36 Point Tok Essay
Theory of Knowledge
Essay on prescribed title
Word Count: 1587
Date: January 2008
[This essay scored 36/40 : an A grade. MF ]
“History is always on the move, slowly eroding today’s orthodoxy and making space for yesterday’s heresy.” Discuss the extent to which this claim applies to history and at least one other area of knowledge.
In order to find out if the claim applies to the areas of knowledge history and chemistry I will break the question down in three parts. Firstly I ask if history and chemistry move. Secondly I question if it erodes today’s orthodoxy and finally I consider if yesterday’s heresy takes over.
In my opinion the claim applies to some extent to history and to a great extent to chemistry.
Are history and chemistry always on the move?
Moves in history can have various causes: the discovery of new facts, a different focus of interest or a political shift.
In the year 2005 a Bosnian archaeologist called Semir Osmanagic suspects there are pyramids in his homeland Bosnia and Herzegovina. Anthropologists say the Visoko valley already offers ample evidence of organized human settlements dating back 7000 years.[1] This discovery would change the entire European history. Something that was commonly accepted, that the first pyramids came from Egypt, has altered completely. Thus history is moving.
A counter argument to this could be that history just repeats itself and does not move at all. The Renaissance is a repetition of the Classical times, in which the work of ancient scholars was studied again. Painting, sculpture and architecture were influenced by the Latin and Greek culture, so that “paintings became more realistic and focused less often on religious topics.”[2] Furthermore, the name ‘rebirth’ was not given for nothing, it was a repetition. One might say that history is not always on the move, it just reiterates.
Scientist observe nature and try to explain what they see with the help of theories. The nature itself does
Essay on prescribed title
Word Count: 1587
Date: January 2008
[This essay scored 36/40 : an A grade. MF ]
“History is always on the move, slowly eroding today’s orthodoxy and making space for yesterday’s heresy.” Discuss the extent to which this claim applies to history and at least one other area of knowledge.
In order to find out if the claim applies to the areas of knowledge history and chemistry I will break the question down in three parts. Firstly I ask if history and chemistry move. Secondly I question if it erodes today’s orthodoxy and finally I consider if yesterday’s heresy takes over.
In my opinion the claim applies to some extent to history and to a great extent to chemistry.
Are history and chemistry always on the move?
Moves in history can have various causes: the discovery of new facts, a different focus of interest or a political shift.
In the year 2005 a Bosnian archaeologist called Semir Osmanagic suspects there are pyramids in his homeland Bosnia and Herzegovina. Anthropologists say the Visoko valley already offers ample evidence of organized human settlements dating back 7000 years.[1] This discovery would change the entire European history. Something that was commonly accepted, that the first pyramids came from Egypt, has altered completely. Thus history is moving.
A counter argument to this could be that history just repeats itself and does not move at all. The Renaissance is a repetition of the Classical times, in which the work of ancient scholars was studied again. Painting, sculpture and architecture were influenced by the Latin and Greek culture, so that “paintings became more realistic and focused less often on religious topics.”[2] Furthermore, the name ‘rebirth’ was not given for nothing, it was a repetition. One might say that history is not always on the move, it just reiterates.
Scientist observe nature and try to explain what they see with the help of theories. The nature itself does
Bibliography: • Armenian genocide: http://www.armenian-genocide.org/genocidefaq.html (12 October 2007) • Bosnian pyramids: www.bosnianpyramids.org (21 September 2007) • Circulatory system: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circulatory_system (19 December 2007) • Chemistry notes from class, 11 October 2006 • Kuhn, Thomas S., 1970, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions Volume 2 number 2, The University of Chicago Press. • Leonardo Da Vinci: http://cgfa.sunsite.dk/vinci/vinci_bio.htm (19 December 2007) • Renaissance: http://www.mrdowling.com/704renaissance.html (19 December 2007) • Weiss, Rick, “New Technology is Revealing Neanderthal DNA”, Kerry Fox November 16, 2006, http://kerryfoxlive.com/wordpress/?p=4964 (21 September 2007)