Folk wisdom

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Folk wisdom (also: folk knowledge ) describes empirically found knowledge that the population has gathered together in a certain regionally limited area over the course of generations. It is common property, so it can be used by everyone without permission. A special feature of folk wisdom is the region-specific transmission from generation to generation, without mandatory written records. Their status is assessed differently from habitat to habitat (e.g. city / country).

In contrast to the vernacular , the forms of tradition are not limited to linguistic communication (see below) and do not reflect mere opinions, but experiences.


Forms of transmission

Possible forms of transmission include:

Although the content as such is partially unaware of the passing on, it is still passed on through education and language in particular.

Content

Contents of the tradition are mainly practical areas of life such as health, agriculture, social behavior, etc .:

  • Job characteristics,
  • Upbringing ,
  • Language (some idioms, in modern times possibly also written records).

Examples

Some examples of folk wisdom and knowledge are obvious, while others make it clear that intuitive knowledge that is generations old is passed on and applied consciously or unconsciously (see above). They are not infrequently the cause or the subject of scientific investigations and are sometimes controversial:

" Break the heart "
... describes a sudden weakness of the heart muscle , often wrongly interpreted as a heart attack , after a shock or horror experience. In medicine it is referred to as "broken heart syndrome" or " stress myocardia ". This syndrome is caused by an avalanche of stress hormones that flow into the blood and obviously affect the heart muscle.
" Cheese closes the stomach "
... describes a mere sensation or experience. The milk fat in cheese stimulates the production of the hormone gastrin . This slows down digestion, the food stays in the stomach longer, and the feeling of satiety lasts longer.
" Laughter is the best medicine " or " Laughter is healthy "
… Means that happy people are less sick or get sick less often than others. This experience could be supported statistically. For therapeutic purposes, it could be interesting which stimuli laughter can trigger and why a person does not respond to certain stimuli.
" You should look for bookings, you should give way to oaks "
This notice, given here in abbreviated form, applies to people who are outdoors during a thunderstorm; that they should seek their refuge under a beech rather than under another tree. This statement has been scientifically investigated and both confirmed and denied.
" Feel the look "
... or synonymous phrases imply that you can 'feel' looks. This popular wisdom was scientifically processed and published by Edward Bradford Titchener as early as 1898 and has been statistically significantly confirmed and refuted several times since then.
left and right
In some regions the children are taught to hold the left and sometimes the right hand on the handle when working with earth tools (to work ahead). As a result, the body is not unilaterally stressed during such activities and the persons concerned do not experience any unnecessary physical discomfort from work.
Johannis herbs
St. John's wort ( Hypericum perforatum ) takes its name from the beginning of its flowering period, i.e. the end of June (Johanni), so that the name alone gives an indication of the beginning of the harvest of the flowers. St. John's wort oil has been used medicinally in Germany since ancient times.
Kidney protectors
... have been available in every motorcycle shop for decades. In particular, they serve to prevent this region of the body from cooling down while driving and thus prevent annoying kidney infections.
Weather rules and memos
Also weather rules or small aphorisms belong to the conventional wisdom and find today in agriculture attention. Examples: ' Sheep cold ' indicates a frequent cold spell after the sheep have been sheared; " If you put me in April, I'll come when I want - if you put me in May, I'll come the same (ch) " is a handy rule of thumb in potato growing (in Bavaria).

See also

Web links

Wiktionary: Popular wisdom  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Post Q21 on 14/11/06 WDR - confirmed conventional wisdom: The heart can therefore actually break
  2. ↑ Christoph Drösser : Right? THE TIME December 9, 2004
  3. ↑ W.:Lachen houses is the best medicine ; On welt.de : Why laughter makes you happy , May 16, 2007
  4. ↑ www.waswiewo.com ( Memento of the original from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - Editing waswiewo: 'What is the popular saying that when there is a thunderstorm you should give way to oaks but look for beeches?' @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.waswiewo.com
  5. ↑ Christoph Drösser: 'Don't search for a booking!' , DIE ZEIT 17/1998, www.zeit.de
  6. ^ Portman JJ: Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 1959
  7. ^ Peterson D .: Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 1978
  8. ^ Coover JE: American Journal of Psychology, 1913