THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SURVIVAL GUIDE€¦ · THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SURVIVAL GUIDE There’s no denying...
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From the IB graduates at THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SURVIVAL GUIDE
Transcript of THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SURVIVAL GUIDE€¦ · THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SURVIVAL GUIDE There’s no denying...
From the IB graduates at
THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE
SURVIVAL GUIDE
THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SURVIVAL GUIDE Let’s
Contents3 Let’sGetStarted!
6 TypesofKnowledge:SharedandPersonal
10 Knowledge questions and knowledge claims
14 TheWaysofKnowing:Language,Senses,EmotionandReason
20 TheWaysofKnowing:Imagination,Faith,IntuitionandMemory
26 TheAreasofKnowledge:Frameworks
34 TheAreasofKnowledge:Mathematics,theNaturalSciences,The
HumanSciencesandHistory
40 TheAreasofKnowledge:TheArts,Ethics,ReligiousKnowledge,
IndigenousKnowledge
THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SURVIVAL GUIDE Let’s
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LET’S GET STARTED!
LET’S GET STARTED!
THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SURVIVAL GUIDE
There’snodenyingthatTheoryofKnowledgecanbeconfusing.WhenIdidtheIB,Istruggledforsometimetoevenunderstandwhatthesubjectwasabout.Eventually,IrealisedthatinordertoaceToKyouhavetounderstandwhattheexaminersreallywant.InthisseriesIwanttohelpyoudothesame.Ineachpartwe’lldealwithsomethingthatnormallytripsstudentsuporseemstricky.Bytheendoftheseries,you’llhavenoproblemansweringToKquestionsorunderstandingthesubject.
Why is it so confusing?!
ToKcanbeintimidatingatfirstbecauseitseemssoabstract.Whatthismeansisthatitisdifficulttounderstandwhatyou’rebeingaskedtodo.It’stheoppositetotacklingaprobleminamathclass:evenifyou’renotsurehowtoansweramathquestion,whatyou’remeanttodoisusuallyclear.Youmightbesolvinganequation,orfindingtheareaofashape,butyoualwaysknowthatthereisapathtothesolution–thereisanagreedmethodtogetto‘therightanswer’.ThereasonlotsofpeoplestrugglewithToKisthatthereisno‘rightanswer’toToKquestions.
How do I answer a question with no right answer?
InToKyoushouldnotfocusonfinding‘therightanswer’.Insteadyoushouldaimtoreflectcriticallyonthethingspeople(includingyou)know.Butwhatdoesitmeanto‘reflectcritically’onknowledge?Essentially,itmeansthatyouaresupposedtothinkaboutknowing.IdidsaythatToKcanseemdifficult!Butdon’tworry,I’mgoingtoletyouinonasecretaboutToK…
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The secret of success.
ToKmightseemconfusing.Itisdifferentfromtheothersubjectsinsomeways.Itistheonlysubjectthatencouragesyoutothinkaboutwhatitmeansto know.However,inonecrucialway,TheoryofKnowledgeissimilartoalltheothersubjects.InToK,justlikeinEnglish,mathorscience,thereisasyllabusandamarkscheme.ThismeansthatToKcanalsobebrokendownintosimple,manageablebits.ToachievetopmarksinToKyouonlyhavetodothefollowingtwothings:1)understandthesyllabus;2)produceworkthattacklesallthepointsspecifiedinthemarkscheme.Inthisserieswe’regoingtogothroughtheToKsyllabus–we’llmakethe‘confusing’stuffsimpleandexplainhowtoaceyourpresentationsandessays.
Withoutadoubt,thetrickiestthingaboutToKisthatitseemsconfusing.Wewillworkthroughthesubjecttogether,stepbystep,sothatyoucanacetheassessments.
LET'S GET STARTED!
THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SURVIVAL GUIDE TYpES OF KNOWLEDGE: SHARED AND pERSONAL
TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE:
SHARED AND PERSONAL
TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE:
SHARED AND PERSONAL
THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SURVIVAL GUIDE TYpES OF KNOWLEDGE: SHARED AND pERSONAL
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Divide and conquer!Onegoodwaytounderstandsomethingdifficultistobreakitupintomanageablesections.InToK,weareaskedtoexploreknowledgeandtrytounderstandhowknowingworks.OnewaythattheIBsuggestwethinkaboutthisisbydividingknowledgeintotwocategories:‘shared’and‘personal’.Youcantellthetwotypesapartbythewaythattheyareexpressed.Whensomeoneisusingsharedknowledgetheysay,‘weknowbecause’,whereaswhentheyareusingpersonalknowledgetheyusethephrase,‘Iknowbecause’.That’sjustasummary…itisabitmorecomplex!
Shared knowledgeThebestwaytotellifknowledgeissharedistolook at whether other people can check and correct it.Let’stakeoneoftheIBsubjects,physics,asanexample.Ifyouweretoaskyourphysicsteachertotellyouwhatthefastestthingintheuniverseis,theywilllikelysaythatlightmovesfasterthananythingelse.Itmovesthrougha
vacuumatanimpressive1080millionkilometreseveryhour!But,ifwesupposethatastudyshowedsomethingmovingfasterthanlight,
whatwouldhappen?
Thelikelihoodisthatotherscientistswouldtrytoreplicatethestudy,tocheckforthemselves.However,iftheyfoundthatindeed,somethingcouldmovefasterthanlight,whatwouldhappen?Ourscientificknowledgewouldhavetobecorrected.Thisexampleshowsthatscienceasanacademicsubjectisamatterofsharedknowledge.Youcanusethismethodtofindoutwhetherknowledgeissharedorpersonal,assharedknowledgecanalwaysbecheckedandcorrectedbythecommunity.
THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SURVIVAL GUIDE TYpES OF KNOWLEDGE: SHARED AND pERSONAL
Personal knowledge
Personalknowledgeisdifferent.Feelingsareanexampleofpersonalknowledge.Emotionalstatementscan’tberightorwrong,whereasscientificstatementscan.Personalknowledgecan’tbecheckedforaccuracyorcorrectedinthesamewayassharedknowledge.Skills and abilities are also regardedaspersonalknowledge.Imaginetryingtodescribetosomeonewhatitisliketorideabike.Youpeddle,ofcourse,andthewindrushespastyouasyougofaster.Butdoesthisreallydescribethepersonalfeelingofwhatitisliketorideabike?
Knowingsuchthingsispersonalknowledge–youhavetoexperienceityourselftobeabletoknowitatall.Therefore,personalknowledgecanbereally hardtocommunicate.Thesameistrueforotherskills,likesports,cooking and so on.
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The interactionItistruethatknowledgecanbeunderstoodintermsofits‘shared’and‘personal’categories.However,thesetwocategoriesinteract.Sharedknowledgecanhaveastrongimpactonhowweviewtheworld.Forexample,somebodywhostudieseconomicsmightviewtheirweeklyshopquitedifferentlyincomparisontosomeonewhodoesnotstudyeconomics,asaresultoftheirdifferentacademicknowledge.Theirpersonalknowledge(regardingtheirweeklyshop)hasbeenaffectedbythesharedknowledgethattheyhaveabouteconomicsasasubject(onebeingtaughteconomicsinschool,theothernot.)Wecanviewthisspecificrelationshipasanintersectionbetweenthetwotypesofknowledge–apointatwhichpersonalandsharedknowledge meet.
Hopefullyyounowfeelcomfortablewiththeconceptsofpersonalandsharedknowledge.Youshouldfeelsatisfiedthatyoucanidentifywhichkindsofknowledgearebeingdescribed.Makesureyoumakeuseofthisinyouressaysandpresentationstoshowthatyoureallyknowyourstuff!
THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SURVIVAL GUIDE KNOWLEDGE qUESTIONS AND KNOWLEDGE cLAImS
KNOWLEDGE QUESTIONS AND KNOWLEDGE CLAIMSKNOWLEDGE QUESTIONS AND KNOWLEDGE CLAIMS
THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SURVIVAL GUIDE KNOWLEDGE qUESTIONS AND KNOWLEDGE cLAImS
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KnowledgequestionsandknowledgeclaimsaresupercentraltoToK–infact,thesubjectisbasedonthem!Inthissectionwe’regoingtolearnwhattheyare.Thenwe’llthinkaboutsomeexamplesandhowtheymightcomeupinyour presentations and essays.
Knowledge questionsKnowledgequestionsaresoimportanttoToKthatthesyllabussays,‘anessayorpresentationthatdoesnotidentifyandtreataknowledgequestionhasmissedthepoint’.Wecertainlydon’twanttomissthepointsoit’sessentialthatyouareabletoidentifyaknowledgequestionwhenyouseeone.
YoumighthavecomeacrossthisquestionbeforeinToK:‘howdoweknowwhatweknow?’.Thisisanexampleofaknowledgequestion.All knowledge questions ask about how we know things.Therereallyareanunlimitednumberofthesekindsofquestions,butlet’slookat3morespecificexamples:
• Whatcountsasevidenceforascientifictheory?• Whatmakesagoodexplanationinphilosophy?• Doweknowwhetheritisrighttocoerceotherpeople?
Eachofthesequestionscontainsakeywordwhichgivesusabigindicationthatitisaknowledgequestion.Lookatthequestionsandtrytoguesswhichisthecriticalwordineach.Whichwordsdidyoupickout?
Thefirstquestionisaskingaboutwhatcountsasevidence.Itwantsustothinkaboutwhatconstitutesastandardofproofforapieceofknowledge.
Thesecondquestionisaskingaboutwhatmakesagoodexplanation.Agoodexplanationwouldsupportourclaimtoapieceofknowledge.
Thethirdquestionisaskingustoconsiderhowwethinkaboutwhethersomethingisright.Itinvitesustoexplorethemethodsweusewhenwemakeaclaimthatsomethingisright.
THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SURVIVAL GUIDE KNOWLEDGE qUESTIONS AND KNOWLEDGE cLAImS
Readthethreecharacteristicsofaknowledgequestionbelow,thenreturntolookagainattheexamples.Itshouldnowbeclearthattheyareindeedknowledge questions.
3 characteristics of knowledge questions:1.Knowledgequestionsareaboutknowledge.Buttheyarenotquestionsofwhatyouknow.‘Whichisthethirdplanetfromthesun?’isnotaknowledgequestionasitonlyasksforapieceofknowledge.Instead,aknowledgequestionaskshowapieceofknowledgeisproduced–the‘methodsandmechanisms’forproducingknowledge.AgoodplacetostartwhenthinkingaboutthisistheWaysofKnowing.WewilldiscusstheWaysofKnowinginthenextsection.
2.Knowledgequestionsareopen.Theydon’thaveonerightanswer.Rather,therearemultipleanswersanddifferentsidestotheargument.
3.Knowledgequestionsaregeneral.Theyarenotspecifictoasingleexample.Youmustuseyourjudgementforthis.Thereisascalethatgoesfromasking‘whatistheweightofmypen’to‘howdoweknowwhatrealityislike’.Theformerquestionisveryspecificandthereforewouldnotmakeagoodknowledgequestion.Thelatteristoogeneralandwouldnotbegoodforyoutotackleinyourcoursework.Oneguidingruleisthatknowledgequestionsshouldnotusevocabularyspecifictoanysubject.Anyoneshouldbeabletounderstandallthewordsinaknowledgequestion!
Nexttimeyouwanttoidentifyaknowledgequestion,lookatthesethreecharacteristicsandcheckthatitaddressesthemall.
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Knowledge claimsTheseareclaimsorstatementssayingthatwethinkweknowsomething:
1.Someclaimsaremadebyindividuals,orcommunities,abouttheworldandhowitworks.Thesearecalledfirst order knowledge claims.‘Mammalscannotfly’isafirstorderknowledgeclaim.Theclaimdoesnothavetobetrue(forexample,thinkaboutbats),butitdoeshavetosaysomethingabouttheworld.
2.Someclaimsaremadeaboutknowledgeitself,forexample,‘mathematicalknowledge is always certain’.Thisiswhatwecallasecond order claim as itexaminesknowledgeitself.Weareseekingknowledgeaboutknowledge!
Hopefullyyounowfeelabithappieraboutwhatknowledgequestionsare.Youshouldbeabletouseyournewskillstoidentifyknowledgequestionsandevencomeupwithnewknowledgequestionsyourself.Youshouldalsohaveagoodideaaboutwhataknowledgeclaimisandhaveanunderstandingaboutthetwotypesofknowledgeclaims.Ifyou’vebeenfollowingtheguidesofar,you’rewellonyourwaytobecomingaToKmaster!
THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SURVIVAL GUIDE THE WAYS OF KNOWING: LANGUAGE, SENSES, EmOTION AND REASON
THE WAYS OF KNOWING:
LANGUAGE, SENSES, EMOTION AND REASON
THE WAYS OF KNOWING:
LANGUAGE, SENSES, EMOTION AND REASON
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What are the Ways of Knowing?Allknowledgecomesfromsomewhere.Evenifwesaythatitisinnate,meaningthatitcomesfromwithinus,westillhavetosayhowthatknowledgeappears.TheWaysofKnowingarethemethodsthroughwhichknowledgebecomesapparenttous.ThereareeightdifferentwaysofknowingyouneedtoknowfortheIB:Language, Sense perception, Emotion, Reason, Imagination, Faith, Intuition and Memory.Althoughthismightseemlikealot,thegoodnewsisthatfortheIByou’reonlyreallyadvisedtostudyfourofthemindepth(althoughit’sstillworthknowinghoweachofthemworks).
LanguageLanguage is defined as a system of signs with meanings.Thesesignsinclude,butarenotlimitedto:letters,pictures,symbols,soundsandgestures.Languageiseverywhereandsomeaspectsofitmayevenbeuniversal.Aswellasbeingeverywhere,languageiscrucialtooursurvivalandsuccess.However,despiteitsomnipresence and importance,languageisfullofpotential problems.Thereareoftenadditionalthingstoconsiderwhensarcasm,ambiguity(whensomethingisn’tclear),ironyortranslationareinvolved.Weallknowhowajokeinonelanguagemightnotworkinanother!
Languageisreallyimportantforcommunicatingknowledge,despiteitsflaws.InToK,youshouldthinkabouthowlanguagecommunicatesknowledge,andsomeoftheproblemsthatmightcreepupwhenwetrytopassonknowledgethroughsignsandsymbols.Onefascinatingtopicthatyoumightnothaveheardofisthedebateover‘linguistic determinism’.Thisistheideathatlanguagedeterminesthewaywethinkandthatbecauseaspecificcommunityspeakinacertainway,thewaytheythinkisstructuredaccordingly.Youcouldarguethatusingonlyaspecificlanguagelimitsourabilitytothink!Othersarguethatthewayweseethingsisnotlimitedtoourculture,andthereforethewaythatwethinkaboutthemisuniversal.Thisisanongoingdebateandisa really interesting one to consider using in your presentation or essay.
THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SURVIVAL GUIDE THE WAYS OF KNOWING: LANGUAGE, SENSES, EmOTION AND REASON
Sense Perception
ThisWayofKnowingrelatestothewaya person uses and understandstheirsenses.Thetraditionaltheoryisthatweonlyhavefivesenses:touch,taste,smell,hearingandsight.However,astimehaspassed,moreandmoresenseshavebeenadded.Peoplehaveclaimedthatothersensesincludethesenseofheat,thesenseofpain,ofmovement,ofbalanceandofhungerandthirst.Ithasevenbeensuggestedthatwehaveasenseofwhereourbodypartsareinspace.Someofthesemightseemalittleunusual,buttrythisexperiment:closeyoureyesandtrytouchingyourforefingerstogether.Wereyousuccessful?Ibetyouweren’tfaroff!
Onlythesenseofproprioception(whereyourbodyisinspace)couldhaveallowedyoutodothis.Oneofthebigdebatesheresurroundstheideaofempiricism. Thisterm,whichyoumighthaveheardof,referstothetheorythatall knowledge comes from the senses.Thisisahistoricalview.Now,itismorecommonlybelievedthatourexpectationshelpshapeoursenseexperiences.Thinkingabouthowperceptionsandbeliefsinfluenceeachother is a fascinating topic for your essays and presentations. Illusions are a good illustrationofhowthebrain’sexpectationsinfluenceoursensoryexperiences.
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Emotion
TherearetwoimportantschoolsofthoughtconcerningemotionthattendtocomeupinToK.Oneiscalledthenaturalistic view of emotion.Thisviewtellsusthatemotionisaresultofourphysicalbodies,withphysicalcausesandeffects.CharlesDarwinwasonesupporterofthisview.Oneinterestingimplicationofthenaturalisticviewisthatemotionsareseenasuniversalandexperiencedacrosscultures.Theoppositeviewisheldbysocial constructionists,whoarguethatemotionsaresocially constructed.Thiswouldmeanthatemotionscomefromoursocialenvironment.Thesocialconstructionistsmightpointtoanemotionlikeshameasanemotionbasedonsocialideasofwhatisrightandwhatiswrong.Withoutsocietytellingyouwhatactionsare‘wrong’youmightneverfeelshame.Onequestionyoumightconsideriswhetheremotionisahelporahindrancewhenitcomestogainingknowledge.Youcouldarguethatemotionisaproblemwhenseekingknowledge.Forexample,youmightarguethatemotionhindersrationalthoughtandthusdistortsreality.However,someonemightdisagreewithyou.Somebodycouldtellyou,forexample,thatwithoutemotionsitisdifficulttomakesenseofculturalandsocialexperiences.Peoplewithautismoftenstruggletounderstandsocialsituationsandtoknowwhatitisthatotherpeople feel.Whatdoesthissayabouttheuniversalityofemotions?
THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SURVIVAL GUIDE THE WAYS OF KNOWING: LANGUAGE, SENSES, EmOTION AND REASON
Reason
Mostpeoplewouldtellyouthattheyarereasonable,butdefinitionsofreasonvarygreatlythroughoutthegeneralpopulation.Doyouknowwhatreasonmeans?Therearetwothingsyoushouldknowinordertoformanunderstanding of reason. Firstly, it is important to understand logical deduction, whichallowsustoworkwithstartingideas(premises)toreach valid conclusions.Here’sasimpleexample:
Premise1:Rexisadog.
Premise2:Alldogshavefur.(Remember,thisdoesn’thavetobetrue!)
Question:DoesRexhavefur?
Valid conclusion: Yes,Rexhasfur.
Goingfrompremisestoconclusionsinthismanneriscalledlogical‘deduction’.
Earlier,itwasnotedthatdeductionleadstovalidconclusions.However,thisdoesnotnecessarilymeanthattheconclusionsreachedaretrue.Whatitdoesmeanisthatifthepremisesaretruethentheconclusionswillbetrue.Here’sanotherexample:
Premise1:Peterisaman.
Premise2:Allmenhaveeightlegs.
Question: DoesPeterhaveeightlegs?
Valid conclusion:Yes,Peterhaseightlegs.
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Remember—thismightnotbe true—peopledon’tusuallyhavemorethantwolegs!However,theconclusionisstilllogicallyvalidbecauseitfollowsfromthetwostartingpremises.
Secondly, it is important to understand logical induction.Whenweuseddeductivelogicabove,wemadegeneral statements(aboutmenandaboutdogs).Weusedthesetoshowsomethingspecificaboutaman(Peter,showinghehadeightlegs)andadog(Rex,showinghehadfur).Incontrast,withinductivelogicwetakeaspecificexampletotellussomethingaboutthegeneral.Forexample,youmighthavenoticedthatmostwindowsaremadeofglass.Wecouldsaythefollowing:
Stepone:AllthewindowsIhaveseenaremadeofglass.
Steptwo:Therefore,allwindowsaremadeofglass.
Notethatinductivereasoningcaninvolveprobability.Itiseasytoassumethatasyou’veseensomanywindowsandtheywereallmadeofglass,allwindowsaremadeofglass.However,thereisnothingstoppingawindowfrombeingmadeofplasticorjelly.Logicalinductioniswhatwecall‘inferential’.Thismeansthatitcreatesastatementwhichisnotstrictlyprovable.There’snowayIcanprovethatallthewindowsintheworldaremadeofglass.Ihavejustinferredthisideafrommyexperience.Thisnotionofinferencehelpsustoseparatedeductiveandinductivereasoning.
THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SURVIVAL GUIDE THE WAYS OF KNOWING: ImAGINATION, FAITH, INTUITION AND mEmORY
THE WAYS OF KNOWING:
IMAGINATION, FAITH, INTUITION AND MEMORY
THE WAYS OF KNOWING:
IMAGINATION, FAITH, INTUITION AND MEMORY
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Imagination
Trythefollowingthoughtexperiment,really,tryit!
‘Thinkofyourfavouritepieceofmusic.Nowimaginedraggingyourfingersacrossachalkboard.Nowimagineplungingyourhandintoabucketofsandandfeelingthegrainscrunchbetweenyourfingers.Andnowtastethedifferencebetweenlemonandlime–whichismoresour?Therewasnosand;therewasnolemon.Andyet,inresponsetoasetofcompletelyimaginaryevents,yourmindproducedveryrealphysicalreactions.’
ThisquotefromauthorOliviaFoxCabanehighlightsthepowerofthehumanimagination.Whatisbeingdescribedhereisthetraditional conception of imagination:theabilitytoformamentalrepresentationofasenseexperiencewithoutthenormalstimulus.Thereisanotherformofimagination,however,propositional imagining.Thisistheideaof‘imaginingthat’thingsdifferentlyfromtheirreality.Forexample,ifyouweretoimaginethatthatthecoldwarhadneverendedyouwouldbeusingpropositionalimagination.
YoushouldalwayslinkyourToKessaysbacktoreallife.Onewaythatyoucandothiswhendiscussingimaginationistotalkaboutmedicalconditionsthatmightaffecttheimagination.Forexample,thinkingaboutsevereautismcangiveaninsightintohowalackofimaginationmightaffectthewayapersonthinks.Thinkingaboutschizophreniacanofferaperspectivethatconsiderstheimpactofdelusionsandwhathappensinthecaseofextremeepisodesofimagination.
Ifyouwanttotalkaboutimaginationinyourwork,youwoulddowelltocontrastthewayimaginationhasbeentreatedinthepast.Imaginationisoftenrespectedasapartofcreativity,problemsolvingandoriginality.However,imaginationisalsodistrustedsinceitishighlysubjective.ThinkingaboutthewaypeoplehaveviewedimaginationinthepastcanreallyshowtheexaminerthatyouknowhowtoreflectontheWaysofKnowinginyourwork.
THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SURVIVAL GUIDE THE WAYS OF KNOWING: ImAGINATION, FAITH, INTUITION AND mEmORY
Faith
Whenyou’retalkingaboutfaith,oneeffectiveapproachistodiscussitsmeaning.Thisiseffectivebecausemanypeoplehaveanideaoffaiththatisactuallyonlyonewayofdefiningtheidea.Therearemanymoretochoosefrom.Tosomepeople,theideaoffaithmightbeexclusivelyreligious,forexample,afaithinGod.FaithinGodiscalledtheisticfaith.However,religiousfaithdoesnotnecessarilyhavetobetheistic.Buddhiststypicallybelieveinreincarnationbutdon’thavefaithinanyGod.Faithcanalsobesecular.Trytothinkaboutallthedifferentthingswecanbesaidtohavefaithin!Forexample,‘IhavefaiththatitwillbesunnyonMonday’,or,‘Ihavefaithinher’.Therefore,commitmenttoaconceptcanbeanexpressionoffaith,butneedn’tbereligious.Peoplecanbecommittedtoanideaoraphilosophythatguidestheirideaandcanbesaidtohavefaithinit.Contrastingwhatfaithmeanstoareligiousgroup,forexampleHindus,andtobelieversofasecularphilosophy,suchashumanism,canbereallyproductive.
Faithisawayofunderstandingtheworld,underpinningthewaywechoosetointerpretthings.IfyouwantedtobereallycriticalinyourToKworkyoushouldthinkaboutthecomplexrelationshipsbetweentheWaysofKnowing.Takefaithandreasonasanexample.Somepeoplemightclaimthatfaithandreasoncannotbereconciledandthattheyaretotallydifferentwaysoflookingattheworld,whichoftenconflict.However,manyreligionsseefaithandreasonasinterdependent. NaturalTheologyteachesthatGodcanonlybeknownthroughreason,whichHegavetohumankind.ExploringthesedifferentperspectivestocriticallyreflectonfaithmightbeveryeffectiveinyourToKwork.
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IntuitionReasoncanbedefinedasusingarationalprocesstoarriveatknowledge.Intuitionisquitedifferent.Intuitionconcernshavinganimmediatesenseofknowing,withoutanypriorthinking.Afterafootballerkicksaballtowardsagoal,anexpertatthegamemight‘know’whethertherewillbeagoalornot.Thefactthatthispersonhasreachedthisknowledgewithouthavingtoconsciouslycalculatetheoutcomeshowsthatwhatisbeingusedishisorherintuition.Buthowisthissortofknowledgepossible?Psychologistsbelievethatthesubconsciousmindisabletomakemanymoreobservationsthanweconsciouslycaninanygivensituation.Allthisdatawouldbetoomuchforustothinkaboutconsciously.However,weareabletoprocessitonasubconsciouslevelusingourintuition.Thisisoftendescribedashavinga‘gutfeeling’aboutwhatisgoingtohappen,orwhatthesolutiontoaproblemmightbe.
Intuitioncanbedefinedasimmediate awareness.ItisaverypowerfulWayofKnowingbecausewhatwemightcall‘flashesofinsight’mayactuallycomefromourcapacityofintuition.Imaginetakingasofaandtryingtofititthroughadoorway.Ifyouweretolookatthesofayoucouldprobablymakeaninstantjudgementastowhetherornotitwouldlikelyfitthrough.Thisapproachwoulduseyourintuition(andperhapssomeoftheotherWoKsaswell).Computersdonothaveanycapacityforintuition,astheyareforcedtouse logic andanalyticprocessingorthinking.Thismeansthatforacomputertodecidewhetheryoursofawouldfitthroughthedoor,itwouldhavetotryeverypossiblewayoffittingthesofathrough.Thecomputerwouldhave
THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SURVIVAL GUIDE THE WAYS OF KNOWING: ImAGINATION, FAITH, INTUITION AND mEmORY
tocalculatewhetherornotthesofawouldfitthroughonitsside,itsend,evendiagonally.Usingintuition,youwouldbeabletotellinstantly.Ifthisisastrengthofintuition,whatdoyouthinkaweaknessmightbe?HowreliableisthisWayofKnowing,andhowwellcanitbeusedtojustifyyouractions?Isthephrase‘Ijustknow’veryusefulinadebate?
MemoryMemoryisaWayofKnowingthatmanystudentsoverlook.ThisgivesyoutheopportunitytosaysomethinguniqueifchoosingtodiscussitinyourToKessaysandpresentations.AswiththeotherWoKs,astartingpointforyourdiscussionmightbetodefinewhatmemoryactuallyis.Weneedtogobeyonddefinitionssuchas,‘knowingwhathappenedbefore’,asthesearenotveryhelpfulforcriticallyexaminingmemory.Onewayofdefiningmemoryisasfollows:itisthefacultywhichallowsustoretain information and reconstruct pastexperiences.Although,likeeverythingelseinToK,itisuptoyoutothinkaboutthisdefinitioncritically!
Ifyoudochoosetodiscussmemoryinyourwork,itmightbeworthreferringtoanon-goingdiscussionsurroundingthestatusofthisWayofKnowing.SomearguethatmemoryisnotactuallyaWayofKnowing.Theyclaimthatmemoryissimplytherecollectionofthingswealreadyknow.Inresponsetothis,itmightbeworthconsideringtworelevantpoints.Thefirstisraisedbythepsychologyofmemory.Manypeople,whenthinkingofmemories,imagineatapethatisrecordedasweliveourlives,andplayedbackwhenwewishtoremembersomething.However,thisisnotreallythecase.Wheneverwenoticeanexperienceitisencodedintoourmemory,andeachtimewerecallthatsamememoryitisre-encoded.Thatmeans,ifyourememberanexperiencefromyourchildhood,itisnotthe‘original’experiencethatyourecall!Instead,youaccessthelatestmemorywhichwasencodedthelasttime youthoughtaboutthatthing.Thistheoryhelpstoexplainwhymemoriesarenotcompletelyreliable–ifyouweretophotocopyaphotographeverytimeyouwantedtolookatit,andonlywereabletokeepthecopy,howmuchdetailwouldremain?Asecondpointworthconsideringisabouttheimportanceofmemoryingainingnewknowledge.Wedonotgainnewknowledge
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inavacuum.Ourpastexperiencesaffecthowournewexperiencesareinterpreted.Becauseofthis,memoryisahugepartofhowwegainknowledge at any moment in time.
Ifyouwanttodiscussmemory,itmightbeworthtalkingaboutillnessesthataffectourfaculties.Dementiaaffectsmanypeopleastheygrowolder,andAlzheimer’saffectsagrowingproportionofmanycountrieswithageingpopulations.YoumightconsiderusingtheseillnessestothinkabouthowmemorymightnotbeaparticularlyreliableWayofKnowing.Itmightthenbeworthdiscussinghowbillionsofpeoplerelyontheirmemorieseverydayoftheirlives.
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THE AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE:
FRAMEWORKS
THE AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE:
FRAMEWORKS
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What are the Areas of Knowledge?TheWaysofKnowing,whichweexploredinthesectionsabove,concernhow weknowthings.TheAreasofKnowledgeareabitdifferent;theseareaboutwhatweknow.
Youmightrememberthatthereare8differentWaysofKnowing.Well,thereare8AreasofKnowledgetoo:Mathematics,TheNaturalSciences,History,TheArts,Ethics,ReligiousKnowledgeandIndigenousKnowledge.
EachAreaofKnowledgeisasystem,forexample,thescientificAreaofKnowledge.Withinthescientificsystemthereareagreedwaystoinvestigatethings.Therearealsoagreedstandards of proof and argumentthataredifferentineachAreaofKnowledge.SowecanthinkofanAreaofKnowledgeasabodyofknowledgethatseemstofittogetherinonesystem.
YoumightnoticethattheAoKslookabitlikethesubjectsyoutakeintheIB.ThisisbecausetheAreasofKnowledgearethewayswecategorisetheknowledgethatwehave.ThisissimilartohowtheIBdivideupthedifferentsubjectareas.TheoryofKnowledgeisatthecentreoftheIBandyoushouldfeelfreetodrawinmaterialfromanyofyoursubjectsduringToKdiscussions.
THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SURVIVAL GUIDE THE AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE: FRAmEWORKS
Areas of KnowledgeNaturalSciences
HumanSciencesM
athematics
Ethics
TheArts
His
tory
Ways of Knowing
Emotion
SensePerceptionLa
ngua
ge
Reason
Thisdiagramillustratesthewayeverythingconnects:
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BeforewediveintotalkingabouttheAreasofKnowledgewe’regoingtotalkaboutKnowledgeFrameworks.ThesearethetoolsweusetothinkaboutthedifferentAreasofKnowledgeandtheycanbereallyhelpfultoshowthatyouknow your stuff in your work.
What are Knowledge Frameworks?EachAreaofKnowledgeismassiveandcontainsavastamountofinformation.Let’stakehistoryasanexample—theamountofinformationhistorianshavediscussedisphenomenal!Thankfully,youdonotneedtoabouteverythingthathashappenedinhistoryinordertobeabletotalkaboutitinToK.Insteadyouneedtoknowabouthowthesubjectworks.ThatiswhatTheoryofKnowledgeisinterestedin.Notthecontentofthesubject/AoK,buthowitworks.
Therearemanydifferentaspectstoconsiderwhenyouarethinkingaboutthewaythatasubjectworks.Let’stakehistoryasanexample.Youmightaskquestionslike:whatmotivateshistorianstolearn?Whatspecialmethods dotheyusetodiscoverhistoricalinformation?Youmightevenaskwhatthepointofhistoryis–orwhatitsrealworldapplicationsare.AskingquestionslikethishelpustounderstandthestructureofanAreaofKnowledgelikehistory.Thisbasicstructureiscalleda‘knowledgeframework’.Thisisbecauseitisanexplanationofhowhistoryworks–itprovidesanoutlineofthesubjectwithoutallthecontent.YoushouldbeabletoseehowhavingabasicunderstandingofhowhistoryworksisvitaltounderstandinghistoryasanAreaofKnowledge.
WecanunderstandthegeneralstructureandfeaturesofeachAoKbyaskingaboutcertainthings.Beloware5bulletpoints.EachonetalksaboutfeaturessharedbyallAoKs.Allareasofknowledgehavedifferentmethodsofdiscovery,forexample.LookateachbulletpointbelowandthinkabouthoweachappliestoaspecificAoK.ThiscangiveyouareallystrongunderstandingofhowthatAoKworks.
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Features of all AoKs• Scope,motivationandapplications• Specificterminology(e.g.technicalvocabulary)andconcepts• Methodsusedtoproduceknowledge(thinkabouttheWaysofKnowing)• Keyhistoricaldevelopments (howhastheAoKchangedovertime,ifithasatall)
• Interactionwithpersonalknowledge(AoKsincludesharedknowledge,isthischangedbypersonalknowledge?Doesitchangeourpersonalknowledge?)
ThinkingaboutthesebulletsletsuscreateaknowledgeframeworktounderstandeachAoKthatisextremelyusefulforyouressaysandpresentations.Knowledgeframeworksallowyoutoasktherightquestionsabouttheaspectofknowledgeyouareconsidering.Nowwe’llinvestigatehowyoucanapplyeachbulletpointtoadifferentAreaofKnowledge.
RememberthatthesearethedifferentwaystocriticallyreflectontheAoKs.Suchreflectionmakesapresentationmuchmoreimpressiveandshowsthatyoureallyknowwhatyou’retalkingabout.
Scope, motivation and applicationsThinkingaboutanAoK’sscopeasksyoutoconsiderwhattheAoKincludes.Itencouragesustoaskthefollowing:lookingatallofhumanknowledgeasawhole,whatdoesthisAreaofKnowledgeinclude,andwhatisnotapartofit?Youmightaskyourself,howmuchaboutrealitycansciencetellus?Canittelluswhatisatthecentreofastar?Cansciencerevealwhytherearesomanyspeciesofcreaturesonthisplanet?Cansciencetelluswhatitfeelsliketoopenanawesomepresentonyourfifthbirthday?Canitrevealtouswhatitfeelslikewhenthelastclassfinishesbeforethesummerbreak?ThinkaboutthescopeoftheAoKyouareinterestedin.YoushouldalsoconsiderthereasonpeoplepursueknowledgeinthatAoK,andtheusessuchknowledgehasinpeople’slives.
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Concepts/languageLanguageisimportantinmanywayswhendiscussingtheAreasofKnowledge.ConsideringtheroleoflanguageineachAoKisanexcellentwaytocriticallyconsiderthatsubject.Youmightthinkthatlanguageisjustatoolofcommunication.However,thisisnotnecessarilythecase.Thereisadebateabouttherolelanguageplaysintheconstructionofourknowledge.Somewouldarguethatlanguageissovitalthatwehavepracticallynoknowledgewithoutit.Othersmight,however,arguethatknowledgeexistsandthatlanguageissimplyawaytocommunicateorexpressthis.Somepeopletakeamiddleground,arguingthatlanguageallowsustonameconceptsthatdoalreadyexist.However,ifwedidnothavelanguagewewouldnotbeabletomovepastthesesimpleideastomorecomplexhumanthought.DecidingwhereyoustandinsuchdebateswillallowyoutotakeastrongpositioninanyToKdiscussionorwork.Youwoulddowelltoconnectthisupwithideasaboutsharedknowledge.Remember,themajorityofhumanknowledgeispassedonbetweengenerations.WhatdoesthistellusabouttheuseoflanguageineachAoK?
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MethodologyOneofthekeydifferencesbetweentheAoKsisthattheyusedifferentwaystoseekknowledge.ThinkingaboutthesedifferentmethodswillhelpyouunderstandhowtheAoKsarealldifferentfromeachother.ToreallyshowyouareatopToKstudent,youshouldthinkabouttheassumptionsthatunderliethemethodsusedtodiscoverknowledge.DifferentAoKsrelyoncertainmethodsmorethanothers.Todiscussmethodologyinyouressaysconsideraskingyourselfthefollowingquestions:
• WhatarethemethodsusedinthisAoK?• Whatcountsasafact?• Howdowecreate‘models’inthisAoK?
ThesequestionsareagoodstartingpointforbreakingdownhowtheAoKworks.
Historical developmentTheareasofknowledgearenotfixed.Science,artandhistoryareallverydifferentnowtohowtheywerehundredsofyearsago.Thisreflectsthefactthatknowledgeisnotseenasfixed.Itiswhatwecall‘provisional’,meaningitisflexibleandchangesallthetime.Thiscanbepositiveasitallowsourunderstandingoftheworldtogrow.ThinkingabouthowthingshavechangedintheAoKswillhelpyoushowthatyouunderstandthischange.Considerhowmuchsciencehaschangedinthelasttwohundredyears.Perhapsithasnotchangedtoomuchatall,butwhatabouthistory?Thinkaboutwhatitisthataffects
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therateatwhichthesesubjectschange.ThiskindofdiscussionshowsanunderstandingofthesubtletiesofToKandwillreallyimpresssomeonemarkingyourwork!
Links to personal knowledgeSharedandpersonalknowledgeissomethingwediscussedinaprevioussection.Youmightrecallthatindividualscontributetosharedknowledgewhentheydiscoverorcreatenewthings.Theothersideofthiscoinisthatsharedknowledgecanreallyimpactthewayweseetheworld.Ascientistmightseetheworlddifferentlytoaphilosopher,forexample.WhenyouthinkaboutthedifferentAreasofKnowledge,itisimportanttothinkabouttheimpactthiscanhaveonindividuals.Also,makesuretoconsidertheimpactthatanAreaofKnowledgehasonyourthinking.Doyouthinkthatstudyingdifferentsubjectsthroughoutschoolhaschangedthewaysyouthinkatall?Whenyou’rewritingaToKessay,considerhowperspectivesdifferfrompersontopersonandhowthinkinginawaythatisdominatedbyaspecificAoKcaninfluenceknowledge.
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THE AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE: MATHEMATICS,
THE NATURAL SCIENCES, THE HUMAN SCIENCES
AND HISTORY
THE AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE: MATHEMATICS,
THE NATURAL SCIENCES, THE HUMAN SCIENCES
AND HISTORY
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MathematicsMathematicsisafascinatingtopictothinkabout,largelybecauseitworksdifferentlythanmanyotherareasofhumanreasoning.Forexample,inmathematics,westartfromasetofuniversallyagreed-uponaxioms.Anaxiomisabasicfactorideathatwesaycannotbechanged.Youmighthavealsoheardofthewordpremise.Thisissimilartoanaxiomasbotharestartingpointsuponwhichanargumentcanbebuilt.Inmathematics,theideathattheadditionoftwopositivewholenumberscanonlyeverleadtoapositivewholenumberisaxiomatic.Nomatterwhatpositivewholenumbersweaddtogethertheywillalwaysproduceapositivewholenumber.
Mathematicsisunusualbecauseitisfoundedonaxiomswhicharemoreorlessuniversallyaccepted.Thismeansthatacrosstimeandculturesmathematicsseemstobeuniversal.Onediscussionthatsurroundsthisisthedebateoverwhethermathematicswasdiscoveredorinvented.Whilstsomeclaimthatitistheproductofhumanthinkingandthusmustbydefinitionbeaninvention,othersrefutethisperspective.Itcanbearguedthatmathematicsissimplyadescriptionoftherealworld.Theareaofacircleisequaltopitimestheradiussquared.Thisisadescription,notaninvention,somewouldargue.Whatdoyouthink?
Clickhereforanexcellentvideoonthistopic!
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WeshouldalsolinkthisAreaofKnowledgetoreasonasaWayofKnowing. Indeed,partoftheuniversalnatureofmathematicsisduetothefactthatitworksaccordingtodeductivereasoning(seethesectionondeductiveandinductivereasoning).Thismeansthatmanypeoplefromverydifferentbackgroundsareabletofollowmathematicalarguments,astheyallsharethisdeductiveability.Ifyou’rethinkingaboutdiscussingmathematicsinyourworkyoucanusethisfeaturetobeginanargumentaboutwhetherallpeoplepossessthesamereasoningabilityinthesamedegree.Somemightarguethatourreasoningabilityfundamentallydifferentiatesusfromtherestoftheanimalkingdom.Theymightpointtothecleverthingspeoplehavedoneusingreason.Butyoucouldpointtopeoplewhohaveadiminishedcapacityforreasoning,suchasthementallydisabled,andaskiftheyarenothuman.Becarefulwiththis,butifdonewell,aninterestingdebateissuretofollow!
Anotherdiscussionwithinmathematicsconcernsitsrelationtoreality.Afterall,ifweacceptthatmathematicsisdiscoveredratherthancreated,wehavetodealwithanawkwardfact.Puremathematicsdoesnotrelyonanypriorsenseperception!Isn’titstrangetothinkthatsomethingcanbediscoveredentirelywithoutthesenses?Howmightweexplainthis?Youcouldcontrastthiswiththeapplianceofmathematicstotherealworld.Thisapplicationtypicallyhappensinthenaturalandhumansciences.
Remember:Ifyouwanttotalkaboutmathematicsconsiderwhetheritisinventedordiscovered,whetheritiscertainortrue(orboth!),andwhethermathematicsisindependentofculture.
The Natural SciencesThenaturalsciencesaimtoinvestigatethenaturalworldaroundus.ThisAoK’smethodsincludeobservationandtestingofhypotheses:thespecificmethod.Oneofthemostinterestingquestionsinthisfieldisabouttheremovalofthehumanelement.Scientiststrytodesignexperimentstoreducetheeffectthatthehumanobserverhasontheoutcome.Askinghowpossiblethisisindifferentfieldscantellussomethingaboutthestrengthsandweaknessesofthenaturalsciences.
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Scienceisdifferentfrommathematicsinthatitcombinesbothsenseperceptionanddeductivereasoning.Reasoningmustbepresentinrelevantargumentation,buttheoriesmustalsobeabletosurvivethetestofreal-lifeexperimentationorobservation.Thiscombinationallowsustoconsiderinterestingquestionsaboutthenatureofscience.Thelinebetweenthehumanandnaturalsciencesisathinone,andoneoftendebated.Indeed,theveryname‘naturalsciences’containsanimplicationthathumanbeingsarenotwithintherealmofnature.Doesthismakesensetoyou?Doyouthinkthatthisassumptionisanobjectiveoneorhasculturalroots?Ifsciencecontainsculturalassumptionsdotheseimpactitssupposedlyobjectivework?ThinkingaboutthesequestionswillhelpyouformanargumentinyourToKessayorpresentation.YoucaneventhinkabouthowthedifferentAoKsinteractwitheachother.Ifscienceisnon-human,becauseitisobjective,thenshoulditbeconstrainedbyethics?Whatjustifiesascientificexperimentandwhatethicalconcernsmightstopsuchanexperiment?
Human SciencesForIBstudents,thehumansciencesincludemanyofyourgroup3subjects.Thehumansciencesstudytherealityofbeinghuman.Thatmeansthattheylookatthingslikethesocialaspectsofhumanlifeandhowpeoplelivetogether.Theyalsoexplorecultureandhumanthinking.Subjectslikesociology,politics,anthropologyandpsychologyfallintothiscategory.
Sowhatarethedifferencesbetweenhumanscienceandsocialscience?Well,oneofthebigdifferencesiswhatwemeanwhenweusetheword‘science’ineachcontext.Inaway,humansciences do count as sciencebecausetheyuse
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thescientificmethod.Thatis,theycreateahypothesisandthentestitagainstreality.ApsychologistmighthypothesisethatclassicalmusictendstomakepeopleperformbetterinIQtests.Theycoulddeviseanexperiment,trythisoutandfindthatindeed,ifpeoplelistentoMozartbeforeatesttheytendtoscoreahighermarkonaverage.Theuseofhypothesisandexperimentmightremindyouofthenaturalsciences.Therearehoweversomekeydifferencestoconsider.Forexample,thepsychologistwouldstruggletocallthisa‘law’,inthewaythatascientistwouldbeabletoforthelawofgravitationalattraction.Thisispartlybecausethepsychologistcouldnotreliablyshowthatallpeoplewereaffectedthesamewaybythismusic.Thentherewouldbequestionsconcerningthewaysinwhichdifferentculturesrespond,andwhethersuchresponseschangeovertime.Thepredictiveaccuracyofthehumansciencestendstobelowerthaninthenaturalsciences.Althoughthisisacontroversialtopic,itisoneyoucouldcertainlyexplore.
Youmightalsowanttoconsiderwhatconstitutesproofinthehumansciences.Oftenwefindthatthehumanscienceswillrelyonstatisticalprobability.Inthenaturalsciencestheremaybemoretimeswherethatprobabilityapproachesonehundredpercent.Doyouthinkthereareanyproblemsinvolvedinusingstatisticsinthehumansciences?
HistoryHistoryasanareaofknowledgedoesnotsimplyrefertoeverythingthathaseverhappened.Instead,itisaboutthepastthathasbeenrecordedbyhumanbeings.Oneofthemajordebatesthatyoushouldconsiderinhistoryisinterestedintheideaofthe‘historicalfact’.Atfirstitmightseemobviouswhatthisis–afacttellingussomethingthathashappened.Butthinkaboutit…thereisalotofhumaninvolvementindefiningthepastwhenitcomestohistory.Youmighthaveheardaboutthenotionthatthewinnersofawarwritethehistorybooks.Whatdowethinktheyarelikelytorecord?Inthiscase,whatdoesthismeanforthecertaintyofhistoricalfact?Youshouldaskyourselfwhetheritispossibletobeobjectivewhenwritingabouthistory.ThehistorianMaxWeberthoughtthatitwasnotpossibletowritehistorical‘fact’
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fromanobjectivestandpoint.Hearguedthatineverysituationtherewereendlessthingsthatcouldbedescribed,andthefactonehastochoosewhichideastodiscussalreadystopsonefrombeingobjective.Afterall,focussingontheroleofonepersonratherthananotherwillaffecthowthepastisperceived.
MaxWeber
Wecanalsodrawattentiontoanotherinterestingdebateinhistory.Ratherthanconsideringwhichfactsarebeingdescribed,wemightconsiderwhetherornotwecanhaveanyfactsatall.Ifwethinkofanhistoricalevent,suchasagreatwar,wemightthinkthatweknowalotaboutthatwar.ButToKinvitesyoutoaskhowweknowsuchthings.Didyouseethewar,usingyourownsenses?Ifnot,howdidyoufindoutaboutit?Perhapsyouheardtheinformationfromafriendorafamilymember,buthowreliableistheirknowledge?Maybeyoureadaboutthewarinatextbook?Butwhowrotethatbookandforwhatreason?DoyouthinkthattextbooksinNorthKoreawilldetailthemassstarvationsthathavehappenedtotheirpeople?Areyourtextbooksmorereliable?Why?Thesearethesortofquestionsthatshowthatyou are reflecting critically in your ToK work.
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THE AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE:
THE ARTS, ETHICS, RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE,
INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE
THE AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE:
THE ARTS, ETHICS, RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE,
INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE
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The ArtsWhatisart?Whatare‘thearts’?Ifyousawanoilpaintingyouwouldprobablyknowthatitisart,buthowdowedecideonsuchthings,andhowdowecreateacategorycalled‘thearts’?Well,thesequestionsmightseemabstractorunanswerable,but,asalways,theIBOrganisationhastheanswer!WhenwethinkoftheartsinToKwearetalkingaboutthecreativeproductionsofhumans.Thisisverybroadbutwhenthingsarebrokendownweseethat‘thearts’encompassesthevisualarts,theperformingartsandtheliteraryarts.Soactually,itisnottoodifficulttogetanideaofwhattheartsusuallyinvolve.Theremaybesomeargumentaboutspecificcases,butdefiningtheartsas,‘thecreativeproductionofhumans,encompassingthevisualarts,performanceandliterature’,isagoodstartingpoint.
Ifthenaturalsciencesexplorephysicalreality,thenwhatdotheartsexamine?Well,whilethenaturalscienceslookoutward,theartslookinward.Theytrytoexploretheexperienceandrealityofbeinghuman–theartsareawaytoexplorewhatitislikeforpeopletolivelife.Ofcourse,thismayinvolvelookingoutwardaswell.Alandscapephotography,forexample,necessarilyusesnaturetoconveyitsmeaning.Butitsmeaningisabouthumanexperiencebecausethephotographerismakingastatementaboutwhatmatters,inhisorheropinion.Thatopinionisahumanoneandthustakinglandscapephotoisastatementaboutwhatmatterstohumans(oratleasttooneofthem).
Theartshaveaninterestingpositionwithinhumanknowledgebecausetheyare a part of culture,whichisshared.However,arthassubjectiveelementsandauniquemeaningforeveryobserver.Threepeoplemaylistentothesamepieceof‘sad’music.Theymayallagreeitissadasaresultofcertainobjectivefeaturesthatwenoticeinmusicthatprovokethesamefeelingsinmanydifferentpeople.Perhapsthepieceisparticularlyslow,containsmanyminorchords,andsoon.However,oneofthelistenersmaysaythattheartistwhowrotethiswascertainlyexperiencingdespair.Anotherlistenermaysaythatthemusicwasmelancholic.Thethirdlistenermayfeelthatthepiececapturestheideaofrejection.Therefore,eachlistenerhastheirowninterpretation.Justasanartistselectsnoteswhichseemedright,eachlistenerchoosesthe
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partsofthemusictofocuson.Eachlistener’slifeandexperienceswilltellhimorherwhatthosesoundsmeanandtheseinterpretationswillalwaysdiffer.Clearly,thereissomethinginherentlysharedwithintheArts.However,thereisalsosomethinguniquetoeachlistener.ThismeansthattheArtscanbethoughtofasabridgebetweenpersonalandsharedknowledge.Ifyouchoosetodiscussthisuniqueaspectoftheartsinyourwork,youmightmentionthatoftentheartsinvolvemanypeopleworkingtogether.Makingafilmmayinvolvehundredsofpeople.Ontheotherhand,writingapoemmaybeaverysolitaryexperience.
Ifyoudowanttotalkaboutthefactthattheartsareabridgebetweenthesharedandpersonalknowledge,youmightwanttodiscusstheWaysofKnowinginvolved.Onewaytothinkaboutthisisthattheartsuseemotionsasawaytoconnectonapersonallevel,butthattheyareboundbyreasonbecauseartisticcontentneedstobeunderstoodbymanypeople.Thisisonewayofexplaininghowtheartswork.Whataretheweaknessesofthisargument?HowwouldyoudescribetheWaysofKnowingusedinthearts?
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EthicsWhatdoesitmeantobeethical?Youmightsaybeingethicalmeansmakingmoraldecisions.Thatisagoodconnectiontorecognise,butdoesitreallyanswerthequestion?Whatdoesitmeantomakemoraldecisions?ItmightsometimesseemthatinToKonequestionjustleadstoanother–what’sthepoint?!Butinfactthatisthepoint.Forwithoutaskingthesequestions,wecannotmeaningfullysaythatanactionisethical.Untilwereallyuncoverwhatthesethingsmean,theywon’tmeananythingwhenweclaimthem.So,whatisethicalknowledge?
Ethicalknowledgeisoftenseenasseparatinghumansfromanimals.Thisgivesusaclueastowhatbeingethicalmeans.Innaturewedon’tnormallythinkoftheideasof‘right’,‘wrong’and‘justice’asbeingimportant.Whatdoesalionoraneagleknowofjustice.Itmightbetheseideasofrightandwrongthatarethedefiningfactorsofethics.However,thereisanotherextremelyunusualthingaboutethicalknowledge.Itistheonlykindofknowledgewhich,onceobtained,commandsuswhattodo.Forexample,ifIthinkitiswrongtostealaKoalabearfromthezoo,thenInecessarilyshouldn’tstealthatcuddlycritter.Thefactthatitis‘wrong’makesitclearhowIshouldbehave.Nootherformofknowledgecontainsthesecommandsaboutwhatweshoulddo,orwhatKantcallsour‘duty’.Thisalsoraisesquestionsaboutwhethermoralityisobjectiveorsubjective.
Ifyou’reaskingaboutwhetherethicalrulesarecreated,ratherthandiscovered,thenanotherquestionarises.Somepeoplewouldaskifmoralrulesreallyexistatall.Perhapstheyarenotreallyatypeofknowledgeatall.Maybeethicalthinkingiscreatedbysocietytocontrolindividualsandmakesuretheybehave.Perhapstheyshouldbeignoredwhenthisisbeneficial.Youcouldstrengthenthisargumentbypointingoutthatethicsdon’texist‘outthere’intheuniverse,inthesamewaywethinkscientificfactsdo.Butperhapsacounterargumentmightbethatbyoursharedunderstandingandbeliefinethicalsystems,theyarejustasrealasourbeliefinstars,treesorthemoon.
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Thisdebateraisesaveryinterestingquestion.Evenifweacceptthatethicalknowledgeis‘real’insomesense,wealsoshouldrecognisethatethicalideasarenotfixed.Itislikelythatinmanyyearsourunderstandingoftherelationshipbetweentheradiusandareasofacirclewillbemoreorlessthesame,asithasremainedconstantforthousandsofyears.Butwillourethicalknowledgestaythesameonsuchissuesasabortion,gaymarriageandcrimeandjustice?Itseemsveryunlikely,inthatsenseethicsareflexible.Thereisanethicalquestionwhichaddressestheethicalrelationshipbetweentheindividualandsociety:when,ifever,shouldyouviolateethicalrules?QuestionssuchasthiscanbeanexcellentdrivingforcebehindaToKinvestigation.
Religious KnowledgeReligionisaninterestingtopictostudywithinToK.Youmayfindinclass,andeveninyouressaysandpresentations,thatitcanbedifficulttoapproach.ToKisbyitsnatureacriticalsubject.However,religionissomethingmanypeoplefeelverystronglyabout.Whilealwaysshowingsensitivity,youshouldnotavoiddiscussingorbeingcriticalofreligiousknowledgesystems.Infact,itisveryimportantthatweexaminereligiousbeliefcritically.Afterall,religionprovidesafundamentalbackgroundofknowledgeforsomepeople,andeverythingelsethattheybelieveisseeninthisreligiouslight.Assuch,itisimportantthatweopenupthesedeeplyheldbeliefstocriticalexamination.
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Whatisthepurposeofreligion?Whatcanreligiousknowledgesystemstellusabouttheworld?Primarily,theyareintendedtoanswerthereallyimportantquestionsaboutthemeaningandpurposeofhumanlife.Whatareweherefor?Howwerewecreated?Howshouldwetrytolive?Theseareallquestionsthatthemostpopularreligionsintheworldtrytoanswer.
ItisimportanttorecognisethevastdiversityinthisAreaofKnowledge.Asillymistakewouldbetalkasifreligiousbeliefsystemswereallthesame.Itistruethatmostoftheworld’sreligiousbelieversfollowabeliefsystemwhichismonotheisticandhasitsrootsinJudaism.However,eachofthesesystemsisdifferentand,importantly,therearemanyreligioussystemsoutsideofthistradition.Sohowdoweclassifyandthinkaboutthesedifferentsystemsofbelief?
Wecanbreakuppeopleintogroups:theists believethatatleastonedeityexists,atheistsrejecttheideathatdeitiesexist,andagnosticsarethosewhoneitherbelieve,nordisbelieveintheexistenceofdeities.Thethiestscanthenbebrokenupintosmallergroups.Deistsareacategoryoftheists.TheybelievethatGod/ssetuptheuniverseandnowdonotinteractwithit,butsimplywatchitunfold.Pantheistsbelievethattheuniverseisdivine,thattheuniverseitselfisdivineandthusis,insomesense,God.Monotheism,stronglycontraststhesepreviousviewsbydescribingtheexistenceofasingle,allpowerfulGod.SuchaGodisfoundinIslam,JudiasmandChristianity.RichardDawkinsdescribessomeoftheseinclinationsinthisvideo–remembertoalwaysbeawareofandsensitivetothepersonalperspectiveofanindividualdeliveringinformationonthistopic.
Indigenous Knowledge SystemsIndigenousknowledgesystemslookatknowledgethatisuniquetoaparticularculture.Itisimportanttorecognisethatindigenousknowledgesystemsareconstantly.Theychangebecausehumansarenotperfectatpreservingandtransmittingentiresystemsofknowledgeusedbyaculture.Indigenousknowledgesystemsasculturesinteractwitheachotherasinformationispassedbackandforthandnewideastakeholdandinfluencethebeliefsofthe
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day.Wemightconsiderhowthe20thcenturysignificantlychangedthecultureoftheMaoripeopleofNewZealand.SimilarchangeshappenedworldwideforindigenousculturesinCanada,Australia,Africaandsoon.Indeed,in2014,oneoftheworld’slast‘uncontacted’tribesemergedfromtheBrazillianrainforest, likelyduetopressurefromdrugtraffickersandillegalloggers.Suchcontactmeansthatindigenousknowledgesystemstendtobeamixoftraditionalandknowledgestructures,andwellasknowledgeinheritedfromculturesmoreheavilyinfluencedbyglobalcommunications.
TherearetwointerestingwaysofthinkingaboutthisAoKthatcouldbeusedas a starting point for discussion in your essays or presentations. One way ofdiscussingthisAoKwouldbetotalkaboutthediversityofindigenousknowledgesystemsintheworld.Itmaynotbeimmediatelyapparentwhyweshouldspendtimetryingtounderstandthevarietyofknowledgesystemsintheworld.Afterall,wealreadyhaveagreatdealtothinkaboutwiththeAoKsalreadycovered.Howandwhyshouldweaddtothesealltheuniquesystemsthatpeopleallovertheworlduse?However,thefactthattherearesomanywaysofunderstandingrealitycannotbeoverlooked.FullyembracingthisAoKremindsusthatourownperspectiveisjustoneamongstatrulyhugenumber.YoursubjectstudiesintheIBwilltellyouthattheworldisfullofincrediblethingstolookat.ToKwilltellyouthattheworldisfullofincrediblewaystolookatthem.
AsecondwayofexaminingthisAoKistoreallytrytounderstandaparticularindigenousknowledgesystem.Thiswillbeachallenge,butitcouldmakeforsometrulyamazingToKwork.ThinkingabouthownativepeopleofAlaskaseetheworldwouldreallyshowthatyouunderstandthevalueofToK.Howwouldyouevaluatesuchathing?Itwouldbenoeasytaskbutwecanstartthinkingabouthowotherpeopleseetheworldbyaskingafewprimaryquestions.Howdothesepeoplecommunicate?Howdotheymakedecisions?Whataretheirthinkingprocesses?Howdotheyviewknowledge?IdentifyingthesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenyourownthinkingandthoseofotherpeoplewillshowahighlevelofawarenesswhenitcomestoToKissues.
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What do you know?Thereyouhaveit.WehavefinishedlookingattheAreasofKnowledge.IfyoumanagedtoreadthroughthewholeToK-guide,I’mimpressed.Ifyouunderstoodmostofthecontent,thenthat’sevenbetter.BestofallisifyoureadallblogpostsonTokonourwebsite.IfyoumanagedtodothatthenyouarereallyinagoodpositiontomasteryourToKwork.Wehavediscussedthesecrets to tackling ToK,talkedaboutsharedandpersonalknowledge. andcoveredknowledge questions and knowledge claims.Wetalkedaboutlanguage,senseperception,emotionandreasonasWaysofKnowing,andthencontinuedourdiscussionwithimagination,faith,intuitionandmemory.WethencriticallyexploredthebestwaystointerrogatethedifferentAreasofKnowledge.Welearnthowtoaskquestionsaboutareasofknowledge whicharecriticalandinteresting.Finally,welookedatthedifferentAreasofKnowledge: mathematics,naturalscience,humanscienceandhistory,thearts,ethics,religiousknowledgeandindigenousknowledge.Andthat’sit!IfyoureallyunderstoodallofthatthenyoushouldhavenoproblemwithyourToKwork.Thethingswe’vediscussedareanexcellentstartingpointandnowyourjobistogoawaywithtwothings:curiosityandknowledge.Useyourcuriositytofindatopicthatinterestsyou.Useyourknowledgetoguideyourresearch,andbecritical.IfyoudoallthesethingsyouwillaceyourToKworkandbecomeaToKmasterinnotimeatall!
THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SURVIVAL GUIDE <VARIAbLE 1>
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