Discovered or Invented - Essay Example

Discovered or Invented? When is something said to be discovered, and when is it said to be invented? There are many practical reasons for wanting to know the difference. One reason is for patent purposes. Inventions are patentable; discoveries are not. But differentiating “discovery” from “invention” is not that simple. In many instances, they are even used interchangeably. And it gets more confusing; for instance, courts of law have ruled that “discovery” of a new way of using an old “invention” is a new “invention” and can be patented. It is true that both terms have something in common, and that is the idea of “finding out” something. But instinctively we also know that they are different in some way. Columbus is said to have discovered, not invented, America, and the phonograph was invented, not discovered, by Thomas Edison. At once, a first-grader would make the distinction: Edison made the phonograph, while Columbus did not make America. America (not the country but the land mass) would have existed without Columbus, but the phonograph would not have existed without Thomas Edison. It appears then that the difference between invention and discovery is the role played by the human element. Discovery is a passive human task, with man as recipient of knowledge, while invention is an active human task, with man as initiator of knowledge. Discovery is recognizing that something exists, without thought as to its usefulness. Invention is taking what is known to exist and creating something new out of it, in order to fulfil a purpose useful to humans. Thus the differentiating factor is utility. Let us test this concept in the various areas of human knowledge. The field of human science is the study and interpretation of the experiences, activities and all things associated with human beings. It seeks answers to the question, What is the reality of being human? When it tries to answer this question, human science engages in the process of discovery, since empirical studies into psychology and philosophy, for instance, seek to understand what already exist. In this sense, human science discovers the meaning of human experience and phenomena. However, a part of human science seeks to use this interpretation to resolve problems in the area of human experiences. It includes the invention of techniques or tools, such as psychoanalysis, regression and hypnotism in the field of psychology, or development of intervention programs in sociology, all devices intended to influence a situation achieve a desirable outcome. Natural science is different from human sciences in that the former excludes all non-natural events and deals with purely “natural events using scientific methods.” (Ledoux, 2002, p. 34). We refer to the scientific method as a means of discovery of the natural laws that govern the event. Thus biology, physics, and chemistry are included in this classification, and pure research in these fields are generally acknowledged as a process of discovery. On the other hand, when the pure theories are employed in applied research, as in the fields of biological, electrical, mechanical, and chemical engineering, then we speak of invention, because we take what we learned in the pure sciences and create useful things out of them. For example, the study of the characteristics and nature of the cancer virus is a matter of discovery, but using genetic engineering to create a vaccine that prevents the proliferation of the virus is a matter of invention. Chemical elements are discoveries; the periodic table is an invention to aid in the understanding of the relationships of these elements, and medicines created from these chemicals are inventions to make people well. The principles of hydraulics and sub-atomic physics are discoveries – the exist of themselves – while automobiles’ hydraulic brakes, and cellular phones and iPods are inventions based on these discoveries, respectively. Mathematics is difficult to describe, because we all think of it as the “science of numbers”. But in reality, mathematics is more abstract than the numbers we see, write or count, because the numbers represent the concept of quantities, and geographical figures represent loci or sets of points in space. The subject matter of mathematics is actually not visible or tangible, because they are ideas and concepts that explain the relationships that man has observed for thousands of years – for instance, from the regular trek of the sun across the sky each day, and the moon each night, and the gradual shift of the stars in the sky, man has conceived of the revolution of the moon around the earth, and the earth around the sun – a matter of mathematics. This part is discovery. However, when man began to represent the concepts with symbols, then we have the invention of number systems. These include the Roman numerical system and the Hindu-Arabic positional number system, both inventions. The null concept is a discovery, while the numerical symbol for zero is an invention. The dual state of electronic impulses is discovery; the binary number system is an invention. Mathematical concepts exist by themselves; the tools by which we represent these concepts to arrive at estimates and visual depictions are human creations. History is usually taken to mean the totality of past events, but this is too broad and vague because it includes everything conceivable concerning human development. More realistically, we should think of history as a discovery of past inventions. To illustrate, let us take the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx of Egypt. Certainly, these are things that did not exist by nature, but were invented by the ancient Egyptian architects. However, they have been estranged from the experiences of succeeding generations, that they needed to be discovered again through the scrolls and hieroglyphics of that era. History is the study of the writings transmitted through the years. Those which were written about were inventions to the writers of that time, but are discoveries to the contemporary reader. In like manner, future generations reading about the invention of the microchip will discover how modern computers were built. Art, in contrast to history, is largely invention because of the imaginative content of its subject matter. It is the use of various media to create either a representation, expression, or form of an idea, thing, or other such subject matter, of an aesthetic nature. Any work of art, whether bad or good art, is an invention. There is, however, a small part of art that is discovery, where it pertains to the nature of the medium. For instance, artists experiment with the malleability of various metals, the fluid and visual properties of oil, acrylic and watercolor, the durability of stone and even the temporariness of ice. These properties exist, and before “invention” could be made of a work of art, master of its medium through “discovery” should first be attained by the competent artist. Ethics is a bit more difficult to classify as invention or discovery. The word “ethics” comes from “ethos”, the Greek word for character, and from “mores”, which is Latin for customs. By “ethos” we mean the desirable inner quality of a person’s character which govern the course of his actions. This part is discovery, because character is inborn, it exists by nature, and cannot be contrived or invented. On the other hand, by “mores” we mean the traditions and customs considered favorably by society. For example, caring for the elderly, protecting the rights of children, and preserving the ecology are solid traditions that society expects each one of us to abide by. Therefore, the elderly are provided discounts for health services and medicines; children are protected from abusive corporeal punishment and child labor; waste is recycled, and energy is developed from sustainable sources. Customs and traditions are inventions because they are created by man for the purpose of advancing society’s interests. Religion. It is difficult to conceive of religion in terms of “discovery” and “invention”, as it is often considered as entirely one or the other by people of opposite persuasions. Some of us, like Voltaire, would say: “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him,” implying that the concept of God is a contrivance of human imagination. Some of us, like Thomas Aquinas, believe that we discover God through His creation, inferring the existence of the First Cause from which emanate all subsequent causes and effects. Needless to say, debating God’s existence is an exercise in futility, because people have set convictions one way or the other. A person’s religion, however, is a matter of discovery insofar as it helps him realize his personal convictions, which are innate in him. Where, however, his chosen religion imposes upon him the fulfillment of certain duties and the observance of certain rituals, then this is where the invention comes in. Traditions are obviously designed to strengthen the religious community. The holding of services, the burning of incense, the Muslims custom of facing Mecca to pray, and the Eucharistic celebration by Catholics, are matters of invention. They are an outward expression by the religion’s faithful of their common faith and conviction, to bind them together. In conclusion, we may say that discovery and invention are sides of the same coin, and in many cases are inseparable. Each supplements the other, and much like the chicken and the egg, discovery leads to invention which leads to discovery. Both involve the use of knowledge. Where the knowledge is gained for knowledge sake, then this is discovery. Where the knowledge is employed for a useful purpose, then this is invention. Discovery is encountered by man as explorer; invention is undertaken by man as creator. This, to my mind, is the crucial difference. [Word count – 1,595] References Adajian, Thomas. The Definition of Art. 23 October 2007. 15 August 2009. Hersh, Reuben. Definition of mathematics. 15 August 2009. Hill, Josh. Is Mathematics Discovered or Invented? 28 April 2008. 15 August 2009. “History – What Is It?” 15 August 2009. < http://www.allabouthistory.org/history.htm> “History”, 1902encyclopedia.com. 16 August 2009. http://www.1902encyclopedia.com/H/HIS/ history-01.html Hutton, George. “What is the True Message of the Book of Revelation?” 15 August 2009. < http://ezinearticles.com/?What-is-the-True-Message-of-the-Book-of-Revelation?&id=2578867> “Invention”. Biology Online. 15 August 2009. Ledoux, Stephen F. “Defining Natural Sciences.” Behaviorology Today. Vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 34-36 Spring 2002. 15 August 2009 Patterson, Philip & Wilkins, Lee. Media Ethics: Issues and Cases. McGraw-Hill, Boston, 1998 Reiter, Stanley. “Knowledge, Discovery and Growth.” Discussion Paper No. 1011. Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. 14 July 2005. 15 August 2009. Samuels, Linda. Ethics. 22 January 1998. 15 August 2009. San Filippo, David. What is Human Science? 20 February, 1991. 15 August 2009. Van de Lagemaat, Richard. Theory of Knowledge for the IB Diploma. Cambridge University Press, 2005 Read More