Can new knowledge change established values or beliefs?
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Object 1: Image of the cosmic microwave background radiation
This
is an image of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR), the
electromagnetic radiation which is remnant from the earliest stage of the
universe; the image has also been my go-to computer background. The CMBR’s
discovery in 1965 effectively confirmed the Big Bang theory of the universe’s
origins, which is why it interests me as someone who passions cosmology. However,
before its discovery, it was the established belief both in the realm of
science as well as in religion that the universe had been in existence for
eternity. The Big Bang theory simply was not compatible with the beliefs of the
larger portion of religious sects; for instance, the Big Bang points to a world
that developed over many billions of years rather than the seven days of the
creation story in Genesis. But when the cosmic microwave background was
revealed to the world in 1965, the implications of this new knowledge sewed
doubt in the minds of scientists regarding the conventional belief, but more
significantly, in the minds of the faithful. It was during this time that Pope
Pius XII declared that “present-day science […] has succeeded in bearing
witness to that primordial [“Let there be light”] uttered at the moment when
[…] there burst forth from nothing a sea of light and radiation […].” More
recently, in 2014, Pope Francis accepted in front of the Pontifical Academy of
Sciences that the universe was created in the Big Bang, instead of insisting on
a literal interpretation of the book of Genesis. The CMBR shows how the doubt
it etched into one’s values and beliefs has seemingly translated into near
certainty in the present day. It is thus apparent that new scientific knowledge,
in the form of the CMBR, changed the established religious belief of the
eternal universe into the Big Bang theory. Even religious figures, like the
Pope, seemed to have their values changed in favor of the compatibility between
the implications of the cosmic microwave background radiation and religion.
Object 2: Newspaper headline of Dolly the cloned sheep
This
is a 1997 news headline outlining the new scientific breakthrough of cloning, following
the announcement that a sheep named Dolly was the first mammal to ever be cloned
from an adult. Dolly is one of my favorite illustrations of human innovation. Prior
to Dolly’s feat, human cloning was effectively science fiction in the eyes of
society; nevertheless, many saw the potential for cloning living beings as
unethical. People, like myself, simply value individuality and believe in a
unique identity, rather than carbon replication. However, with the advent of Dolly
the cloned sheep, the fictitious cloned human being was now an eventuality, as
science proved so. It opened society’s eyes to the implications of cloning,
with the newspaper mentioning how Dolly the clone “caused fury,” as this new
knowledge on genetics unlocked the door to some controversial and truly
frightening prospect. The breakthrough in cloning publicized by this newspaper is
proof that new knowledge cannot change moral values. This is illustrated by the
fact that seventy countries have banned human cloning, with a handful of US
states that have also done so. These laws were implemented both after Dolly’s
success in 1997 and preceding, well before human cloning proved achievable. I thus
chose the newspaper article that revealed the novelty of cloning technology because
it exhibits how its publication did not change most established values and
beliefs regarding the implications of cloning because people’s ethical view has
remained the same. This object, while incredibly significant evidence of the
progress of human science, failed to have any lasting effects on the
established moral compass and what people valued more. Unlike my first object,
it seems that people, even government, were unwilling to open the door that new
cloning knowledge unlocked because their predispositions in what they believed
was ethically right did not change.
Object 3: 1789 print of the
Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen (Declaration of the
Rights of Man and of the Citizen)
This is a 1789 document of a declaration of human civil rights from the French Revolution, originally drafted by Marquis de Lafayette. The document became the basis for a new French government, and it is still the cornerstone of the French Republic today. I recently read it in French class and remarked how similar it is to the modern civil rights we all enjoy, outlined in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At the time of the French Revolution, this revolutionary document was effectively new knowledge in the field of politics and civics. I learned in French class that prior to the Declaration, the established belief by the majority of the French population was that the aristocracy had the most privilege in terms of civics, and the French monarchy was allowed to suppress its people through taxation and denial of liberty. Privilege was a value to most of the French. However, when French revolutionaries in opposition to this ideology drafted the document, the French Revolution established a footing, and more people began revolting against the exploitative power of the monarchy. According to several historical sources, the Declaration had an important impact on the advance of conceptions of individual liberty and democracy in Europe and even worldwide. As such, this object that conveyed new ideological knowledge during the French Revolution illustrates a political change in values and civil beliefs. I chose the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen because it bears hence a political perspective, unlike my other two objects, on how new doctrinal knowledge can alter the previously established opinion on the government. After all, the Declaration sparked the French citizen to value individual rights and believe in the cause to overthrow the corrupt monarchy. The radical knowledge in the document even influenced modern-day human rights documents, exhibiting its lasting impact on civic belief and how we all value individual freedom.
Citations
and references
Pius XII. “ADDRESS OF HIS
HOLINESS PIUS XII TO CARDINALS, LEGATES OF FOREIGN NATIONS AND MEMBERS OF THE
PONTIFICAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.” Ai Cardinali, Ai Legati Delle Nazioni Estere e Ai Soci Della Pontificia
Accademia Delle Scienze | PIO XII, 22 Nov. 1951,
www.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/it/speeches/1951/documents/hf_p-xii_spe_19511122_di-serena.html.
Schultz, Colin. “The Pope Would
Like You to Accept Evolution and the Big Bang.” Smithsonianmag.com,
Smithsonian Institution, 28 Oct. 2014,
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/pope-would-you-accept-evolution-and-big-bang-180953166/.
Garcia, Tahra Johnson; Alise. Embryonic
and Fetal Research Laws, National Conference of State Legislatures, 1 Jan.
2016, www.ncsl.org/research/health/embryonic-and-fetal-research-laws.aspx.
“Human Cloning - Current Law.” Wikipedia,
Wikimedia Foundation, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_cloning#Current_law.
Comparative Politics:
Interests, Identities and Institutions in a Changing Global Order, by Mark
Lichbach and Jeffrey Kopstein, Cambridge University Press, 2000, p. 72.
The Encyclopedia of the Age of
Political Revolutions and New Ideologies: 1760-1815, by Gregory
Fremont-Barnes, Greenwood Press, 2007, p. 190.
Images:
NASA
/ WMAP Science Team. “9 Year WMAP Image of Background Cosmic Radiation.” Wilkinson
Microwave Anisotropy Probe, NASA / WMAP, 21 Dec. 2012, map.gsfc.nasa.gov/media/121238/ilc_9yr_moll4096.png.
Coppie,
Jean. “Clone Shock: Sheep Dolly First Mammal 'Copied' from Adult Animal.” The
Sun, 24 Feb. 1997.
“Déclaration Des Droits De L'Homme Et Du Citoyen.” Via Wikimedia Commons, Musée De La Révolution Française, 11 May 2019, upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/D%C3%A9claration_des_droits_de_l%27Homme_-_Mus%C3%A9e_de_la_R%C3%A9volution_fran%C3%A7aise.jpg.
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