Claude Lévi-Strauss and the knowledge construction of the amazonian thinking

Abstract

In the current Brazilian academic scenario, we have observed the exoticizing tendency, used as a way to understand and analyze Amerindian cosmovisions, being replaced by more tolerant postures towards the knowledge framework built by the first inhabitants of the continent. However, it is still necessary to search for the causes that make the Western way of thinking organization so refractory to other forms of rational organization. Committed to building bridges in order to bring together different understanding logic, we support our analysis on the following works: Claude Lévi-Strauss (1989; 2005), in order to reflect on the constitutive peculiarities of Amazonian thinking, in consonance to findings observed in the descriptive-analytical works of Belota (2012); Amazonense (2013) Maisel (2014), developed in the strictu sensu post-graduation course of the Federal University of Amazonas. From this brief incursion, we conclude the functioning logic of primitive thought is still present in the Amazonian populations’ daily practices. Finally, we suggest that the systematization of the traditional knowledge produced should serve as a basis for the construction of educational public policies networks at all levels of training, due to its originality and epistemological power.