Local Knowledge as a Universal Social Product: A General Model and a Case from Southeast Asia

Abstract

Local knowledge consists of culturally situated action-oriented cognition that responds to constantly changing social and natural environments. The kernel of local knowledge is a specific combination of cunning cognition plus performance that might be regarded as a human universal. A methodological problem of research on local knowledge is that the most frequently used techniques are as idiosyncratic as the knowledge itself seems to be. The possibility of a truly comparative analysis of knowledge data from local settings is often dismissed prematurely. Empirical study of local knowledge therefore calls for the systematic collection of qualitative data on emics. The challenge is to develop locally adapted methods that facilitate comparative analysis. The simple cognitive methods proposed by the author are suited to local settings and local cultural standards and could lead to compilation of a database capable of identifying shared, even universal aspects within the broad spectrum of local knowledges.