In the past, the European social sciences labelled and discredited knowledge that did not follow the definition for scientific knowledge as applied by the European social sciences as an alternative concept of knowledge, as "indigenous" knowledge. Perception has changed with time: Not only has indigenous knowledge become an entrance ticket to the European social science world, but the indigenization of European theories is seen by some as the contribution of "peripheral" social sciences to join the theories of the "centers". This book offers contributions to the discourses about alternative concepts of knowledge, inviting the reader to decide if they are alternative, indigenous, or European types of knowledge. However, in order to make this decision, the reader must know what the nature of the European concepts of science and of scientific knowledge is; this might be a motivation to read a book that presents thoughts claiming to be alternative concepts of knowledge, alternative to the European concept of science.

Michael Kuhn is president of the World Social Sciences and Humanities Network and director of Knowwhy Global Research. His background is philosophy, political science, and international economics. His research interests include philosophy of science, epistemological and infrastructural implications of internationalizing social sciences, and economy and politics in the era of globalization. Hebe Vessuri is a social anthropologist at the Centre of Science Studies of the Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Research (IVIC), Caracas. Dr. Vessuri's general interests are on the sociology and contemporary history of science in Latin America, science policy, and sociology of technology.