How cultural perspectives and world views influence scientific knowledge

Cultural perspectives and world views can influence what people notice, which questions they consider important, how knowledge is organised and communicated, and which scientific applications they support or oppose.

Important distinction: a perspective does not make evidence optional. Scientific claims still need observation, measurement, testing and reasoning. AC9S7H02 asks students to investigate how the development and use of scientific knowledge are influenced by people and societies.

Useful reasoning chain: cultural perspective or value → question, priority or way of organising knowledge → investigation or application → contribution to scientific knowledge or decision-making.

First Nations Australians hold diverse, place-based systems for organising knowledge about living things. Depending on the Nation, Country and purpose, classifications can include relationships to Country, behaviour, ecological role, use, season, language and cultural significance.

Contemporary biological taxonomy commonly groups organisms using shared characteristics, genetics and evolutionary relationships. The important comparison is not “which system is better?” but what criteria each system uses, what purpose it serves and what knowledge it communicates.

Students should avoid implying that all First Nations Australians use one identical classification system.

Deep ecological knowledge can support sustainable harvesting through long-term observations of seasons, breeding, population changes and relationships within ecosystems.

• Harvesting may be limited to particular seasons or places.
• Breeding animals or breeding areas may be protected.
• Rules can limit how much is taken and allow populations to recover.
• Cultural protocols can govern who may access, share or use particular knowledge.

This illustrates how ecological understanding and cultural responsibilities can influence environmental knowledge and management. When studying First Nations knowledge, sources should be specific and cultural authority and context should be respected.

Scientists do not change the laws of nature through their beliefs, but their values can influence which questions they choose to investigate, which problems they prioritise and which applications they consider ethical.

Richard Levins: the curriculum uses Levins as an example of a scientist whose political views helped shape his interest in population ecology and socially relevant scientific problems.

Joseph Rotblat: the curriculum uses Rotblat to illustrate how ethical concerns about nuclear weapons influenced the scientific work he was willing to pursue.

High-quality answers distinguish between choosing a research problem and changing evidence to suit a belief. The first can be influenced by values; the second is not good scientific practice.

A biological control uses a living organism or biological agent to reduce a pest or invasive species. A proposed control can create benefits and risks, so different groups may reach different recommendations.

• Farmers may focus on crop losses and pest reduction.
• Ecologists may focus on food webs and unintended effects on native species.
• First Nations communities may consider impacts on Country and culturally significant species.
• Other community members may weigh economic, ethical or safety concerns differently.

Science can provide evidence about likely outcomes and uncertainty. Perspectives influence how people value those outcomes. Responsible decisions consider both.

Wang Zhenyi was an 18th-century Chinese scholar who studied astronomy and mathematics. She used models and experiments to help explain lunar eclipses and communicated scientific ideas clearly.

Her work demonstrates that scientific knowledge has developed through contributions from people in many cultural and historical settings. It also challenges narrow assumptions about who has participated in science.

David Unaipon, a Ngarrindjeri man from the Coorong region of South Australia, drew on cultural knowledge and his understanding of the aerodynamic properties of boomerangs when conceptualising a vertical lift flying machine in 1914.

This example shows how existing cultural knowledge, close observation and scientific or engineering reasoning can contribute to new technological ideas.

1. Identify the cultural perspective, world view, ethical belief or social value.
2. Explain exactly what it influenced: classification, research question, protocol, scientific contribution or decision.
3. Identify the relevant observation, evidence or knowledge where appropriate.
4. Explain the effect on scientific knowledge or its application.
5. Avoid stereotypes and unsupported claims about entire cultures.

Weak: “Culture changes science.”

Strong: “Different classification systems can use different criteria because they serve different purposes. A First Nations classification may emphasise relationships to Country, season and ecological role, while contemporary taxonomy often emphasises evolutionary relationships. Comparing the systems shows how context and world view can influence how scientific knowledge is organised and used.”

AC9S7H02: investigate how cultural perspectives and world views influence the development of scientific knowledge.

• E1: First Nations classification systems and how their context and use can differ from contemporary science.
• E2: sustainable harvesting practices and cultural protocols based on deep ecological understandings.
• E3: personal beliefs influencing scientists’ research choices, including Richard Levins and Joseph Rotblat.
• E4: different societal perspectives on biological controls for invasive species.
• E5: Wang Zhenyi and her investigations of lunar eclipses.
• E6: David Unaipon, boomerang aerodynamics and his 1914 vertical-lift flying-machine concept.

1. Why can cultural perspectives influence the development of scientific knowledge?

   Cultural perspectives can influence which questions people ask, what knowledge they consider important, how observations are organised and communicated, and how scientific knowledge is applied. Evidence is still required to support scientific claims.

2. How can First Nations classification systems differ from contemporary scientific classification?

   First Nations systems can organise living things according to relationships to Country, behaviour, season, ecological role, use and cultural significance. Contemporary taxonomy often emphasises shared characteristics, genetics and evolutionary relationships. The systems can differ because their contexts and purposes differ.

3. How do sustainable harvesting practices show deep ecological understanding?

   Rules about timing, location, breeding and how much is taken can reflect long-term observations of populations and ecosystems. Protecting breeding periods or areas can help populations reproduce and recover.

4. Why are cultural protocols important when using First Nations ecological knowledge?

   Knowledge can be connected to particular Country, communities and cultural authority. Respecting protocols helps ensure knowledge is attributed, shared and used appropriately rather than removed from its context or generalised to all First Nations peoples.

5. How can a scientist’s beliefs influence their scientific work?

   Beliefs and values can influence which research questions a scientist chooses, which problems they prioritise and which applications they consider ethical. They should not be used to alter or ignore evidence.

6. What do Richard Levins and Joseph Rotblat illustrate?

   They illustrate that scientists’ political or ethical values can influence their research priorities and career decisions. Science is carried out by people who make choices about what work to pursue.

7. Why might people disagree about introducing a biological control?

   Different groups can place different value on pest reduction, economic benefits, risks to native species, impacts on Country and uncertainty. Scientific evidence informs the likely outcomes, while perspectives influence how those outcomes are judged.

8. Why is Wang Zhenyi important to this topic?

   Her experiments and reasoning about lunar eclipses show that scientific knowledge has been developed by people from diverse cultures and historical periods. Her work also challenges assumptions about who contributes to science.

9. How did David Unaipon’s cultural knowledge contribute to innovation?

   Unaipon drew on knowledge of boomerang aerodynamics when conceptualising a vertical-lift flying machine in 1914. This shows how cultural knowledge and scientific reasoning can contribute to new engineering ideas.

10. Does AC9S7H02 mean that scientific facts are determined by culture?

    No. Scientific claims are evaluated using evidence. The code focuses on how human cultures, world views and values can influence questions, priorities, organisation of knowledge, participation in science and decisions about how science is used.

• Saying culture determines whether a scientific claim is true.
• Suggesting evidence is unnecessary when cultural knowledge is involved.
• Treating all First Nations peoples, knowledge systems or classification practices as identical.
• Ranking knowledge systems using stereotypes instead of comparing purpose, context, evidence and methods.
• Confusing a scientist’s choice of research question with changing data to match a belief.
• Discussing biological controls only as a scientific problem and ignoring social, cultural or ethical impacts.
• Listing Wang Zhenyi or David Unaipon without explaining how their examples connect to cultural perspectives and scientific knowledge.

AC9S7H02 — Cultural Perspectives & World Views in Science

Core idea: science is evidence-based but is carried out by people. Cultural perspectives, values, ethics and historical contexts can influence the development and application of scientific knowledge.

1. Classification systems

• Different classification systems can use different criteria and serve different purposes.
• First Nations classifications may include Country, ecology, behaviour, season, use and cultural significance.
• Contemporary taxonomy commonly uses shared features, genetics and evolutionary relationships.
• Avoid claiming that all First Nations Australians use one identical system.

2. Sustainable harvesting

• Long-term ecological observations can identify breeding seasons, population patterns and safe harvesting times.
• Cultural rules can protect breeding animals and areas, limit take and allow recovery.
• Knowledge should remain connected to its Country, community and cultural protocols.

3. Scientist values

• Values can shape what scientists choose to study.
• Values do not make data or physical laws change.
• Richard Levins and Joseph Rotblat are curriculum examples of values influencing scientific choices.

4. Biological controls

• Biological controls can create benefits and unintended risks.
• Stakeholders can weigh the same evidence differently because they value outcomes differently.
• Good decisions consider evidence, uncertainty and affected perspectives.

5. Wang Zhenyi

18th-century Chinese scholar; used models, experiments and mathematical reasoning to study astronomy, including lunar eclipses. Her work demonstrates scientific contribution across cultural and historical contexts.

6. David Unaipon

Ngarrindjeri inventor; used understanding of boomerang aerodynamics when conceptualising a vertical-lift flying machine in 1914. His work shows cultural knowledge contributing to innovation.

7. Key distinction for exams

Perspective/value → can influence questions, priorities and applications.
Evidence → supports or challenges scientific claims.

8. Key exam phrases

• “Science is an evidence-based human endeavour.”
• “Different classification systems can reflect different contexts and purposes.”
• “Personal values can influence research priorities without determining experimental results.”
• “Scientific evidence and stakeholder perspectives play different but important roles in decision-making.”
• “First Nations knowledge should be represented specifically, respectfully and in context.”

9. Quick revision prompts

• Compare First Nations classification with contemporary taxonomy.
• Explain how cultural protocols can support sustainable harvesting.
• Explain how a scientist’s values can influence research choices.
• Explain why biological controls can produce different community perspectives.
• Explain why Wang Zhenyi and David Unaipon are relevant to AC9S7H02.

The Australian Curriculum code is exact. International entries are broad closest-topic mappings because jurisdictions structure science outcomes differently.

• AC9S7H01 — New evidence and different perspectives change scientific knowledge
• AC9S7H03 — Scientific responses to contemporary issues
• AC9S7U01 — Classification and diversity of life