sci 11 (module 1-3)

• Biocultural - human culture-nature interrelationship
• Biocultural Knowledge - rooted in natural environment and nature
• Clay Tablets - Sumerians
• Papyrus Scroll - Egyptians
• Bamboo, bone, or wood - East Asians
• Animal Hide - Mayans
• Wax Tablet - Romans
• Parchment - Medieval Europe
• Paper - Chinese and Qur'an
• Paradigm - framework of theories, methods, standards, and guiding principles
• Reductionist - analysis of complex into parts
• Growth of Science - rise of scholars, inventions, and scientific discoveries
• Scientific Method - experimentation
• Paradigm Shift - antiquity to renaissance
• Paradigm Shift - germ theory of disease
• Indigenous Knowledge, Systems, and Practices - traditional knowledge
• Knowledge was transmitted orally and experientally
• Orally - telling stories, chanting music, and creation of visual arts
• Experientially - direct teaching in hunting and gathering, and experiencing living systems both physically and metaphorically
• Elders - esteemed their knowledge
• Storyteller - ability to tell stories in a memorable, engaging way
• Hunter - knowledge of wildlife
• Gatherer - knowledge of fruits, animals, and herbs and their uses
• Farmer - knowledge of seasons and the signs of wind and sky
• Priestly Class - sole interpreter of the god's desires
• Oral Cultures - storyteller was the keeper of knowledge
• Literate Cultures - knowledge was stored and transmitted
• Literacy allowed for the expansion of collective knowledge
• Cuneiform - writing style of Sumerians
• Written lectures of Greek Philosophers were transmitted through the years by translators and scribes from the Roman Times, then transmitted by the Islamic translators and scribes, and the Christian monks and learned men
• Most Important Questions of Human Existence by Greek Philosophers

  • What is Man?
  • What is the World?
• Aristotle - backbone of philosophical studies
• Specialist - considerable body of experience in practical fieldwork
• Generalist - knows many different areas of study
• Species - breeding group of particular animals or plants that can breed and produce offspring that eventually could reproduce
• In Medieval Europe and Golden Age of the Islamic Civilization, knowledge and its interpretation were prescribed by a ruling class
• Monastic Schools - important in terms of education, governance, and practical applications of astronomy and medicine
• Church - sole interpreter of Holy Texts
• Exposure of Europe to Near Easter was due to:

  • Silk Road
  • Crusades
  • Colonial Expansion
• Arabic Number System - improve on Indian numeral system to include the zero