Małgorzata Czachowska 1

The International Baccalaureate

THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE ESSAY

Within areas of knowledge, how can we differentiate between change and

progress? Answer with reference to two areas of knowledge.

Personal Code:​ hzz487

Session:​ May 2021

Word count:​ 1600

Declaration:​ I declare that this work is my own work and it is the final version. I have

acknowledged each use of the words or ideas of another person, whether written, oral or

visual.
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How can we differentiate between change and progress in human sciences and natural

sciences?

The world we live in constantly moves through time. Time is what makes objects

change and in consequence, nothing is permanent. There is no doubt, that change is

observable everywhere in the world. However, progress can be defined as a specific change

in a desirable direction. They are both connected and often difficult to distinguish as their

definitions vary from situation to situation. In more general terms, since the world strives to

sustain balance, when there is progress there is often regress in a different area or on a

different scale. Change can go to various directions or be neutral but can be seen as more

objective, while progress is often interpreted on a personal and subjective level. Furthermore,

the causation of change can be both natural or made through the decision-making process.

Sometimes change is just the natural evolution and can be separated from progress. On the

other hand, it can be argued that progress is an improvement of a condition or expansion of

knowledge while change is an abandonment of the previous state. There is no unambiguous

definition of those terms. Another important note is that their definition might change

according to the scale of events. The world we live in is very complex and interconnected. To

measure progress it is important to name the area and scale of the experience. This way we

need ​ways of knowing such as faith, intuition, emotion and reason. Having discussed

different perspectives and ways of understanding progress and change, I will turn to the

merits of defining them in natural and human sciences.

Progress in natural sciences is often based on the historical comparison, data analysis,

intuition and reason. It’s more about getting closer to the ultimate truth which can be

measured, while in human sciences, it’s more about feelings, faith, morality and very often is
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recognized on an individual level. Nevertheless, human behaviours can be analyzed and

trends can be observed taking into consideration the general wellbeing of the people.

In natural sciences, you could say that we either know something or we don’t. Thanks to the

work of generations of scientists and humans, the civilisation was able to develop and

understand the world more. This “team” work allowed to see perspectives of different

individuals in which all of them contributed to modern knowledge. Although there can be

obstacles and failures which seem like a change in an undesirable direction, they are

providing more knowledge. It could be argued, that in the long term, everything in science

progresses as through time people find more tools and can observe and understand more.

However, if the change is considered a rejection of previous knowledge and progress an

improvement, there can be more separation between those two. In 1915 Einstein proposed a

new theory of general relativity that opposed to Newton’s theory of gravity. This

breakthrough was a big step in the trials of understanding the world and later was confirmed

by other scientists, but questions the reliability of scientists. If what was believed for so long

to be an answer is now proved wrong, how can we tell if the knowledge we gain is true?

Well, it is the best theory the current science can provide and while it might not be sufficient

in the future until there is more progress, the theory might be expanded and changed again. It

can be argued that progress conveys more progress. It is in human nature to learn and

describe more, so there will be always progress. Reaching a goal is a “when” rather than an

“if”.

Change happens always and can be accidental - probably that’s when progress is less

observable. I say it’s less observable, as the world has proved to me many times that it is not

black and white. The line between change and progress is very blurry, and events are often so

complicated with many factors in them that it is impossible to state on a thing or another for
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the whole case. It all depends on the desired outcome that can be compared and the tools to

measure the direction of change. There is a theory that around 66 million years ago an

asteroid that struck the Earth caused a mass extinction mainly of dinosaurs and 75 percent of

other species (Ceurstemont). This event affected the environment and climate which added to

the evolution of mammals that had then more space to thrive and become more diverse and

abundant. While the scale of million years seems unimaginable for humans, in this bigger

perspective mammals have progressed. And again, the problem here is that there is no way of

telling if that was a desirable direction. It can be only assumed that maybe it’s better this way

and we need to have faith that nature is progressing. Change is an organic process, but it is

nature’s inherent characteristics to try and find the best possible solution for survival. Nature

had also many failures in creating new species. Such species went extinct but brought

knowledge from the mistakes. The conclusion might arise that as long as there is more

knowledge collected that can be later used, everything can be a progress.

On a much smaller scale - the human scale - we face many obstacles in the society and new

fights and revolutions happen now and then. To find progress, we need to observe the reason

for the change. In Iceland in 1975, 90 percent of all women took a day off to demonstrate

their contribution to society and demanded equal rights, which would essentially improve

their situation, contribute to a healthier society and provide more freedom (Ellenberger). The

goal was reached and now Iceland is considered one of the top countries for women.

Generally, they have progressed. However, in this example, there was a specific and

measurable goal. As long as there is one, we can easily determine whether we have

progressed closer towards reaching it. The real problem arises when the goal is not specific

and the direction of change is not measurable and/or requires more resources than one can

give or obtain. In human sciences, the difference is even more challenging as there is no
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objective way in which progress can be defined and there isn’t a consistent vision of the

perfect society. There are moral standards that can be more universal and common for people.

Progress can also be the “human happiness understood in terms of material well-being”

(Gismondi). While material well-being is indeed measurable, it doesn’t necessairly reflect the

level of happiness or society’s growth. Faith, despite being helpful, is not morally objective

either.

Nevertheless, on the individual level, things are simpler. There can be a specific and

measurable goal which can be evaluated by self-assessment. Yet sometimes the goal set by

ourselves is not surely something we need to progress and more of a thing we want to

achieve. The most important thing is to listen to feelings and intuition and find the best path

to take even through failures. With every change, there are opportunities to grow and

progress, frequently into unknown directions and towards hazy destinations. In the first half

of 2020, during the lockdown, I’ve experienced a major change. I’d say it was neutral, it was

a complete change of my everyday life and I wasn’t able to name the impact it would have on

me. It was until I reflected on that time, that I’ve discovered a shift in my behaviour and

started to understand myself better. Thanks to change, I progressed. The distinction in this

example is my power over such situations. I had no power over the pandemic, the situation or

those difficult circumstances. However, I had control over my reaction and my adaptation.

My choices in given situations were the ones that determined whether it was just a neutral

change, regress or progress. The change that is neutral and independent from our actions and

choices can be seen only as an evolution of events. And there is no doubt that on an

individual level such things can be interpreted differently, but it is all up to one’s feelings.

Progress is important to define for many reasons: to reward yourself for doing better and

acknowledge efforts that were undertaken. To fix matters and try new ones or to abandon
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unsuitable course. Understanding and reflecting on the reality in the context of past and

future can bring many benefits and give more depth to one’s life. Nevertheless, progress can

occur on different scales and in different areas, and sometimes might be more or less

observable. Creating a measurable goal is not always the case, so sometimes there needs to be

an element of trust towards the universe and faith in the balance of the world, that whenever

there is change or regress, there is progress.

Still, the terms are manmade and despite being useful, sometimes they are not necessary to

create a meaningful experience. Progress and change are inseparable and everything has

causes and effects - therefore it is impossible to distinguish them in the long term as there is a

lot of grey area.

Concluding, the difference between change and progress should be measured accordingly to

the situation and with acknowledgement of different areas, perspectives and should be looked

upon on different time scales. There is no “right” way of doing things and there isn’t one way

of progressing. The best advice is to reflect and find anchors such as goals, to describe the

process and observe change, but also use the opportunities given by life to improve. Unless

there is acceptance of the reality on realities terms, there won’t be progress.

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Bibliography

Ceurstemont, Sandrine. “New clues unearthed about mammals’ rapid evolution after dinosaur

extinction.” ​Horizon The EU Research & Innovation Magazine​, 27 August 2018,

https://horizon-magazine.eu/article/new-clues-unearthed-about-mammals-rapid-evolut

ion-after-dinosaur-extinction.html. Accessed 20 December 2020.

Ellenberger, Iris. “The Day Women Brought Iceland to a Standstill.” ​Jacobin​, no. Work /

Feminism, 24 October 2019,

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2019/10/iceland-redstockings-womens-strike-feminism.

Accessed 20 December 2020.

Gismondi, Gualberto. “Progress, Scientific and Human.” ​INTERS,​ Interdisciplinary

Encyclopedia of Religion and Science, 2002, http://inters.org/progress. Accessed 20

November 2020.