Module 1

• Understanding Living Systems in Ancient Times

  • An intimate knowledge of the environment was crucial for survival, encompassing water, food, shelter, and clothing
• Transmission of Knowledge in Oral Traditions

  1. Telling of stories

  2. Chanting and music

  3. Creation of visual arts
• Experiential Learning in Oral Traditions

  1. Direct teaching of the younger generations in hunting and gathering expeditions

  2. Experiencing living systems physically and metaphorically in nature walks, rituals, and dream journeys
• Roles in Knowledge Sharing

  • Elders esteemed for their knowledge, and the knowledgeable among them are required to perform special roles
  • Storyteller with the ability to tell stories in a memorable, engaging way, performs an important teaching function
  • Hunter imparts knowledge of wildlife and environmental signs, and the capability to create tools and weapons
  • Gatherer shares knowledge of fruits, animals, and herbs and their uses
  • Farmer understands seasons and natural signs of wind and sky for farming
• Holistic Appreciation of the Living System

  The natural world is seen as interconnected, with a moral responsibility to care for it and live in harmony
• The natural world - the land, plants, animals, seasons and cycles of nature - has been a central tenet of their lives and worldviews since the dawn of time. Their understanding of the natural world is sophisticated and comprehensive, and it is not viewed as a separate entity but one, interconnected aspect of the whole. This interconnectedness equates to a moral responsibility to care for, live in harmony with, and respect the natural world
• Central Tenet of Life and Worldview

  • The natural world, including land, plants, animals, seasons, and natural cycles, holds significant importance
• Sophisticated and Comprehensive


  • Their comprehension of the natural world is deep and extensive
• Interconnectedness


  • They perceive the natural world as a unified entity, not separate components
• Moral Responsibility


  • Recognizing interconnectedness leads to a sense of obligation to care for and live in harmony with nature
• Respect for Nature


  • There's a cultural reverence for the natural world, emphasizing respect and appreciation for its intrinsic value
• Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices (IKSP)


  Myths and legends and folklore - traditional knowledge passed on through traditional means for many generations, a product of careful and methodologically sound observations of the natural world, tested and re-tested for thousands of years in the most rigorous real-life laboratories for survival and well-being
• Applications of Indigenous Knowledge

  • Domestication of food storage, and preparation
  • Herbal-based medicines
  • Forms of clothing
  • Transportation
  • Astronomy
  • Sustainable agricultural and industrial practices
• Biocultural Knowledge


  Knowledge that is rooted both in the natural environment and what is readily available, at the same time grounded on the culture—values and norms—of the people who hold it

  
  

  The intimate knowledge of the interplay among elements in the local living systems give rise to many applications which have been validated by indigenous knowledge systems as well as modern scientific methods
• Holistic Worldview Spread in Early Civilizations

  • Early civilizations with written records also held holistic worldviews, handling tasks like tracking livestock and grains, making bread, wine, and cheese, and recording astronomical data, while still attributing heavenly bodies to gods
• Importance of Myths


  • Despite advancements, gods were still linked to heavenly bodies, emphasizing the authority of the Priestly Class in interpreting divine desires
• Priestly Authority


  • Priests had exclusive access to stored knowledge, controlling political power, including surplus production
• Introduction of Writing


  Writing transformed knowledge storage and transmission, transitioning from oral traditions to written records on various mediums
• Growth of Collective Knowledge


  • Literacy expanded collective knowledge, enabling the development of complex logic, abstraction, analytical knowledge, and introspection
• Benefits of Literacy


  • Literacy allowed for more sophisticated intellectual pursuits, challenging to convey solely through oral storytelling, song, or art
• Sumerian knowledge was stored in clay tablets written in cuneiform
• Recorded Subjects in Sumerian Medical Lore

  • Treatment of disease
  • Use of herbs and animal material as materia medica
  • Dentistry
  • Endocrinology
  • Histology
  • Health
  • Sanitation
• Sumerian Belief System


  Blended empirical and magical elements, especially in disease treatment
• Sumerian Disease Treatment


  Some diseases were believed to be caused by demon possession, and sacrificing animals was believed to cure demon possession by transferring the demon from the afflicted person to the sacrificial lamb
• Historians of Science argue that these early explanations can be seen as scientific attempts at understanding causes
• Greek philosophers' lectures were transcribed and transmitted by translators, scribes, and monks across Roman, Islamic, and Christian civilizations
• Importance of Greek Inquiry

  • Greek philosophical inquiries addressed fundamental questions about humanity and the world's nature
• Relationship with Power


  • These philosophers were affiliated with political powers rather than religious institutions
• Notable Features of Greek Philosophy

  • Treatises eloquently explained observations, hypotheses, conclusions about the world and Man's place in it, and methods of inquiry
• Exposition of Ontology and Epistemology


  • Something that has been similarly present in ancient and indigenous (oral) knowledge but not described in an abstracted and detailed manner
• Methodology


  • Aristotle's curiosity and research methods in studying the natural world remain relevant, despite the evolution of theories over time. Similar to ancients and indigenous people that they use their experience, meditation, and learned intuition in trying to understand what they believe is the nature of things. There is little actual experimentation other than what is done while healing and surgery. These studies in natural sciences were much utilized in practical ventures such as medicine, astronomy, and engineering
• Aristotle's Influence


  • Born at the end of the Greek era, Aristotle (324-322 BC) was a student of Plato and the teacher of Alexander the Great. His works were foundational in philosophical studies until the European Renaissance
• Aristotle's Contribution to Biology

  • Regarded as the first biologist in the Western tradition, Aristotle devoted a significant portion of his work to studying living systems
• Distinction Between Specialist and Generalist

  Specialist - one who has a considerable body of experience in practical fieldwork

  Generalist - one who knows many different areas of study
• Aristotle's Approach to Study


  • Practiced both specialist and generalist modes of study, explaining his reasoning in his lectures
• Expounded Topics by Aristotle


  • Levels of organization ("the more and the less")
  • Systematics
  • Reproduction
  • Embryology
  • Particularly observant of life (specifically) of fishes
• Aristotle's Definition of Species

  Defined species as breeding group of particular animals or plants capable of producing offspring that can reproduce, and concluded that species were fixed, immutable, and that they have always existed
• Integration with Christian Philosophy

  • Christian philosophers later attempted to reconcile Aristotle's ideas with Genesis, viewing species as part of a hierarchical "Great Chain of Being" created by God
• Medieval European Society


  • Feudal and hierarchical, where most people were engaged in food and goods production
• Access to Knowledge in Medieval Europe

  • Only a select few who could read and write had access to knowledge and its interpretation, predominantly controlled by the ruling class, including monarchies and the Church