fischer 2012) and anthropology (Erikson,

Nielsen 2001) have been researching these things for many years. Other disciplines, like history (Price

1996), philosophy (Schelling 1809), religion (e.g., Center for Comparative Theology and Cultural Studies

University of Paderborn, 2015), or sociology and political science (TWSC 2007) also touch on these subjects

once in a while.

Initiatives are undertaken on high levels, most prominently at the UN United Nations with its permanent

forum for indigenous issues (United Nations 2015), Amnesty International (2015), the Society for

International Cooperation (GIZ 2015), and the Society for Threatened Peoples (GFBV 2015). These vast and

long-lasting activities can hardly be summarized in a few sentences, but most often they concern the rights of

these minorities, how to shelter them, and how to give them any sort of voice at all.

The indigenous peoples themselves – who cannot be seen as a homogenous group, but rather as a large

sample of different cultures (the GfbV estimates around 5000 different peoples speaking around 4000

different languages) – of course also undertake variations of initiatives and organize themselves. Some are

types of states – respectively federal states (e.g., Greenland), some are states within states – not independent

but with certain rights (e.g., Lakota Indian Reservations in South Dakota, USA), and some have founded

umbrella associations – like in the Amazon Basin in South America (COICA 1984) or the Aborigines in

Australia (AAL 1933).

Many indigenous people live at the lowest social levels. Drug and alcohol abuse are higher compared to

other groups of societies, income and education lower, and they live shorter. Details and interpretations are

documented by the UN United Nations (UN 2015).

When exactly the last of the free living indigenous peoples was actually subdued (Sandoz 1942) is a matter

of opinion: perhaps with the killing of the last Lakota chief in freedom in 1877, or with the surrender of

Geronimo in 1886 – whereas his people, the Apaches, had already been defeated previously (see Barrett

1906, 1970).


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It was during these years that oil production began (Drake 1859), with electricity also coming into use in the

1880s. Exactly at the time that Edison registered the patent for the phonograph (Edison 1877), artificially

conserving human voices for the very first time, the Lakota were forbidden by law to sing their holy songs,

with which they communicate with the spirits of nature. This might be seen as an coincidence. One

interpretation could be that modern technologies – beginning with oil and electricity – having become the

drivers of civilization, have been instrumental in bringing about the ecological concerns of today (Götze

2012).

Social Scientific, Anthropological and Interdisciplinary Research

2.1 Bruno Latour´s Actor-Network-Theory and Findings

Bruno Latour (Latour 2013) ascertained that modernity is more an illusion than anything else, as it, in its

endless longing for civilization, suddenly finds the earth itself coming straight at it. In working for a form of

diplomacy, as he calls it, between modern and ancient ways of thinking, he started an ERC funded study

about the anthropology of modernity to figure out what exactly the unique characteristics of modernity

actually are, and thereby discover its heritage. (ERC Nr. 269 567, the funding of around 1,3 Million Euro for

this project ended after 4 years on August 31st 2015)

Latour applied his actor-network theory. He postulates that the basic and central institutions of modern

societies, such as law and courts, science, medicine, and religion, are not precisely shaped, stable, objective,

and secure – and neither are their values. He reasons this, e.g., because their values, rules, and habits change

over time, and because they overlap in certain ways. All of this might be better understood as networks with

actors. Each institutional network, he says, has so-called hiatus (open spots) through which one institution

flows in some way into the other ones.

The second centerpiece of these institutions, he says, are the people who act within them. Their

understanding of what they do plays a key role in how they hold and live the institution's values; whereas the

values themselves may change over time; the institutions' rules were not stable, fixed, and clearly shaped.

And also there are so-called trajectories along the developments of actions and values, as Latour words it.

An anthropologist often looks at so-called story lines to analyze a group or society. And the story line Latour

saw in modernity, which occurs in central institutions, were obviously leading him to his famous conclusion

that, “we have never been modern at all.”

Many cultural, scientific, and technical achievements are of course of great worth, and have clearly earned

their heritage. But this is not the focus of the research at hand. And Latour, with his outstanding education is

certainly the better expert for this question.

2.1 Philippe Descola: Beyond Nature and Culture

Philippe Descola (Descola 2013), who has lived with the Jivaro Indians for the two years, has analyzed the

cosmologies (mythologies) and teachings of numerous indigenous peoples around the world. He has

concluded that to differentiate between man and nature might be at the root of our ecological problems in the

first place. Philippe Descola furthermore foreshadowed, in the conclusion of his comprehensive

anthropological masterpiece, that there may indeed be real substance to indigenous views of the world.

2.3 Recent Scientific Findings Confirm Ancient Lore and Old Knowledge

Again and again the most recent scientific findings are simply confirming what has already been being said

for thousands of years in indigenous teachings. And hereby, more general wisdom works in tandem with

concrete pragmatic knowledge and abilities. Some examples:

2.3.1 Genetics

Lakota Indians say, “Mitakuaye Oyasin”, at the end of each prayer (Lame Deer, Erdoes 1979), like the

Christians say, “Amen”. This term means, translated, “All my relations”.

This expresses that any being – any human and any beings in nature – like animals, plants, stones, and spirits

– are related, and that the one who prays has all of them in mind – always ready to give himself for the

wellbeing of these others. One of the more recent findings in genetic research has brought to light that every


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man and woman on Earth is related in some way or other (Pääbo 2011).

2.3.2 Medicine

Our focus here, on the application at hand, is ecology. But, as a medical example, it is often the case that

indigenous teachings about healing and teachings about nature go hand in hand. It is likely that, during future

ecological research, findings about medicine will automatically occur as well.

Something that might serve as an example of simple pragmatical knowledge helping medical advancements

would be the Nobel Prize 2015 in medicine (Youyou Tu 2004). The Chinese pharmacologist Youyou Tu has

developed a new medicament to fight malaria based on her research of the ancient knowledge of healers in

China. She found documentation of a particular effect derived from using the annual mugwort. Elder

medicine men and women of different tribes keep broad knowledge from the time before the industrial

revolution.

2.3.3 Nuclear Physics and Indigenous Knowledge About the Cosmos

A recent finding in physics says that there is no material, no matter at all, even when we look behind the so-

called quarks. There is only agility, relationships, and movement – which is the smallest element of all.

It wasn't some so-called esoteric weirdo who found and said this, but the highly respected Prof. Hans-Peter

Dürr. Dürr was a pupil of Heisenberg (and Heisenberg the pupil of Niels Bohr – Heisenberg 1930), and he

followed on in Heisenberg's position when Heisenberg retired. Dürr taught Physics in Berkeley, was director

of the Max Planck-Institut for Physics and Astrophysics in Munich, and has received two Nobel Prizes (one

was the Right Livelihood Award 1987, and the other was the Peace Prize, together with Pugwash, 1995).

Dürr said: “the smallest things of all in this world are…" (and it is hard to understand for us, but is a fact, he

said) “…passings”, which he called “wirks”. The smallest thing is not a thing but movement itself (Dürr

2010, Dürr 2012).

In ancient Lakota teachings it has been known since their beginning of times, that the second “Goddess” (or

instance in the universe, depending on how one wants to name it), who was created by “Wakan Tanka” (the

“Great Spirit”, more or less the same as God in Christian and other religions), is “Skan” – the movement

(Walker 1983). “Skan” is defined to be the movement which is in all things, and without which no life is

possible. “Skan” is thus in the system of their 16 great mysteries (Lame Deer, Erdoes 1992) or spiritual

entities (depending on how one names it), the highest after God himself. Chief Lame Deer confirmed this at

the founding assembly of the indi gen e.V. in Mannheim, Germany, 2015.

2.3.4 Dark Matter

And they knew about still more: for example, about black holes and the dark matter in the universe. Dark

matter, according to recent interpretations (Clowe et. al. 2006), is by far the largest part of the universe, but

still nobody knows what it is. (Of course others doubt dark matter exists at all, as it is mostly in the sciences

that there are such differing points of view; e.g. Kroupa 2010, University of Bonn).

The Lakota have known for thousands of years that the universe was created from the darkness, and that the

darkness shapes it. They also know the characteristics of this darkness. This has not been researched

officially yet, but it has been discussed and reported at the kick-off meeting for the founding of the applicant

body (2014).

2.3.4 Botany

Archie Fire Lame Deer, who began sharing these teachings with some Europeans in the 1980s, mentioned

that he knew of 1,024 plants with psychoactive effects. But he wouldn't openly identify them, as the risk of

abuse was too high (Lame Deer 1988).

On May 17th 2014 – during a workshop in the preliminary stages of the founding of the applicant body at a

University Campus in Mannheim, Germany – Chief Lame Deer told a story he'd experienced with his father

when he was a young boy: “We were walking in the fields to find a certain plant for healing. I wanted to take

one I found next to the path. 'No', my father said, 'it hasn't heard the song. It is not ready to give its life so


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that others may live.' I took it out along with its root and the root was somewhat poorly formed. At home,

before leaving, my father had sung a holy ancient song. Later on our way, my father pointed to another plant

of the same type. I took it out and the root was long and strong. My father took it to the Sun Dance where

dancers touched it again and again. Then he healed people with this root – he took cancer out.”

The Florentine professor of biology, Stefano Mancuso (2015), has just published his findings about the

communication systems of plants. They communicate through smells, messenger substances, and by way of

these also through their roots – even over distances and among different families of plants. He called his

book, “The Intelligence of Plants”.

2.3.4 Excursus: Not all that is Indigenous and Old is Good, Just as not Everything that is Modern is Bad

Not all that is indigenous and old is necessarily good. Bad examples are e.g., the Aztecs, who saw the

Psylocibin mushroom as their god – when it is in fact just a psychogenic drug, and a dangerous one at that.

Their mushroom “god” gave them weird orders – a familiar phenomenon of schizophrenia – even to the

point that it led them to sacrifice their children (Prem 2006; DER SPIEGEL 2003). Cannibals are another

bad example.

It can be the same with indigenous peoples as with other ethnicities: there are good ones and there are bad

ones. Some are highly developed – undeniably to be counted at the crown of evolution (in which case we do

not refer to an understanding of evolution in Darwinistic terms; we will come back to this later). Others are

little more than aggressive, awkward, or criminal. Obviously the same can also be said of modern societies.

But putting together the best of both worlds could be fruitful.

2.3.5 Parallels Between Indigenous Teachings and Reports in the Bible – Climate Change and Weather

Phenomenon – Elijah and the Weather

There are various accounts of certain abilities related to indigenous teachings that bear similarity to, or are in

some cases even identical to, Biblical reports from the Old and New Testaments.

Bruno Latour, who was Professor at Harvard, Yale, and at the London School of Economics (he also

received the Holberg Prize, the highest award in humanities, with 650,000 Euros, similar to a Nobel Prize),

commented to a newspaper about his view that the earth is an entity, and that he calls her, “Gaia” (2014):

“Gaia is an ambiguous concept. I can't change the the esoteric and other questionable connotations of this

name. But it has nothing to do with all of that.”

It also has nothing to do with the context of this research – which is about ecology only – and about

understanding reality better by combining old and modern wisdom, teachings, and analysis; scientifically

accomplished, but with old wisdom taken into consideration as well.

The Jews, the Christians, and the Muslims – who really are very seldom of one mind – are none the less (at

least far as it could be cleared up in the lead-up to this application) of one mind about the Prophet Elijah.

Elijah is respected and judged to be true in all three Abrahamic religions. This means that more than three

billion people on Planet Earth refer to a tradition and written record which includes Elijah – meaning that the

majority of people in the world – in the sense of the largest group of people overall. But what did Elijah do

(around 9th century B.C., see the Bible as a source), and for what is he known?

He called, with just a prayer, a period of drought in over the valley of King Ahab which lasted for several

years. He supposedly did this because this king had believed in the god Baal but not in the one and only God

from the point of view of Abrahamic religions. At least this is what King Ahab's wife, Isebel, accused him

of. Others say that he only prophesied this drought.

So, Elijah did things which are said of medicine men as well. Evidence of weather phenomenon witnessed

during Lakota and other ceremonies is true. Similar evidence is reported from other ethnicities (in Indonesia,

e.g., Hornbacher 2015, who is director of the Institute of Ethnology at the University of Heidelberg; she has

witnessed similar evidence in ceremonies of Indonesian Indians, as she told to the applicant body,

informally, some months ago), and from Buddhists (e.g. 16. Gyelwa Karmapa, 1981, see Götze 2012). This

doesn´t mean that just anybody can do this, or that this happens often. And no one has ever discussed it

under a global aspect.


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Previously, a TV journalist asked if this means that if everyone prays, climate change will disappear. No,

there is no hypotheses about this, as of yet. Science at the moment can only report this evidence (respectively

observations), offer first approaches, and invite discussion – while not hushing up certain evidence.

The applicant body does not explicitly judge these areas of evidence, as to whether all of this is good or

perhaps not so good in the end. But if any researcher takes a look at ancient times, sooner or later this point

will show up. Weather is just a small part of our focus at hand anyway.

2.3.6 Astronomy

A Lakota sweat lodge (which is similar to an igloo, made out of a meshwork of osier stakes which is covered

with blankets, featuring hot stones placed in the middle, and functioning somewhat like a sauna) wherein

Lakota pray and heal, is constructed to exact specifications which follow parallels in the cosmos and life. In

the middle of the sweat lodge a hole is dug where the hot stones are. And from earth dug out of this hole, a

small mound is fashioned next to the door. For thousands of years (it is estimated that sweat lodge

ceremonies are at least 11 thousand years old; Lame Deer 1988) this little hill has represented the moon –

whereas the sweat lodge itself, among other things in it, represents the earth. The Lakota knew that the moon

consists of material that came from of the middle of the earth. Astronomy discovered this only some decades

ago (Brush 1988).

2.3.7 Buddhism Opened Up to Science Some Years Ago, And Now Indigenous Teachings About Nature are

as Well

The Dalai Lama opened Buddhism to science not so many years ago with the words, “If what we say is true,

then it will be possible to measure it. If not, then we will think about it again.” The task of working with

Buddhism scientifically was also given to John Kabat-Zinn, a medical professor in Massachussets (Kabat-

Zinn 1990, 2011). Decades ago, meditation and the idea of chakras (invisible energy circles in the body and

soul respectively) were often belittled in much the same way as other examples of old teachings such as

acupuncture or yoga were. Many modern people thought such teachings were just new-age flower-power

things and not reliable or real. But the brain waves of monks and lamas were measured during meditation.

And the differences between these readings and those taken without meditation were observed and proven –

as well as the effects on the condition of people and their wellbeing in different aspects going along with

meditation. Nowadays many of such teachings have become part of normal every-day living.

2.3.8 Many Wisdom Keepers are Unknown – First Key Findings

When witnessing medicine men actually causing reactions in the local weather, it seems that these are not

matters of “being able to”, or a technique, know-how, a skill, or a mastery.

That this influence on weather seemed to be something other than a skill as such was also confirmed by

someone who came to the applicant body in the preliminary stages: a Gypsy woman whose wisdom and

abilities were based on old teachings and beliefs from the celtic druids.

The few people who are “able” to do these miraculous things that are sometimes discussed – mostly in an

incompetent way (in, for example, fairy tales, Hollywood movies, or idle gossip and urban myths), but also

sometimes in a competent way (like information in the Bible on how to go about praying, for instance), don´t

“do” this. It is, rather, simply a prayer; it is more like a plea, with a consciousness and awareness of how the

world and nature really are.

A feeling, which could be located in the belly, might go along with it – in deep humility to God, a god, a

spirit, or just to nature – a feeling of being connected. No fancy car could be wished up this way – no bank

account, no glory – but just modest, simple, small things. For example, when sunny weather is needed for a

healing ceremony outdoors for a sick child, but there is a thunder and rain instead; a Wicasa Wakan (holy

man of the Lakota Indians) “can” change the weather, by praying (as has been documented several times, see

e.g., Lame Deer, Erdoes 1979).

The price for reaching such a state of mind is very high – mostly linked to long suffering before, and

continuing with a high responsibility – with self-use excluded, as abuse leads to drastic consequences.

It might look attractive to many to have such an ability, “But if they knew what it means to be a Medicine

Man, they would not want to be one”, Lame Deer said (1988).


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The chairwoman of the Roma Gypsy clan mentioned above inherited her gifts from her grandmother, based

on many hundreds of years of a family tradition. She is able to do the same sorts of things as mentioned

above, and more. But she did not want to be mentioned by name, as it would get her into a great deal of

trouble with her tribe if she did so, she said.

And she said, more relevantly for our subject, “When people like us tell of things like this, the decisiontakers

simply don't believe us. The reaction may be depreciatory, or the reply might be that these are just some

stories of gypsies and indians and others like us who always tell such stories.”

“You have to go there,” she said, “and report and explain it. You have all of these diplomas which we do not

have.” She has never used her gifts for personal reasons. She uses them only to take care of her large and

poor clan. This is why this power and burden was given to her.

The Dalai Lama foresaw thirteen times in a row, through a period of many hundreds of years, where he

would be born the next time, and wrote it down. There are few people who doubt this. This ability is not

given to just anyone either. Only a few arrive at such a state of mind. Maybe it is similar to the “ability” of a

medicine man to synchronize with natural instances for certain moments at a time. The applicant body does

not claim to have the exclusive interpretation for such evidence.

2.3.9 The Turtle Sign and Weather

The Gypsy woman helped to find synergies between different indigenous teachings. In Lame Deer's first

book (Lame Deer, Erdoes 1979), a turtle symbol is mentioned. Depending on how this symbol is painted in

the sand, in combination with a certain song, the old Lame Deer, John Fire sen., was able to change the local

weather – quickly, reliably, significantly, and frequently witnessed. The Gypsy Chairwoman said about this,

“Ah yes, I also know of this turtle symbol from my grandmother. But all such ceremonies are, in the end,

only practices on a path towards a point where you no longer need anything or any symbol to help you

anymore. You learn a certain type of concentration, an attitude, inside, and one day you can do it just by

praying.”

2.3.10 Views of the World and the Indigenous Approach

There are different basic ideas and approaches concerning the Universe in the world. Whereas the

Abrahamic religions see the whole world in God´s hand, the Buddhists believe that the cosmos is in the

Buddha. The atheists generally follow some sort of scientifically based point of view – or, like the agnostics,

say they simply don’t know one way or the other – or they follow their conscience as their highest moral

principle – or they just don´t care one way or the other.

The indigenous approach might be summarized thus: that the world is not a thing but some sort of organism;

a way of thinking that might lead to new conclusions, new theories, and new findings.

As mentioned above, the ERC provided 1.3 million in funding for research which led, via another approach,

to a similar conclusion.

2.3.11 Theories are Often Complementary

There is, as mentioned above, also evidence for this indigenous view – though this should not be understood

to mean that this is the only correct approach and all others are not. Not even Einstein succeeded in finding

one theory which covered all of the questions asked by physics in order to integrate magnetism, gravitation

and electricity.

In the psychology of personal development, as a simple example, you have the trait-oriented theory (traits of

characters are given and develop over time), the concept-oriented-theory (that development takes place by

interaction with the social world) and Freud´s idea that everything has it´s roots in early childhood and just

repeats over and over in one way or other through life (Oerter, Montada 2008). Each theory possibly displays

various parts of how it really is, and it may well be this way in many fields of science.

In addition to these points of view, there are many little things about which the original inhabitants in a

certain area might know much better than others.

2.3.12 A Conclusion: A Perspective


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If it is to a certain extent as Indians say – and as some anthropologists now also say – climate change must

not necessarily have the last word. The linear continuity of climate change is then no longer a must, as the

entity Earth might react to mankind – not in a linear way, but as an organism – an entity.

Independent of the results surrounding this special hypotheses, all of the pragmatic knowledge about nature

held by indigenous people might be of help anyway.

2.3.13 The Objective

Taking stock of, and analyzing the heritage of ancient times, in the sense of the diplomacy of Bruno Latour.

How to go about this is described in the chapter on methodology.

The Question, the Task

3.1 Opening Indian Teachings for Science and Cooperation: Some Players, Some Requirements

The idea of opening informal wisdom and knowledge to the public and contributing unique knowledge about

nature to the international discussion of sustainability is quite new (Chief Lame Deer, Chief Crow Dog 2012;

Lame Deer 2013; for Chief Looking Horse 2014, and Angaangaq as representative of the Inuit, 2015, see the

link to the summit mentioned below) and has moved along parallel to the founding of the applicant body.

In November 2015 (17.11 – 19.11. 2015, HYPERLINK "http://indigenouswisdomsummit.com"

http://indigenouswisdomsummit.com ) a 2nd internet summit will take place where a group of indigenous

leaders teach anyone who is interested about basics of their teachings for free. Famous leaders will be taking

part, like Chief Looking Horse (19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe of the

Lakota; and therefore spiritual Leader of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Grand Sioux Nation; Julliet

Hollister Award; Wolf Award; Honorary Doctorate University of South Dakota), who, already in 2001, co-

initiated what many years later found a form in the applicant body.

This Indian summit is a wonderful approach, an indispensable complement, or perhaps even the basis of it

all, as without the agreement of the indigenous decisiontakers , the study at hand should not be conducted.

But, of course, approaches like this summit and numerous other initiatives, seminars, and teachings, are far

from respected scientific standards. But it might take just such standards to implement indigenous teachings

in the modern world – to integrate old and new.

Even earlier, end of the 80s, the other leader, chief and Wicasa Wakan (Holy Man), Archie Fire Lame Deer,

began to teach Europeans the Indian Way (Götze 2012), as mentioned above. This also has led to the

founding of the applicant body so many years later – as it takes a long time to learn and understand Indian

teachings from inside – and then to also be able to talk about it (around 25 years in case of the founding

chairman) .

The great-grandfather of Lame Deer fought the famous battle at Little Bighorn in 1876, leading the Lakota,

together with the well-known Chief Red Cloud. The Lame Deer's other great-grandfather, Chief Quick Bear,

signed the treaty of Laramie between the Indians and the U.S. Government in 1868, which was judged by the

U.S. Supreme Court to continue to be valid and binding up until today (together with the chiefs Red Cloud

and American Horse).

3.2 The State-of-the-Art

As far as is known, an investigation like the one planned at hand has never been conducted thus far. The

state-of-the-art is to be described by the context, the players, and its methodological dictums.

Section b: Methodology

Requirements of Science Theory

4.1 Popper, Habermas, Weizsäcker: Critical Rationalism, Propositional Truth, and Wisdom


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Some research was already undertaken during the preliminary stages of the founding of the applicant body.

This research was in regard to – and for developing a framework of – science theory (Weizsäcker 2015) and

philosophy (Hochmuth 2014), along with tools and mathematics (Götze 2010, Götze 2015) for social

sciences and economy (with a focus on the conceptual and empirical integration of linear and cyclic thinking

and modeling). Because, just as the Dalai Lama said, what is true should be measurable.

But, as Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker brought into the discussion (2015):

on the other hand, basic wisdom was here long before any analysis, and therefore Lakota natural teachings,

for example, will never live in or by analysis alone.

Weizsäcker pointed to the history of all sciences in general, from the time of ancient history and before.

Holism was there before analysis, he claimed.

Mankind has always wanted to better understand the world, and while watching the stars, the first

“scientists” discovered their orderliness. This is what led to mathematics, which has come to dominate the

world of today – mathematics being the tool used for proving things, and for carrying the economic system.

A forest is more than the sum of its trees, but holism might seem alien in the world of scientific matters.

Weizsäcker then cited Niels Bohr's Complementarity Principle (Bohr 1927) which says that anything that is

subjected to increasing specification for clarification, at some point loses its physical stability. For example,

if you decide to specifically study the kidney of a rat, the rat will end up dead as a result. This principle led to

Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle – which is acknowledged as the basis of modern quantum physics. (Bohr

won the Nobel Prize in physics, and is seen as one of the most important natural scientists of all time).

Von Weizsäcker therefore advised to not only analyze teachings like those of the Lakota Indians, for

example, but to simply learn them as well, and to have in mind that some wisdom was already here long

before analysis, and that some things should be handled with care.

It was during the beginning of the industrial revolution when, for the first time, scientists like Isaac Newton

became “powerful wise”, because what they invented was so very useful. But, simultaneously, it was the first

time that wisdom and science, who had always been a pair up until then, parted ways – and this was not a

good thing, as Weizsäcker commented.

And, as Hochmuth said, referring to Habermas in science (Habermas 1973; awarded with Holberg Prize ,just

as Latour, but in 2005), we are always forced to refer to and build upon aspects which are still not

understood. And therefore, in science we always follow a so-called “propositional truth,” which by definition

can never be complete and therefore can never serve as a basis for moral decisions.

Karl Popper (Popper 1934, 2004) who's Critical Rationalism is the basis of the main body of many modern

sciences, claimed that understanding is a ongoing processes, as we are part of what we investigate and

therefore will never understand it completely, but only in steps.

According to Popper, any measurement must be led by a theoretical assumption, referring to a theory with a

preferably broad coverage (of human behavior, in this context), but which can be empirically tested – and

also be proven to be wrong.

The research at hand shall be conducted with all these aspects in mind.

4.2 Further Thoughts About Sciencific Theory: New Research Designs to Prove Rare Evidence

If that which is reported, on the basis of the respected scientific method of participating observation, may

nevertheless not be respected by outside observers, the question is, how to measure or prove something of

this nature.

Obviously there might be some sort of soul-to-outside-world relationship. There might be human-human and

human-animal relationships, too; invisible relationships. And once again we have recent scientific findings

which now confirm what indigenous teachings already said long, long ago; namely, especially man-animal.

Just as the plant-plant-relations are begining to be understood.

The Cambridge Professor of Biology, Sheldrake, wanted to put an end to the discussion of wether or not

there could be a mental connection between humans and animals. He asked for the data about it, and as there

was none, he started studying it himself (Sheldrake 2008). He showed the example of a dog and it´s master;

how, under scientific conditions, the dog knew – statistically significantly often – when, kilometers away,


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and at varying points in time, the master finished work and left the building to come home (to the dog). The

dog got nervous and happily excited almost every time, and immediately went to the door to wait. The

experiment was repeated, also by critics and skeptics, and the results were the same. Of course many

nevertheless remain skeptical, and this particular discussion will not be repeated, judged, or solved right

now.

The point is: Many dog owners may confirm similar experiences. But: with another man, and another dog, or

at another point in time, this might not work.

And when another man, who is not a medicine man, sings a holy song or speaks a prayer so a child may be

healed or so that a cloud may move, more likely than not nothing will happen. And a skeptic might say that

this is an example of counter-evidence. No, it is not. There are certain phenomenon that may occur only

under a very special combination of elements and variables on the set.

The Method

5.1 Requirements in the Lead-Up

In order to realize a cooperation between industry, science, and wisdom keepers, certain aspects have to be

taken care of:

5.1.1 Manageable Database

To begin a documentation of the ancient knowledge which had been kept alive until now may, in the early

stages, be almost impossible, as it's likely to be of vast extent. On the other hand, much has already been

documented in various places in ethnology, anthropology and history. Only some very recent contributions

from the Lakota, e.g, which are of course also very old, are now “new”.

5.1.2 Fear of Abuse

Secondly it was told to the applicant body that indigenous wisdom keepers are most afraid of abuse by

industrial representatives, and therefore many of them are not ready to trust anybody with whom they are not

familiar.

As an example, it was said that an indigenous knowledge keeper might know a lot about certain fish and

circumstances on coasts, e.g., the paths and habits of certain fish populations. But if they were talk about

these things, with the healing of a fish populations and a costal area in mind, they fear that business people

could just abuse this knowledge to make more profit off of these fish.

5.1.3 The Earth is Not a Thing, But She Doesn´t Speak English

Thirdly, as already mentioned, several ancient indigenous teachings say – and in doing so also confirm a

conclusion of Bruno Latour's as well – that the earth is not a “thing” but rather some sort of organism. Many

of them even call it a being, namely “Mother Earth”. Bruno Latour, who´s approach was based on his actor-

network-theory, has put it into these words; that the earth is a reacting entity.

But this entity, organism, or even being, the earth, cannot talk – or rather, most people cannot understand

her. As a flower communicates like a flower, and a horse like a horse, and people like people, the earth, as

whole, has her own way of expressing herself.

All in all this leads to the following basic approach:

5.2 The Approach: Working with Personalities, Not With a Dusty Documentation of Knowledge

5.2.1 Preface

The applicant body was founded to put a cooperation between the indigenous and industry into a concept,

conduct basic research, and organize communication and a platform for working together – for the simple

goal of finding answers to ecological questions.


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No one, including the applicant body, may claim to represent and speak for all of roundabout 300 to 500

Million indigenous people – whereas it is also a question of definition as to who exactly is considered

indigenous (indigenous doesn’t mean “Indian”; a European who still lives in the country of his most ancient

forefathers is by definition also indigenous).

5.2.2 Trustworthy addresses

But the applicant body was founded by one of the most respected of indigenous chiefs. A man who has the

trust of many people, and whose father also was a close friend of the Karmapa and the Dalai Lama, and

whose grandfather was the one who once consulted Albert Einstein, and many others. Besides him, one of

the most respected ecologists in the world, Prof. von Weizsäcker (Vice-President UNEP United Nations

Environment Program Resource Panel, long scientific record) has also been a part of founding the applicant

body. If anyone is able to conduct such an investigation at all, it should indeed be this team. Together with an

address like the EU/ERC, and a University, the survey should look sufficiently trustworthy.

In addition, the third co-founder, Thiemo Fojkar, Chairman of the IB Internationaler Bund. The IB, with

13.000 employees, is majority shareholder of three Universities of Applied Sciences and runs 24 other

academic academies. Fojkar is furthermore member of the board of the EVVB, European Association of

Institutes for Vocational Training – the European umbrella organization for associations of professional

education.

The founding chairman of the applicant body, who would conduct the investigation, has 27 years of

experience with indigenous teachings, as well with sustainability, social sciences, and management (see the

CV).

5.2.3 Earth Mediators

The first thing that needs to be done, is a first time ever “stock-taking” of personalities who may be called

“Earth Mediators”.

As the entity, the organism, the being called “Earth” cannot speak for herself, she “speaks” through people

who are wise, enlightened, have an open heart, and have successfully completed teachings in order to have

an eye, the ears, and all of the senses to decode what Mother Nature and her beings communicate. It has been

proven many times, and witnessed by reliable witnesses, that such personalities as a Wicasa Wakan of the

Lakota can connect with the spirit or spirits in nature – this ability going hand in hand with pragmatic

abilities and knowledge in fields such as ecology, medicine, psychology, farming, housing, and others.

Such pragmatic knowledge alone is worth being looked at – also by absolutely equally respected skeptics,

who might see such aspects as belonging to fields like religion. But we must be allowed to mention that as of

yet obviously no skeptic holds a concept for the ecological questions on earth as mentioned at the beginning

of this proposal.

Some of the Earth Mediators might be famous medicine men or religious leaders, but most of them are not.

They might even hide, they are modest, some of them live perhaps amongst oppressed peoples. Their

abilities might be outstanding, but they may not yet dare to enter the public eye.

5.2.4 Mentalities

In many cases mentalities of indigenous people, and even of their leaders are different from ours, and the

cooperation is often not easy. On the one hand often simple poverty is a problem, and if they are not terribly

poor themselves, their relatives are. On the other hand, they have different understandings of time, habits,

e.g., for keeping fixed dates or deadlines (Claus 2007).

This is a question which might be handled by Diversity Management (Cox, Cox, O`Neill 2001).

The applicant body has broad experiences with these indigenous mentalities. How a cooperation might work

must also be studied under this aspect. Ideas and methods are already at hand.

5.2.5 Advantages of the Approach: Limiting Abuse, Manageable Database

By working out a basis, not of knowledge, but of keepers of knowledge, the danger of abuse would be

limited. As it would be up to these personalities wether or not they go into cooperation with, e.g., an

industrial representative or scientist, and what they would tell them. Secondly, the stock taking of the


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heritage of the earth by mediators would lead to a manageable database.

Examples of the given wisdom and knowledge of each Earth Mediator would be asked and the resulting data

base would be categorized. Anonymity would be guaranteed if the one interviewed wishes it.

5.3 Hypotheses

A hypothesis is that the self-estimation and readiness to cooperate by wisdom keepers would be sufficient,

and that they already, or still, are networking. For this reason, they are a sort of institution in the sense of

Latour.

Another hypothesis is that it will depend on their social relationships if and how a cooperation between

industry, science, and wisdom keepers might work.

A Structural Equation Model (Schmidt, Herrmann 2011) will be designed integrating all hypotheses about

relationships between attitudes, social influences, and intentions, and of course sociodemographic

characteristics. But to design it right now would lead too far at this point of the application and is not

relevant for a decision currently. The applicant has broad and long experience with all kinds of national and

international (global) social and market research.

5.4 Measurement, Survey, Characteristics of the Study

5.4.1 Web-based International Social Psychological Attitude-Behaviour Research

Attitudes towards a cooperation, and a self assessment of these Earth Mediators would be surveyed with the

most recent social psychological research tools as well as their social relationships – to get an idea of how

the heritage of the earth displays itself in an actor-network.

Interviews which would be standardized would be offered via the internet, as to find these keepers can only

follow an explorative approach. There is no telephone book where they can be found, and they might live in

any country imaginable.

This is not about the countless new age and self selected esoterics, it is about the ones in a million, who were

selected by their clans or otherwise reached a certain state of personal development, and if, they will know

that they are being addressed.

A social-psychological, anonymous, standardized interview would be one part, to answer the questions about

attitudes, social relationships and intentions. Another part might be a simple recording of the person´s vita

and focus, if he or she agrees.

In cases which look worth the time, a personal talk with a competent member of the applicant body should

follow to evaluate information and to get an idea of whom one is dealing with. Maybe 100 of such deep-

insight interviews would result.

5.4.2 Flanked by Public Relations, Media and Organizations

To reach such people press releases in relevant media over the world are to be placed, also in indigenous

media, and organizations informed to distribute this invitation.

Social-psychological interviewing techniques usually need an experimental standard and therefore a control

of the context of the interview, but this is too expensive in such an international survey with such vast

coverage, at the moment.

Plus, hardly competent interviewers might be found, and it is not clear if any field research team could really

be briefed for such a study at the moment; and if the indigineous wisdom keepers would talk to somebody

they don´t know, or at least knows somebody they can trust in person.

5.4.3 IT Tools in the Modern World

On the other hand, it might be that the one or other Earth Mediator has no IT affinity; some are explicitly

against it. Lame Deer reported that some of their elders would never even enter an airplane. But maybe they

can find a relative who likes and knows IT, and who would help to answer the web-based questions. In this

way at least, a first short contact to modern IT would be realized, as it will not be possible to build up this


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data base if they were to absolutely refuse this.

5.4.3 Length, n, Plausibility, Software

The web-based interviews of around a maximum of 30 minutes following the Fishbein-Ajzen-Model (Ajzen

2005) as mentioned below, would be conducted via the website of the applicant body, which should appear

trustworthy.

Nevertheless the resulting web-based data base must continuously examined with calculations of plausibility,

and cases which do not meet scientific standards must be excluded.

The resulting n number of cases cannot not be foreseen, but might vary between a hundred and a thousand,

worldwide. The deep-insight talks might last an hour or longer.

The data base would be analyzed by SPSS Statistical Package of Social Sciences.

The interviews must be multilingual, at least in German, English, French, Spanish, and later perhaps,

Portuguese, Russian, Arabian, Chinese, and individually modified for each culture. Some questions which

are normal, e.g., in the UK or Germany, are not in Arabian or Chinese.

International web-based interviews can be conducted by Lime Open Access Software.

5.4.4 Hypotheses as a Structural Equation Model Design

A theoretical assumption based on the actor-network theory and findings would be formulated and a

structural equation model designed. By AMOS (the software tool for structural equation analysis in the

SPSS) it would be calculated wether or not this model fits.

5.4.5 Timing

The planning and the time to collect interviews and data and to analyze it and report is estimated with one

year at the beginning. The project manager would spend 50% of his working time on the project.

5.4.6 Costs

The cost to program and manage the survey and data collection are as they usually in the market, maybe 500

cases with total costs of 50 Euros per case. The 100 deep-insight interviews would be run by the project

manager himself, or by of one of the co-founders mentioned above. Press releases must be distributed, and a

report written. The overall project cost shall be less than 80.000 Euros for one year.

The working time of the PI, based on experience: Designing the Structural Equation Model: 40 hours; the

questionaire and its implementation, multilingual: 60 hours. Writing and distributing press releases, talking

with relevant media and indigenous organisations around the world: around 200 hours. Continously

controlling the data collection, analysis of the data over a period of one year: around 160 hours. Preparing

and conducting around 100 deep-insight interviews: around 200 hours. Writing a report: around 200 hours.

Sums up to around 860 hours.

The average working time per year in Germany is at around 850 hours, so this is a half-time job for one year.

5.5 The Goal: A Platform for Cooperation

This work might serve as a basis for an IT portal which shall help organizing the contacts between the Earth

Mediators and cooperators in the industry.

At least some sort of stock taking might be possible, of who and what is still at hand, and what the heritage

of ancient times is, for diplomacy with modernity, as Latour words it.

In a next step or parallel step, an investigation should be conducted to analyze the other target group of such

a cooperation: decisiontakers in the industry.

5.6 The Tool


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5.6.1 The Attitude-Behaviour-Model of Fishbein & Ajzen, Ajzen´s TPB

Presenting the tool is at the same time presenting another example of research in the preliminary stages

empirically tested.

The members of the highly qualified committee will not be bored with details about social psychological

attitude-behaviour research. Maybe these details were even interesting, but they are not so relevant for this

application at the moment. (In case of interest see, for the cognitive, affective and conative structure of

attitudes: Rosenberg et. al. 1960; for a basic idea of the relevance of social influences: Cohen 1964; for an

integration of all variables Fishbein, Ajzen 1975; for the most recent state-of-the-art of how to measure the

best ways Ajzen 2005, Götze 2010).

5.6.2 A Coincidence in Los Angeles and Where it Lead Us

Instead, a certain finding, an approach, shall be shared.

Indigenous people often think cyclicly, modern people more linearly (Götze 2010, 2015). Below is an

example for a Lakota medicine wheel. Next to it you will find an attempt (Reagan 1994) to put Indian

medicine wheels into some sort of psychological modeling.

(There is something to say about Reagan: Reagan follows several of his own standards with which the

applicant body explicitly does not agree. Just his basis idea about medicine wheels has been picked up)

(Medicine Wheel of the Lakota) (First Attempt to put it into some sort of modelling)

The next graphic shows the graphic visualization of the Theory of Consumer Behaviour by Sheth & Raju,

from 1974 (Sheth, Raju 1974). Jagdish Sheth was one of the most citied economical scientists of the 1970s

and 80s, and at the time when the coincidence was discovered and he spoken with, he was Director of the

Institute for Economics at the USC University of Southern California, Los Angeles. He had no idea that the

evidence has occurred accidentally, but he confirmed the approach.

Just take a look at the pictures, taken from a presentation in german.


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(Model of The Cyclic Theory of Consumer Behaviour, Sheth & Raju, 1974)

For a long time it was not clear when and why attitudes result in behavior. The formulas which were tried out

over decades always had a linear form. Most or any linear formulas never lead to 100% results, in more or

less any field of science. Not even the fundamental physical constants cover 100% of evidence in the

Universe, just as Einstein´s theory is not undoubted or anything else.

The 4 “poles” of medicine wheels go along with characteristics of the four directions North, East, South and

West. When variables which do not lead to high stable percentages of explained variations in data analysis

are placed in circles in combinations which fit the characteristics of these poles, it can be understood why

and when which results occur. At least this has worked in social psychological behavioural analysis, by using

this approach the model fit was raised significantly.

Instead of linear mathematics Sinus functions were applied, this worked well. For the complete mathematical

derivation and the empirical testing see Götze (2010, 2015), unfortunately still available only in german.


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For references: see the appendix

Section c. Resources (including project costs)

Explanation of the costs: see paragraph 5.4.6

Cost Category Total in Euro

Direct

Costs

Personnel

PI

30.000.- plus 25%

Social Security

Contributions = 7.500.-

= total 37.500.-

Senior Staff Included in the Indirect

Costs of 25%

Postdocs Included in the Indirect

Costs of 25%

Students Included in the Indirect

Costs of 25%

Other Included in the Indirect

Costs of 25%

i. Total Direct Costs for Personnel (in Euro) 37.500.-

Travel Paid through own

account if needed Equipment Our own will be used

Other goods

and services

Consumables none

Publications (including Open Access fees), etc. Inhouse-effort,

included in PI 50 Euro for each case of interview / multilingual

translations / programming and data processing

included n = 500 cases n = 100 deep insight interviews: costs included at PI

25.000.-

ii. Total Other Direct Costs (in Euro) 25.000.-

A – Total Direct Costs (i + ii) (in Euro) 62.500.-

B – Indirect Costs (overheads) 25% of Direct Costs (in Euro) 15625.-

C1 – Subcontracting Costs (no overheads) (in Euro) none

C2 – Other Direct Costs with no overheads (in Euro) none

Total Estimated Eligible Costs (A + B + C) (in Euro) 78.125.-

Total Requested EU Contribution (in Euro)6 78.125.-

Please indicate the duration of the project in months: 12

Please indicate the % of working time the PI dedicates to the project over the period of

the grant:

50

Please indicate the % of working time the PI spends in an EU Member State or

Associated Country over the period of the grant:

100

erc starting grant 2016 research proposal -...

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