Every knowledge system is local, and culture is a toolbox, not just a prison

Evidence

Second, all knowledge systems are local knowledge systems in important and valuable ways. Culture is not only a “prisonhouse” for knowledge, as the conventional view correctly holds; it is also a “toolbox,” providing valuable resources through which a culture’s members can come to understand and interact effectively with their environments. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 1596

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to standpoint epistemology and Harding’s feminist science critiques, plus the prisonhouse metaphor echoes Wittgenstein’s later work on language games framing how we see the world.
• SEED: Essay angle: contrasting the ‘prisonhouse’ vs ‘toolbox’ metaphors for culture could ground discussions of indigenous knowledge systems in climate adaptation and medicine.