Comments: João Arriscado Nunes (CES/FEUC)

Abstract

The proposal is to discuss the interfaces between ecology, health and the production of knowledges with reference to conflicts and social and territorial struggles involving injustices and ecological problems resulting from the globalised capitalist economy, mainly in the Global South, in sectors such as mining, agribusiness, the oil industry, energy production and various infrastructures. The background portrays experiences of collaborative researches with affected communities and social movements, as well as the production of anti-hegemonic reports.

We propose a holistic view of health centred not only on the analysis of diseases (morbidity) and deaths (mortality) but on their relationship to life, nature, democracy, culture and fundamental rights. We summarize this concept in the expression "Health as Dignity", an alternative to intercultural dialogue by echoing the voices of countless peoples and movements that have been struggling for the right to life and common goods. The epistemological discussion is key in this process because it reflects how knowledge is conceived, produced and legitimized in such struggles. To discuss the ecology of knowledge, we will use some examples of advances and tensions in the production of knowledge, whether from the inner plurality of science or in the dialogue with external, non-scientific knowledge.

This activity is part of the Seminar Series «Epistemologies of the South Workshops», which runs from October 2017 to June 2018.