Problem

What is the Zeitgeist? How does the Zeitgeist affect the evolution of a science? Compare t...

What is the Zeitgeist? How does the Zeitgeist affect the evolution of a science? Compare the growth of a science with the evolution of a living species.

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Solution 1

Zeitgeist is the intellectual and cultural climate spirit of a time. It means that a certain scientific discovery can be discarded or shunned because it is ahead of its time or maybe, because people are not willing to accept it. So, a scientific discovery can fail, if the zeitgeist is not in its favor.

Until 1920, psychology was seen as a science, who had lost its mind and then lost consciousness altogether. However, after half a century, under the impact of zeitgeist, psychology regained its consciousness and was accepted by the society.

Zeitgeist is not much, of a physical thing, but is an intellectual thing. When zeitgeist favored speculation and intuition, psychology also favored those paths. Just like a living species changes itself according to the environment, similarly when a scientific notion or discovery is done in its favorable zeitgeist, it will get recognized. Otherwise, it will die out, just like how species become extinct when facing an unfavorable environment.

The importance of zeitgeist does not negate the vitality of personalistic conception. A famous personality cannot single-handedly alter the course of history. It had been done by them because the path was already cleared for them.

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