‘To what extent is truth eternal?’ is a knowledge issue that could be supported by evidence and simultaneously discarded by counterclaims. Although ‘That which is accepted as knowledge today is sometimes discarded tomorrow’ is true to a certain extent, a multitude of examples from different areas of knowledge, including the Natural Sciences, the Human Sciences (as exemplified by Philosophy), and the Arts (as exemplified by Literature) form strong counterclaims that suggest the otherwise, that certain truths are considered foundations for others and are thus considered eternal.

British naturalist Charles Darwin and German philosopher Frederick Nietzsche, although thinkers from two distinct fields of academics, both agree on a process of evolution where stages in the past develop to define men. (Roth) Nietzsche’s attempt to elevate Darwin’s theory from one that is solely based on observations in the Natural Sciences to one applicable to the human society shows that a thinker may base new theories on an existing one by bringing it to a new level. This argument would form a counterclaim to the statement, ‘That which is accepted as knowledge today is sometimes discarded tomorrow’ and respond positively to the knowledge issue that ‘Truth’ could be ‘eternal’.

Charles Darwin’s ‘Origin of species’ and ‘The Descent of Man’ contains the groundbreaking theory of ‘natural selection’, that ‘the fittest survive’ (Roth). Darwin famously writes that ‘the human race is not the goal of evolution, but one of its products’ (Darwin), just as other animals are products, other than end results of evolution. Inferably then, we, as human beings today who have evolved all the way from ‘single celled creatures’ (Darwin) to the dwellers of this globalised, technologically-advanced world, are not the ultimate ‘product’ (Darwin). Rather, human beings are works in progress that are still evolving are evolving as time elapses and are the indelible marks of our yesterday’s selves, or ‘products of the past’ (Darwin). While the implication of Darwin’s theory may serve as a counterclaim to the statement ‘Knowledge is sometimes discarded in the future’, depending on a knower’s individual Perception, a different Perspective may suggest that as an underlying assumption, knowledge is also constantly evolving so that ‘that which is accepted as knowledge today is sometimes discarded tomorrow’.

While such an inference is certainly valid, the counterclaim may be regarded relevant if a Knower analyses Nietzsche’s response to Darwin’s findings, which were at that time shockingly groundbreaking but became immediately accepted among other intellectual members of society as ‘Truth’. (Roth) In the second half of the 19th century, Nietzsche brought Darwin’s observations to a new level by extending it to another academic discipline - the Human Sciences. Although Nietzsche, whose thoughts and thinking (‘only something that has no history is capable of being defined’ and ‘God is dead’) (Nietzsche) are often considered intense and even radical, also admitted in his ‘Genealogy of Morals’ (Nietzsche), that he considered Darwin’s theories as a foundation in developing his own in another academic discipline, and that truth accepted today is blended in new theories tomorrow, not discarded. Nietzsche’s application of Darwin’s theories in sociological and cultural selections has pioneered ‘Neo-Darwinism’. Whilst Darwin, as a natural scientist, has focused on how the ‘fittest survive’ in nature in his work, Nietzsche evaluates how societies also follow the same principle, showing how socially and culturally (e.g. ‘reproductive fitness’) (Darwin) people have been confronted with selection, that has originated from the past. Charles Darwin and Frederick Nietzsche therefore lead to many Knowers’ belief of the role of certain truth as keystones for new theories across varied academic disciplines, in other words, truth can be eternal. 

However, the statement ‘That which is accepted as knowledge today is sometimes discarded tomorrow.’ may not be irrelevant in all situations. One of the supporting claims to this statement may be found in Literature. In Orwell’s celebrated dystopian novel ‘1998’, O’Brien appears as if he intends to rebel against the Party, but as an Inner Party member, he is tricking Winston into revealing his thoughtcrime. At first, he appears politically perfect to Winston, ‘Much more it was because of a secretly held belief—or perhaps not even a belief, merely a hope—that O’Brien’s political orthodoxy was not perfect.’ (Orwell 11) Eventually, O’Brien tortures Winston by forcing him to abolish his true beliefs, the truth and knowledge relevant from his past, thus betraying himself, ‘O’Brien smiled slightly. “You are a flaw in the pattern, Winston. You are a stain that must be wiped out.”’ (Orwell 321) Winston finds that O’Brien is not on his side, only when it is too late. Significantly, O’Brien brainwashes Winston, forcing him to learn, understand and accept the Party’s ideology after forgetting the truth form the past. The role of O’Brien is therefore important in this case, as he represents the Party in forcing Winston to abandon his truth by discarding knowledge that have been originally perceived as the truth in society, until later forcibly discarded due to the Party’s goals in securing its dictatorship. 

Burmese leader of the National League for Democracy Aung San Suu Kyi, once said that ‘it is not power that corrupts, but fear.’ (Ezineararticles) The fear of ‘losing power’ (Ezineararticles) cause dictators like O’Brien and the other Party rulers to reign by abusing terror among the people. One key approach is erasing their memory through the denial of truth, of making truth cease to be eternal. Indeed, ’Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.’ (Orwell 307) As an aspiring reformer of society, I believe that certain truths need to be eternal and should not be discarded in the future, because my perspective as a Knower sees the manipulation and censorship knowledge as a threat to democracy, equality, and the pursuit of happiness.

To conclude, ’That which is accepted as knowledge today is sometimes discarded tomorrow.’ is a statement that could be proven relevant to a certain degree, but several counterclaims may also suggest that some truths can be regarded eternal foundations that inform other theories. Whilst Darwin’s theory that was based on his observations of the natural kingdom could be easily discredited by a thinker from another area of knowledge, was actually extended and utilised as a keystone for other ideas on social selection, as exemplified by Nietzsche’s response to Darwin’s theory. Literature, an example from another Area of Knowledge, the Arts, show that that which is accepted as knowledge today is sometimes discarded, or manipulated tomorrow due to a variety of reasons. The extent to which knowledge is eternal, and to which knowledge today is sometimes discarded tomorrow, remains a question that is open to contention, depending on Ways of Knowing including individual Perceptions and Reasoning processes.

Work Cited

Ezineararticles. ‘In Myanmar, Its Not Power That Corrupts, But Fear’. Web. 4 Nov, 2013. <http://ezinearticles.com/?In-Myanmar---Its-Not-Power-That-Corrupts,-But-Fear&id=770024>

Darwin, Charles. The Gutenberg Project."On the Origin of Species." N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2013. <http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1228/1228-h/1228-h.htm>.

Darwin, Charles. The Gutenberg Project. “Of the Descent of Man”. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2013. <http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2300/pg2300.html>

Orwell, George, and Erich Fromm. “1984”. Lisboa: s.n., 2004. 

Roth, Michael. "The Modern and the Postmodern." Lecture. Coursera. Coursera. Web. 12 Aug. 2013.

Vancouver Island University. Nietzsche, Fredrich. “On the Genealogy of Morals”. <http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/Nietzsche/genealogy1.htm>