Natural selection is a concept that has long since interested me, I consider it to mean “survival of the fittest”. Thus, looking upon this title, I deduced that the metaphor, which is used for comparison, implies the following principles of natural selection apply to knowledge development: there is variation in knowledge, the ‘fittest’ knowledge is most suitably adapted to the environment, and superseded knowledge is not fit to survive. Questions and doubts thereby arise: What is meant by the term ‘fittest’? Does the metaphor convey an accurate perception of development in knowledge? Does knowledge that is unfit not truly survive? I aim to discuss the accuracy and implications of the metaphor in the disciplines of three areas of knowledge
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As time has passed, illustrated by the examples above, variations in knowledge have emerged and the best of the variation supersedes the others based on appropriateness. This is what is meant by “fittest”: what one deems suitable. However, where the metaphor fails is the fact that superseded knowledge in disciplines can stand the test of time and be of value. The aforementioned metaphor is useful in that it helps people gain a better understanding of how our world works as some principles of natural selection do apply to knowledge development: we prefer some variations of knowledge over others due to our ability of perceiving what is suitable e.g. the most suitable model in chemistry, the most relevant motivation theory in business, the most favored idea of the world’s creation. The metaphor nonetheless does not perfectly embody the concept, however, metaphors are not always perfect. Metaphors allow people as knowers to be creative and critical: to not blindly take the metaphor at face value, have different interpretations and challenge assumptions. Revelations can then be made, which is how I feel about the investigated metaphor. The metaphor, albeit not perfect, is therefore useful to a good extent. To look at this investigation from other perspectives, simply, no person is alike. A biology student, who has investigated natural selection in depth, may argue that there are different principles, while someone who has had different life experiences will have different principles in
As time has passed, illustrated by the examples above, variations in knowledge have emerged and the best of the variation supersedes the others based on appropriateness. This is what is meant by “fittest”: what one deems suitable. However, where the metaphor fails is the fact that superseded knowledge in disciplines can stand the test of time and be of value. The aforementioned metaphor is useful in that it helps people gain a better understanding of how our world works as some principles of natural selection do apply to knowledge development: we prefer some variations of knowledge over others due to our ability of perceiving what is suitable e.g. the most suitable model in chemistry, the most relevant motivation theory in business, the most favored idea of the world’s creation. The metaphor nonetheless does not perfectly embody the concept, however, metaphors are not always perfect. Metaphors allow people as knowers to be creative and critical: to not blindly take the metaphor at face value, have different interpretations and challenge assumptions. Revelations can then be made, which is how I feel about the investigated metaphor. The metaphor, albeit not perfect, is therefore useful to a good extent. To look at this investigation from other perspectives, simply, no person is alike. A biology student, who has investigated natural selection in depth, may argue that there are different principles, while someone who has had different life experiences will have different principles in