In this response, I briefly consider a Maori philosophy of reaction and disconnection, relating to certain Pakeha New Zealanders’ vehement, sometimes mocking, rejection of Maori spiritual entities (such as the taniwha). While Maori are often publicly reported on as being outraged at this rejection, what is not so widely cited is the concern that many Maori have at the rangirua (fundamentally fragmented) state that these individuals occupy. I suggest that rangirua engages with notions of control, to the extent that the (...) mocking individual is so highly concerned with disavowing the spiritual that implications arise for what is, from a Maori perspective, their wellbeing. Kingsbury argues for a particular kind of reality for the taniwha but not from Maori foundational propositions of existence. Her argument draws from the rules that are credible for analytic philosophy but not so much for a Maori perspective. Nevertheless, within those limitations, she argues well for a notion of taniwha that could make taniwha palatable for those Pakeha individuals. (shrink)

Achieving genuine engagement and understanding between communities with radically divergent worldviews is challenging. If there is no common ground on which to stand and have a discussion, the likely outcomes of an apparent intercultural disagreement are a stalemate, or the (sometimes colonialist) imposition of a single worldview, or a kind of relativistic tolerance that falls short of genuine engagement. In this paper, we suggest a way forward that takes as its starting point the philosophical discussion of deep disagreement, using the (...) example of taniwha (powerful water beings that must be treated with respect) to outline a strategy for building intercultural understanding and enabling constructive intercultural dialogue. (shrink)

In “Taking Taniwha seriously,” Justine Kingsbury proposes a way for taniwha pūrākau—traditional narratives about taniwha—to be taken seriously by non-Māori, which is one step towards respecting te ao Māori—the Māori world view. Taniwha are powerful water creatures who act deliberately to protect and sometimes punish humans. So characterised, there is an obvious obstacle to those who wish to respect te ao Māori but who are sceptical about the existence of supernatural entities. Kingsbury proposes a way to take taniwha discourse seriously, (...) but not literally. I agree that her view is realist, and that it overcomes the obstacle noted above. I argue in this paper that her approach ought to be considered an instance of what I call neutral realism, and that when we characterise it this way, we can see precisely how it enables the sort of intercultural respect that she seeks. (shrink)