Preview

Tok Essay: That Which Can Be Asserted Without Evidence Can Be Dismissed Without Evidence

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1551 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Tok Essay: That Which Can Be Asserted Without Evidence Can Be Dismissed Without Evidence
|TOK Essay Title : “That which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence” Do you agree ? |

|Word Count: 1240 Words |

Evidence is a thing or things that help in attaining knowledge. The statement “that which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence” means that it is possible to confirm and dismiss the same if there is no evidence or proof to form an undebatable judgement. In this essay I am going to analyse this quote from the prospective of different Areas of Knowledge. I will proceed in this way because they differ from each other not only in the branch of human knowledge that they cover, but also in the Ways of Knowing used to gain the evidence on which each Area of Knowledge is based. My argument will agree with the statement discussed in most Areas of Knowledge, however it will also notice that the statement cannot be applied in particular Areas of Knowledge.

“A wise man,” wrote Hume, “proportions his belief to the evidence.”[1] What the british humanist said with this quote was that what human belief is very closely related to the evidence thay have as men can believe the truth of a statement only if this is based upon evidence. Therefore, if we consider Hume’s point, the quote “that which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence” is not heavily relevant to knowledge as nothing wise men believe and assume should be based without evidence.

The first Area of Knowliedge I will consider is the one of Natural and Human Sciences. These are branches of human knowledge which are based upon the scientific method. Therefore, in Sciences knowledge is asserted (and dismissed) using concrete empirical evidence . Assuming that this is always the case, in theory the quote that I am analysing would therefore not have a

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    To be able to properly analyze these claims, however, the definitions of an expert and a pure fact must be established. An expert will be defined as someone who is trained or selected to fulfil a particular role. While this definition may be flexible, it encompasses all experts that will be discussed, namely historians, lawyers, and jurors. In the context of this essay, evidence is defined as an undisputable fact which allows for conclusions to be drawn which are disputable.…

    • 1464 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    With this lesson, we begin a new unit on epistemology, which is the philosophical study of knowledge claims. In this first lesson on epistemology, Dew and Foreman discuss some of the basic issues raised in the study of epistemology and then discuss the nature of knowledge itself. They consider questions such as, “What do we mean when we say we know something?” “What exactly is knowledge?…

    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    With this lesson, we begin a new unit on epistemology, which is the philosophical study of knowledge claims. In this first lesson on epistemology, we begin by examining the question “What do we mean when we say we know something?” What exactly is knowledge? We will begin with a presentation that introduces the traditional definition of knowledge. Wood then discusses some of the basic issues raised in the study of epistemology and then presents an approach to epistemology that focuses on obtaining the intellectual virtues, a point we will elaborate on in the next lesson.…

    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    William K. Clifford sets out to show in “The Ethics of Belief” that “it is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence…” In this paper, I will show that his argument lacks key definitions needed in order to found his inference upon and that it begs the question as to what qualifies as “insufficient” evidence. Furthermore, I will show that the primary issue is not the belief but the results of the belief that is important and that all judgment and interpretation should be based upon said results.…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    F: “What these students came to realize is that good arguments are based not on knowledge that only a special class of experts has access to, but on everyday habits of mind that can be isolated, identified, and used by almost anyone”(56).…

    • 288 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Week 2 3 4 matrix

    • 603 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The study of knowledge: What constitutes knowledge, the nature of knowledge, and whether knowledge is possible?…

    • 603 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Knowledge is not the same as belief. Beliefs can be mistaken, but no-one can know what is false.…

    • 1338 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The point of this paper is to show what the Knowledge Argument is, the two premises it contains, and its conclusion. Also I will explain one objection it holds. Lastly, I will explain how the objection fails to succeed its point in contradicting the Knowledge Argument. The Knowledge Argument proposed by Frank Jackson is about Mary, a scientist that is brilliant and understands and knows everything about neural science and physics. This takes place in the future where she is held in a black and white room where all she ever sees is black and white.…

    • 984 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ap History

    • 947 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A lot of people view “knowledge” as how smart you are, or what you know and what you don’t, but there is much more to what “knowledge” really is. According to Charles van Doren, knowledge is the accumulation of information and the understanding of how things work. There are three types of knowledge: knowledge in particulars, general knowledge, and certain knowledge. Particular knowledge is knowing where you are well enough to survive and general knowledge is understanding concepts. Van Doren gives these examples as a pieces of general knowledge, “All living things are born and also die,” and “...winter follows summer, and summer winter” (pg. xx). General knowledge is understanding the cause and effect of things. Finally, certain knowledge is grouped into two types: Self-evident propositions and faith. There are few self-evident propositions. Many math statements are considered certainly true (self-evident propositions), as well as real world statements such as, “A finite whole is greater than any of its parts,” as van Doren explains (pg. xxi). The other part of certain knowledge is faith. The pieces of information that God has given us through His Word. Accepting this knowledge from God as certain truths is difficult for many, and is even said to be impossible without His grace. People desire for knowledge. And the one cure for our desire of knowledge is faith (pg. xxiii). Faith answers so many questions that the other types of knowledge fail to answer.…

    • 947 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In this essay, I will be writing to express my thoughts regarding Clifford’s argument in “the Ethics of Belief," as well as presenting my opposition as to why I disagree with Clifford's view. According to Clifford, he holds that it is best to always act according to rationality and logical evidence, rather than relying on baseless assumptions and emotional support since those things can only cloud one’s judgment, which thereby resulting in an erroneous consequence. However, in contradiction to Clifford’s belief, I do not think that it is always the case that acting upon insufficient evidence would consider as being wrong or causing an undesirable outcome to our lives. As I have mentioned, my goal is to present my objection against Clifford’s…

    • 1395 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The basis of truth comes from the perspective of an individual is not quite accurate. One many come to the conclusion that they obtain enough proof to explain for example an action, In the end however, the inner purpose of the action is the entire truth which cannot be solved merely through research.…

    • 371 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    valid conclusion, it is not necessarily knowledge as its success is unpredictable. This is conveyed…

    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    To conclude my entry, is we seem to proceed our assumption without hard facts or…

    • 385 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kant And Skepticism

    • 1759 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Immanuel Kant argued that although human knowledge comes from experience, nonetheless knowledge must be grounded in some necessary truths. It is hard to see how the existence of logically and metaphysically necessary truths is enough to ground human knowledge. Following Kant’s reasoning, there are certain types of knowledge we have no access to. I will argue that Presuppositionalism is more plausible than Kant’s skepticism about certain types of knowledge, and that from the Presuppositionalist perspective skepticism is self-refuting. If we don’t assume that God exists, we find that we can’t reach certain conclusions and are left wanting.…

    • 1759 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Psychology 101

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Knowledge – What we know, What we know we don’t know, We don’t know what we don’t know…

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays