Reflections on the Ethics of Using Western Philosophy to Guide Research in Aotearoa

Abstract

Undertaking research requires ethical reflection. In Aotearoa New Zealand, a nation with a history of Indigenous Knowledges being colonised, ethical guides and processes aim to reduce the potential harm of research. This article outlines the realisation of a dilemma that a PhD student and her supervisors contended with when proposing Maori representation in a study that was guided by a philosophy established in Europe. The harm of colonising Indigenous Knowledges by analysing them using western ideas, versus the harm of marginalising Indigenous Knowledges is discussed in relation to the idea of taonga as described in various Waitangi Tribunal claims.