Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 128 3rd International Conference on Education and Training (ICET 2017) Local Wisdom as Integration of the Cosmic and the Metacosmic Perspectives in Indonesian Philosophy of Education Antonius Denny Firmanto Nerita Setiyaningtiyas Sekolah Tinggi Filsafat Teologi Widya Sasana, Indonesia State University of Malang, Indonesia [email protected] [email protected] Abstract: This study is a literary research on local wisdom of Javanese community as the context. Local wisdom is a proven knowledges owned by the society for sustaining their existence. It influences people’s state of mind that relates to human capacity for exploring, discovering and developing human potentiality. This study proposes that in Indonesian context, education as an enhancement process for a better quality of life should make its source on local wisdom. Local wisdom is the “experience” of reality and knowledge is its “expression”. The purposes of this research are: (1) describing the experience of reality consists of the cosmic and the metacosmic perspectives; and (2) understanding the existing local wisdoms as a local knowledge has its value for constructing a new theory on the Indonesian Philosophy of Education. Keywords: philosophy of education, local wisdom, cosmic perspective, metacosmic perspective I. THE CONTEXT: THE JAVANESE Art performances, such as: the wayang kulit CULTURE (shadow puppet shows) illustrate the Javanese Javanese culture is considered among the perception on their life and world. The stories are not Javanese communities that live in central Java and merely an entertainment or just ordinary event that is western side of east Java. The Javanese cultural design told about. It tells the existence of human life that is is based on “spiritual” value of man, which are holy, being of goodness and being of evil, the here and the noble, and which are not materialistic (Susantina, afterlife (Susantina, 2013). As an instrument of 2013). It is a Javanese way for creating, enforcing, and instruction, it urges people to determine what is good processing of its values. It develops ideas that express and what is bad in order that people live together by the valuable things within its society life. It affects how giving and helping without expecting anything in the Javanese thinks, interacts, communicates, or return because they are all to be related to every other transmit its knowledge to the next generation person in the community (Mungmachon, 2012). (Wicaksono, 2016). The Javanese cultural expressions There is another cultural expression. From the are known in proverbs, artistic heritage, ceremonies, fact that rice is a main food for all classes in the literature, and other existing forms of human Javanese community, the rice cultivation arises. Rituals expressions. for Dewi Sri, the Javanese goddess (Wikipedia, 2017), It is known proverb, such as: saiyeg saiko praya are organized along with seedlings preparation, water means people should move together hand in hand in management, pest control, or grain conservation as a order to achieve their goal. Next example is mangan product of human intelligence accompany rice ora mangan kumpul; it means that people should get cultivations. Performing rituals give inner tranquility together in any condition. It is also known ojo dumeh; because it is believed by the Javanese that rice it indicates that people should be humble because cultivation is not only for preserving human life; but, it power or wealth is temporary. It is a popular sayings expresses the humanity. It symbolizes the human life, ojo aji mumpung that people should restrain that is its birth, growth, pregnancy, and giving a new themselves from becoming greedy. All proverbs show life. Then, the harvest is a moment of celebration for that the Javanese has sensitivity for mutual cooperation human work and divine grace. and social solidarity (Rachmawati, 2012). Conscience on ecological matters shows the The Javanese Batik, that is cloth decorated by a Javanese responsibility to problems relating to their process of repeated dyeing controlled by the role as the members of family or society, such as the application of wax to the fabric, is full of symbolism Bengawan Solo matters. As a river that is situated (Osborne, 2010). Certain designs and favoured between Central Java and western side of East Java, it combinations of colours are associated with has historical, geographical and economical aspects geographical localities. Both of Yogyakarta and Solo in (Agung, 2015). The river water flow also indicates the central Java are known for batiks that are dark in state of mind among the Javanese, such as: alon-alon colour and restrained in design, characteristics that waton kelakon; it means that everything should be echo the norms of public behavior associated with their done, slowly but surely. traditional courts. The batik decorated in the traditional The final example is the literatures on the design parang rusak or the “broken sword” proposes Javanese house. The Javanese has a belief that that the that people should work hard. The characteristic curved original nature is the haunted place, so they must lines of the Parang could also be translated as waves in reduce that horrible by installing places in the right the sea; it symbolizes the power and greatness of direction. How to handle it is described in Kawruh nature. It is believed that the Parang has also Kalang and Kawruh Griya which is a knowledge supernatural power, such as bringing victory in war, which tells how to cut down a tree, considering the protection and healing of the sick (Marina, 2014). quality, size guidelines, and placement of buildings, building timing, and completion of construction as an Copyright © 2017, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). 176 Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 128 ideal place to live (Rachmawati, 2012). It proposes the The natural elements and forces merge into the building construction that can be moved elsewhere that mysterious world of invisible powers that maintain the can be done together by a lot of people. cosmic balance. The metacosmic perspective is the state of mind when people think about the reality that is II. EPISTEMOLOGICAL VALUES OF LOCAL behind the nature. It is the metacosmic order that WISDOM belongs to the invisible sphere. It may appear in Local wisdom is a proven knowledges owned various rites, rituals, and a class of mediators. by the society for sustaining their existence. It is “the The interplay of the cosmic and the metacosmic experience” of reality (Pieris, 1988). The fact that there levels of experience give a new point of departure for are differences means that it is a different way of social change and technocratic advancement. The “experiencing”. And, local wisdom is its “expression”. existence of a certain spiritual elites – the sages, the It is also a knowledge that people has given to wise, the mediators, the elders – becomes the personal community and has developed over time, and continues embodiments of metacosmic perspective. The to develop. This development is based on experience metacosmic perspective acknowledges the presence of that tested over centuries of use. Individuals or the belief in the existence of supernatural forces above communities practice it within institutions, human reality. Based on the Javanese culture as the relationships and rituals (Wicaksono, 2016). context, “being in community” is the Javanese local Epistemologically, local wisdom is a collection wisdom. The idea on becoming a member of the of facts and relates to the entire system of concepts, community has its value among the Javanese because it beliefs and perceptions that people hold about the has both of the cosmic perspective and the metacosmic world around them (Wicaksono, 2016). Local wisdom perspective. can be understood as a local idea that is wise, full of From the cosmic perspective, “community” wisdom, good-value, which is comprehended by forms a kind of social joint that protects people from people (Dahliani, 2015). Accordingly, local wisdom natural disaster. But, people learn that nature can be a represents value system and norm organized, held, threat, but also provides benefits and tranquility the understood, and applied by the local society based on whole nature of human life depends on. From the their understanding and experience in interacting and metacosmic perspective, “community” is an integrating interrelating with environment (Agung, 2015). It mechanism for a society that lives in a mutual support includes the way people observe and measure their and cooperation. Therefore, as a social category, the surroundings, how they solve problems and validate community unites various aspects of social life and new information. individual experience together in a way which Therefore, formulation of the local wisdom is a minimizes uncertainty, tension, and conflict – or at process whereby knowledge is generated, stored, least it is supposed to do so (Kistanto, 2016). applied and transmitted to others. Within this context, Within the context of “being in community”, it should be affirmed that there our local people have people are highly praised when they did the community their own knowledge. Information about this service well. Its process is not by accident, but by knowledge should be explored and explained because design that is done in the spirit of mutual assistance it contains ideas proposed by local genius on how (gotong royong). It is highly praised that people have people should live in certain context. sense of belonging and togetherness toward a harmonious relationship. This makes them “one III. LOCAL WISDOM AS THE INTEGRATION family” living with unconditional kindness and OF THE COSMIC AND THE generosity. When conflicts arise, the elders and various METACOSMIC PERSPECTIVE relatives are the ones who decide how to settle matters The Javanese with sensitivity in cosmic forces (Mungmachon, 2012).