Theory of knowledge

Prescribed Title #3: Should key events in the historical development of areas of
knowledge always be judged by the standards of their time?

May 2017
Candidate Code: gdn280
Word Count: 1598
I believe that historical development is a crucial part of human evolution as it only improves us
as human beings. Certain areas of knowledge today are judged differently compared to the
past, depending on the behavior of society in the generation. Judging something by the
standards of a different time is an example of relativism, as it highly depends upon the person’s
cultural background and social environment. Values from the past cannot be the same today as
they are bound to change whether it is in natural sciences or the arts. Similarly, as what is
considered ethical or relevant nowadays may be considered antagonistic in the future. Which
lead to the knowledge question being “To what extent are key events in historical development
of natural science and art judged by reason and emotion to the standards of their time?” We will
explore how reasoning and emotion play a role in the historical development of natural science
and the art of music.

The entire concept of natural science requires us to use reason as a way of knowing. The study
of natural science is focused in finding the reason why such things interact the way they do in
the universe, only for us to improve ourselves with this knowledge. I strongly feel that only with
great reasoning is innovation possible, as I am also a student of science and I was curious if
great scientists were pushed to find the discoveries they made. Therefore I claim that “Historical
development of natural science as an area of knowledge is judged upon contemporary times
because there were preeminent reasoning and circumstance”. Great historical development can
only be found due to the current situation at the time. In the year 1952 the US had a polio
epidemic on a national scale which reported 57,000 cases, then in 1955 Jonas Stalk developed
the first safe and effective vaccine for polio which reduced the number of cases to less than
thousand a decade later1. He did this not for profit but for safety of society, as he was a man
pushed by the current situation for one of the greatest scientific discoveries. If the situation was
different then he would not have the reason to innovate. This was considered significant at the
time because it provided a safer way to prevent polio by using a successful vaccine containing a
dead virus, today it is not considered to be so because cases of polio today are very rare in
most parts of the world2. At that time, it was considered significant to cure the disease, but today
it is not considered to be so because cases of the disease is very little. Similarly with Isaac
Newton, he is credited as one of the greatest scientific minds of the 17th century scientific
revolution. His insecurities pushed him to become the greatest, by expanding people’s
knowledge and disproving concepts of the time; his era pushed him to make society better.

1 Biography.com Editors. Jonas Salk. Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 25 May 2016. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.
2 Poliomyelitis. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Feb. 2017. Web. 05 Feb. 2017.
Because of the conditions, he was pushed into finding these discoveries.3. These discoveries
were only made possible as a result of the circumstances at the time, and so it was judged upon
the time.

The technology we use today is based on many different scientific concepts found over the
years combined together. Studies in school today are also based on things that were found
back then. So, to counter the claim “Historical development of natural science as an area of
knowledge is not judged upon its time because of its relevance”. Discoveries that we found
decades or centuries ago are still in use today because we have raised our understanding of it
to better ourselves. Science does not remain constant as we still do not know everything about
the universe. Albert Einstein’s equation showing that mass and energy are really just the same

thing ( E=m c2 ) ,but it was not until 2008 a team of European researches proved that the mass
of protons and neutrons can only be explained by the energy and particles inside them4. This
proves that discoveries found decades ago are still developed further in the future, originally
there was no exact way to prove the equation but decades later it is used to solve quantum
mechanics. Thus, discoveries are judged upon its time but that does not mean the knowledge
can’t be used and developed later in the future, as knowledge is passed on but discoveries are
based on their time. The discoveries that were made were important during the time but it does
not necessarily mean it is important today. Without the circumstances and reason that it had at
the time the knowledge would not have been found, as it is based on past discoveries made.

Emotions allows us to express ourselves in such a way of understanding something whether it’s
feelings of joy, sadness or anger. This plays a major role in the art of music as music can only
be created by the emotions of the composer. Music highly depend on the trend of the present
generation, which is why many genres and styles of expression and tones of music is created,
becoming popular culture of the time. Therefore it is claimed that “Music as an art is judged by
the contemporary times as regards to one's emotions”. I am a huge fan of music from the late
40’s up to the 80’s as I grew up listening to my father's playlists which influenced me. Knowing
my father, today he still prefers listening to the music of his time. I was curious as to why he
didn’t enjoy music of the modern age, and so I conducted further research into music as a trend
in contemporary times. Dating back to the rhythmic time where swing was the major trend
between the 1930’s and 1940’s known as the ‘swing era’5, society enjoyed the upbeat rhythm

3 Biography.com Editors. Isaac Newton. Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 20 Apr. 2016. Web. 31 Jan.
2017.
4What Einstein Got Wrong. What Einstein Got Wrong. Science Focus, 1 July 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.
5Swing Music. Swing Music. Wikimedia Foundation, Mar. 2014. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.
and was popular in wartime6. Although because it was major in contemporary times, the genre
declined due to the war, wartime economics and musicians fighting in war.7 Issues of
contemporary times impact the trend of something, music. Contemporary times influenced
music in the 1950’s where the African Americans moved to urban areas for work and integrated
with the white community thus rock and roll was created.8 King of rock and roll Elvis Presley was
no doubt the highlight of the genre at the time which sparked a trend in the society. The
evolution of music was dictated by changes in society, as it shaped the art in that time. While
society shapes the creation of music, the outcome then influences the public as to style,
emotions and behavior. Society impacts the music industry and in turn builds a trend. Music of
today proves that music is judged upon contemporary times taking the example of hip hop of
today's generation. In the past this genre was not a trend or considered emotionally relatable
however the young generation of today find it engaging. The contemporary influence being
social media trends allowed hip hop to be a hit in pop-culture, and also impacted attitudes of the
society. Emotions create the art in which is derived from issues or behaviors in the current day.
This suggesting that different genres of music is judged upon the standards of its time as its
relevance was at its peak in its own era.

Many artists have been inspired by music icons of the past, as music has only developed
through time and kept its relevance. Countering the claim, “Music as an art cannot be judged by
contemporary times due to its development of relevance”. Despite the fact that music genres
such as rock and roll was dominant in the 1950’s, today the music and artists are still
appreciated especially Elvis Presley. His music is still heard, as we understand how he
revolutionized the music industry. At the time, his singing was considered to be “black music”
because of segregation and discrimination against African-Americans were common however
did not stop Elvis from citing his work to African-American artist.9 His music started the
revolution of integrating black culture into a white society. The Beatles have inspired many artist
today such as Dave Grohl, Billy Joel and Gene Simons10. They all saw The Beatles perform and
aspired to be like them, if The Beatles did not exist then they wouldn’t be successful musicians
themselves. Thus, we can also say that music is judged by its contemporary times because it is
a tool used to express emotions. However, music created upon contemporary times have only

6American Music during World War II. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Oct. 2016. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.
7 Rock ‘n’ Roll/Teen Rebels. Youth Culture in the 1950's. Wordpress, 23 Feb. 2012. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.
8 Swing Music. Swing Music. Wikimedia Foundation, Mar. 2014. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.
9Cultural Impact of Elvis Presley. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Nov. 2016. Web. 01 Feb. 2017.
10 Mastropolo, Frank. Top 11 Musicians Influenced By the Beatles. Top 11 Musicians Influenced By the Beatles |.
ROCKCELLAR MAGAZINE, 2014. Web. 01 Feb. 2017.
developed into greater relevance today in which people can still emotionally relate to it.

Historical development can only happen because of the circumstances that lead to it, scientific
discoveries were needed at the time which is what lead great minds like Isaac Newton, Jonas
Salk and Albert Einstein into finding it. We are using the discoveries made during that time to
further our understanding of how things are but that does not mean it is irrelevant of time; the
discoveries found during that time was the pinnacle of the knowledge. Also, musicians such as
Elvis Presley adapted rock and roll music from African-Americans, music that they have been
playing longer before Elvis. Music is also judged upon the contemporary time and emotion was
used to convey this but through its development we have more genres today than years ago,
which provide us with more ways to express it. From this discussion we can conclude that both
natural sciences and arts as areas of knowledge is judged upon the standards of its time using
reason and emotion.

Bibliography:
American Music during World War II. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Oct. 2016. Web. 31
Jan. 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_music_during_World_War_II#Swing_music
Biography.com Editors. Jonas Salk. Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 25 May 2016.
Web. 31 Jan. 2017.http://www.biography.com/people/jonas-salk-9470147#personal-life
Biography.com Editors. Isaac Newton. Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 20 Apr. 2016.
Web. 31 Jan. 2017. http://www.biography.com/people/isaac-newton-9422656#international-
prominence
Cultural Impact of Elvis Presley. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Nov. 2016. Web. 01 Feb.
2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_impact_of_Elvis_Presley
Mastropolo, Frank. Top 11 Musicians Influenced By the Beatles. Top 11 Musicians Influenced
By the Beatles |. ROCKCELLAR MAGAZINE, 2014. Web. 01 Feb. 2017.
http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2014/02/04/top-11-musicians-influenced-by-the-beatles-
50th-anniversary/#sthash.GOSD3o16.OscTiq1u.dpbs
Poliomyelitis. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Feb. 2017. Web. 05 Feb. 2017.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poliomyelitis#cite_note-11
Swing Music. Swing Music. Wikimedia Foundation, Mar. 2014. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_music
Rock ‘n’ Roll/Teen Rebels. Youth Culture in the 1950's. Wordpress, 23 Feb. 2012. Web. 31 Jan.
2017. https://crandall1950syoungculture.wordpress.com/rock-n-roll/
What Einstein Got Wrong. What Einstein Got Wrong. Science Focus, 1 July 2010. Web. 31 Jan.
2017. http://www.sciencefocus.com/feature/physics/what-einstein-got-wrong