Local Knowledge As Cognitive Practices-Study Of The Hani Nationality

This dissertation lies at the intersection of humanities-philosophy of science, anthropology etc.-and natural sciences such as agronomy. Its purpose is to provide a new interpretation of the local knowledge of the Hani people from the perspective of the hermeneutics of scientific practice.Modern science is a corpus of all current knowledge, the only legitimating factor for the description of natural phenomena in mainstream culture. The perspective of local knowledge in the philosophy of scientific practice sheds new light on non-Western systems of knowledge and mutual interpretation between different knowledge systems. There is no single system of rational knowledge, and there is also no neutral, non-theory-laden method to determine which standard is superior. However, substantial studies of the locality of ethnic knowledge have so far, under traditional systems of explanation, not penetrated the layer of culture and practice.Local knowledge is a knowledge system, which includes cultural elements on the metaphysical level and technical elements on the physical level.Traditionally, studies of local knowledge often separated it into agricultural knowledge,ecological knowledge, medical knowledge or astronomical and calendar knowledge. This not only eliminated the elements of culture, beliefs, world picture and life outlook, but also fragmented the physical part of local knowledge. This has misled many explanations of local knowledge, under the influence of the feeling of theoretical superiority, which is also the origin of incommensurability of knowledge systems. Modern science, aiming to create and spread universal theories, has a different aim from traditional knowledge. For this reason,"understanding" and "practice" have to be reinterpreted, in order to excavate the expression of the "local" in the knowledge accumulation and distribution processes. Cognition is distributive and contextual, practices contain the history (in this sense) of knowledge and its formation. To interpret local knowledge by cognitive practices is an empirical research method of the hermeneutics of the philosophy of practice. In China’s Yunnan province, traditional terraced fields of the Hani people reached high level of development, and are listed under "Important world agricultural heritage". Even after one thousand years of use, the fields still retain high yields. The traditional system of local knowledge preserving the Hani people terraced fields agriculture and life is still in place, which generates their traditional production and lifestyle.Hani knowledge about the world and human life is radically different from the modern civilisation, their traditional agriculture is hardly compatible with modern agriculture, but Hani local knowledge has its consistent logic and way of application. This dissertation traces the formation of Hani local knowledge through the analysis of their natural and human environment before and after the Hani tribe settled in the Ailao Shan region. Subsequently, it interprets the local knowledge of the Hani people after the impact of modern civilisation through their cognitive practices, and focuses on the different world pictures of the Hani and the modern knowledge systems, on the transformations of Hani lifestyle and view of life, on the contacts and conflicts between modern and traditional Hani agriculture, and thus expresses the dynamic process of development of Hani local knowledge under modern civilisation.Cognition is contextual interpretation, cognitive practices are interpretations of processes using historical context, and an even higher form of interpretation is the immersion understanding under identical context but with relaxation of rules of modern rationality. This dissertation attempts to find the equilibrium points of immersion understanding of the Hani and the modern civilisations, using the irrigation of terraced fields, pest control, soil fertility concepts and techniques, and protection of biodiversity as reference points. By comparing traditional Hani and modern responses to these challenges, the value of local knowledge as a culture and set of practices is revealed.Cognitive practices are one means of understanding local knowledge. Once knowledge is not seen as leading to theory, the discussion of the Hani local knowledge naturally returns to practice, as local knowledge has social function and value and should not be buried by modern civilisation. Its further transmission requires development of traditional education and support for ethnic culture. Its innovation depends on interactions with modern civilisation. The dissertation proposes further study of the Hani local knowledge system through constructing a base area of Hani organic agriculture.