Introduction
Living in the information era presupposes being able to acquire new knowledge and use it properly. As far as the acquisition tools are concerned, however, a major conflict seems to have emerged. While the scientific method of qualitative or qualitative research has been defined as the most efficient means of acquiring the necessary information, the unorthodox methods of gathering information pertain within contemporary society.
Indigenous ways of living in nature are opposed to the scientific method of cognition, yet the two should be combined so that a perfect method of cognition should be created.
Science as the Most Reasonable Way to Cognise the World
The opinion of science seems to have become the only credible source of knowledge in a contemporary world, and for a good reason – with the recent technological breakthrough and the advent of the era of the information society, science has clearly become the main tool in acquiring new knowledge. Thus, science is viewed as the key means of propelling the humankind.
Indeed, the scientific methods of cognizing the world have a range of advantages compared to the existing alternatives – science supports the key theoretical tenets with logical reasoning, vast research, and impressive evidence. Moreover, it is crucial that the present-day theories offer substantial information on the connections between the existing domains.
Indigenous Ways of Knowledge and Intuitive Understanding of the World
One of the major problems and at the same time major advantages of indigenous ways of knowing is that they blur the line between objective reality and spirituality, therefore, leaving the person discovering these ways to a major introspect. On the one hand, the idea of losing touch with reality does impede the process of cognizing the world. O the other hand, meditation paves the way to metacognition.
The latter, in its turn, helps one locate one’s place in the universe; as a result, the process of acquiring knowledge about the relations between different elements of nature becomes a possibility. Much to the credit of the people supporting an indigenous way of cognizing the environment and locating people’s place in it, there are some grains of reason in the philosophy that is not supported by contemporary science.
Conclusion: Locating a Compromise
The entire conflict revolves around the phenomenon of an intuitive understanding of nature and its laws. On the one hand, the existence of intrinsic knowledge has not been proven scientifically and, thus, cannot be relied upon. On the other hand, it is the indigenous knowledge that allows for insight and, therefore, enhances an intuitive understanding of nature’s laws and principles.
On the other hand, even the cognition of one’s self, not to mention the attempts at understanding the order of the universe, requires that basic rules and information should be learned. In their endeavors of learning the principles of nature’s cycle on their own, one is most likely to spend an entire lifetime on figuring out what the rest of the humankind has learned already with the help of science.
Herein the key to the conflict between the intrinsic knowledge and science lies. It is essential that one should learn the key principles of a scientific method, as well as the essential concepts that have advanced science so far. At the same time, one must train their skill of indigenous knowledge, therefore, creating a stronger link with nature and learning about the relationship between the latter and the spirituality of one’s people, i.e., the roots of one’s culture.