Prescribed Title 6:

"Present knowledge is wholly dependent on past knowledge." Discuss this claim with

reference to two areas of knowledge.

Different areas of expertise can be developed by past knowledge to form present knowledge.

Knowledge is the ability to understand various things in life. Present knowledge is the one

that is used at the moment. This type of knowledge has the most supporting evidence that

enables people to trust it. Past knowledge, however, has been used at a particular instance in

time, prior to the formation of present knowledge. In some areas of knowledge, such as the

natural sciences and human sciences, knowledge can be a mixture of the past and the present,

so it is necessary to discuss the dependence of present knowledge on past knowledge. This

relationship between past and present must be investigated to understand how these different

periods in time interact to create modern worldviews.

In natural sciences, the production of present knowledge cannot be accurate without

considering past knowledge. Such an example is the fluid mosaic model of the plasma

membrane. From the late 19th century, biologists sought to discover the components of the

membrane that was known to surround prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Over the years,

many models of the membrane were proposed, yet all of them were incrementally changed in

regard to their forerunner. In 1925, Grendel and Gorter made a model that included the

amphipathic phospholipid bilayer, yet they didn’t include protein in their model1. In the

following years, the Davison-Danielli model was formed, taking into consideration the laws

of thermodynamics, supporting the fact that present knowledge takes from past knowledge to

be as precise as possible. In the end, the Singer-Nicolson model that included different

protein types and the amphipathic phospholipid bilayer provided enough evidence for it to be

1
Jeff Hardin, Gregory P Bertoni, Lewis J Kleinsmith, and Wayne M Becker, “Becker's World Of The Cell”. 9th ed.
Pearson Education (San Francisco 2015). [Accessed 21 st January 2020]
described as the correct model2. Consequently, past knowledge is necessary for present

knowledge, as all past knowledge was once current, which shows the development of the

scientific method in the natural sciences. The scientific method is a set of steps that may

either be evident or surprising for others. It allows to minimise personal and social influences

that would manipulate the results. For that reason, the natural sciences use this method in

order to study phenomena based on provable evidence. Through the technological

advancement in the world, scientists have been able to add on to past knowledge by engaging

other apparatus in their experiments. More accurate electron microscopes have been used

instead of light microscopes, that have offered worse magnification and image resolution3.

Consequently, the past knowledge in the natural sciences has allowed for the formation of

present knowledge due to the fact that the scientific method has advanced, allowing for more

precise data to be collected. Nevertheless, when there’s scarce knowledge of a specific field,

knowledge production requires explorations rather than experiences of scientists, which can

be seen through serendipitous discoveries, such as that of Tim Hunt.

In some cases, past knowledge doesn’t influence the production of present knowledge, so it is

far from being the determinant of what occurs from scientific research. This occurs with

serendipitous discoveries, that appear in major scientific breakthroughs. For example, when a

British scientist, Tim Hunt, was studying the cell cycle of sea urchins, he accidentally

discovered new proteins4. Some of the proteins were “cycling” in concentration during cell

division. These proteins, due to their nature, were pronounced to be “cyclins.” Prior to this

serendipitous discovery, there was no knowledge of this kind of protein. Therefore, this
2
S.J. Singer and Garth L. Nicolson, “Structure of Cell Membranes”, Science vol.175 no.4023 (1972) 720-731,
Available at: http://web.as.uky.edu/Biology/faculty/cooper/bio350/Bio350%20Labs/WK1-Circuit%20board
%20Lab/lipids.pdf, [Accessed 21st January 2020]
3
N Supriya, “Difference Between Light and Electron Microscope,” Biology Reader (2020), Available at:
https://biologyreader.com/difference-between-light-and-electron-microscope.html [Accessed 21st January
2020]
4
Miranda Robertson, “The discovery of cyclin: the unknown and the unknowable,” BMC Biology (2015),
Available at: https://blogs.biomedcentral.com/on-biology/2015/08/21/discovery-cyclin-unknown-
unknowable/, [Accessed 21st January 2020]
proves, that, although past knowledge can be found in some scientific theories, sometimes it

doesn’t play any role in them, but is rather replaced by human curiosity and experience.

The human sciences can be compared to the natural sciences due to them both containing the

experimental method. In terms of human sciences, observation of human behaviour is part of

the method in order to be able to use reason to construct a plausible theory. In some cases,

past knowledge can shape present knowledge by providing a framework for society to

comprehend specific incidents. In terms of psychology, although it has undergone change due

to the change in methodology and the historical development of this area of knowledge, it

remains based on six foundational perspectives that aid in the creation of theories. These are:

biological, behavioural, biopsychosocial, cognitive, evolutionary, psychodynamic and

sociocultural5. Due to these foundational theories, the questions asked by psychologists have

developed, yet have always agreed with them. This can be seen in the idea of nature versus

nurture, which has been present throughout the years, even though the world has been

changing. This illustrates that regardless of progressiveness, past knowledge impacts present

knowledge, as it provides the basis of contemporary theories. Nevertheless, past knowledge

doesn’t have to be of major significance in the formation of present knowledge, which can be

seen through the example of the development of the idea of nature versus nurture6.

However, past knowledge, although present, doesn’t need to be of major significance in the

formation of present knowledge. In psychology, some theories have been created through

observation and have undergone change due to the development of other fields. One theory

that has done this is nature versus nurture, where another Area of Knowledge has contributed

to the progress of the theory. The behaviourism movement has been started by human
5
The Albert.io Team, “Psychological Perspectives for AP Psychology”, Albert (2017), Available at:
https://www.albert.io/blog/psychological-perspectives-ap-psychology/, [Accessed: 24th January 2020].
6
Stangor, C. and Walinga, J. ”1.2 The Evolution of Psychology: History, Approaches, and Questions.” [online]
BCcampus Open Textbook Collection”(2014). Available at:
https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontopsychology/chapter/1-2-the-evolution-of-psychology-history-
approaches-and-questions/ [Accessed 24th January 2020].
scientists like John Watson7. At the beginning, there were only two extremist nativist and

nurturist views.8 Although these perspectives were opposing each other, they shared the view

that the environment and experiences were prevalent stimuli in development. Yet, due to the

fact that the fields of genetics and neuroscience were just beginning to develop, the nurture

perspective was the most favoured one over 50 years ago. At the end of the 20th century, the

knowledge of the brain and the genetic code has progressed due to advances in research

techniques, thus a change in methodology. New techniques like magnetic resonance

imagining and positron emission tomography were established, enabling scientists to produce

highly detailed pictures of the internal organs of human bodies.9 This development in the

natural sciences has allowed Stella Chess and Alexander Thomas to conduct the New York

Longitudinal Study, where they observed a group of children10. If not for the development of

modern tomography technology, the brain would not be observed, therefore disable the

hypothesis that it is both nature and nurture that contribute to human behaviour. In modern

times, the past knowledge provided in the early 20th century is disregarded in terms of the

nature-nurture debate, as it has developed through the development of the natural sciences,

which allowed psychologists to focus on the human brain. This shift in methodology allowed

more precise data that can be scientifically supported, therefore can be called quantitative

instead of qualitative. In summary, in terms of the dependence of present knowledge on past

knowledge, it is possible to deduce that in human sciences, although past knowledge plays

roles in the formation of new knowledge, it doesn’t always play a major role in this process

due to technological development that has prompted a change in methodology of this AOK.
7
David C. Rettew, MD, “Nature versus nurture  : 50 years of a popular debate”[online] Frontline Medical
Communications (2017) Available at: https://www.mdedge.com/psychiatry/article/147761/mental-
health/nature-versus-nurture-50-years-popular-debate, [Accessed 24th January 2020]
8
David C. Rettew, MD, “Nature versus nurture  : 50 years of a popular debate”[online] Frontline Medical
Communications (2017) Available at: https://www.mdedge.com/psychiatry/article/147761/mental-
health/nature-versus-nurture-50-years-popular-debate, [Accessed 24th January 2020]
9
Stanford Neuroscience Health Center, “PET/MRI Scan”, Stanford Health Care (2019), Available at:
https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-tests/p/pet-mri-scan.html, [Accessed 24th January 2020]
10
Stella Chess, M.D. and Alexander Thomas, M.D, “The New York Longitudinal Study (NYLS): The Young Adult
Periods”, The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry (1990), 35(6), pp.557-561.
Present knowledge can, but doesn’t have to, be wholly dependent on past knowledge. Even

though some present knowledge is gained through serendipitous discoveries that have not

been preceded by any knowledge regarding this topic, past knowledge is always present in

the justifications. It may not play a major role in the formation of present knowledge,

therefore present knowledge is dependent on past knowledge, but isn’t wholly dependent.

Past knowledge shapes present knowledge by providing a basic framework, yet it is usually

human experience and developments in methodology that allow to form present knowledge.

Word count: 1489

S.J. Singer and Garth L. Nicolson, “Structure of Cell Membranes”, Science vol.175 no.4023
(1972) 720-731, Available at:
http://web.as.uky.edu/Biology/faculty/cooper/bio350/Bio350%20Labs/WK1-Circuit
%20board%20Lab/lipids.pdf, [Accessed 21st January 2020]

N Supriya, “Difference Between Light and Electron Microscope,” Biology Reader (2020),
Available at: https://biologyreader.com/difference-between-light-and-electron-
microscope.html [Accessed 21st January 2020]

Miranda Robertson, “The discovery of cyclin: the unknown and the unknowable,” BMC
Biology (2015), Available at: https://blogs.biomedcentral.com/on-
biology/2015/08/21/discovery-cyclin-unknown-unknowable/ [Accessed 21st January 2020]

The Albert.io Team, “Psychological Perspectives for AP Psychology”, Albert (2017),

Stangor, C. and Walinga, J. ”1.2 The Evolution of Psychology: History, Approaches, and
Questions.” [online] BCcampus Open Textbook Collection”(2014). Available at:
https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontopsychology/chapter/1-2-the-evolution-of-psychology-
history-approaches-and-questions/ [Accessed 24th January 2020].

David C. Rettew, MD, “Nature versus nurture : 50 years of a popular debate”[online]

Stanford Neuroscience Health Center, “PET/MRI Scan”, Stanford Health Care (2019),
Available at: https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-tests/p/pet-mri-scan.html, [Accessed 24th
January 2020]
 Stella Chess, M.D. and Alexander Thomas, M.D, “The New York Longitudinal Study
(NYLS): The Young Adult Periods”, The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry (1990), 35(6),
pp.557-561.