Chapter Thirteen Cultural transmission of knowledge: Historical change

Knowledge is not just handed down inviolate from one generation to the next, it is also transformed as new contexts are created through its application and use. Thus, the accumulation of knowledge can be addressed on two fronts; cross sectionally, as viewed from the individual case, and longitudinally, where the individual is seen as a transitory actor in an ongoing sequence. If our grasp of the dynamic principles at work on the individual level is tenuous, this is doubly so when it comes to the principles that shape the historical growth of ideas. Nonetheless, attempts have been made to redress this imbalance by bringing together studies of how belief systems change from one generation to the next (mainly scientific beliefs) and studies of the course traced by individuals as they gain expertise in the same domains.