Writing a TOK essay by Richard van de Lagemaat Theory of Knowledge for the IB Diploma Richard van de Lagemaat 978 0 521542 98 2 www.cambridge.org/uk/education/international/ib/tok/ For information on the author’s education consultancy service: www.inthinking.co.uk For information on the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme: www.ibo.org/diploma/ © Cambridge University Press 2007 Writing a TOK essay ‘Most people would rather die than think; in fact they do so.’ BERTRAND RUSSELL
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progress can be made in science. When has progress been made using scientific methods. Etc (Physics exam‚ not prepared now‚ prepared in 6 months because you know more things) Have better understanding of the human condition(beings)‚ culture‚ language‚ norms‚ morality. Justification of knowledge VS what you can do for knowledge. (as progress). Have a firm understanding of what you mean by progress. In 6000 BC when metals were first discovered‚ they were merely used for weapons‚ coins‚ jewelries
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232 words The Ways of Knowing are a sophisticated way of explaining how everyday people gain knowledge throughout the world‚ and discover our specific place in it. Whether it is Sense Perception‚ Emotion‚ Reasoning‚ or Language‚ they all serve as a vital part in our lives and guide the way we as people live. But how reliable are the ways of knowing? Abraham Maslow once said “When the only tool you have is a hammer‚ all problems begin to resemble nails.” What Maslow is trying
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5. What is it about theories in the human sciences and natural sciences that makes them convincing? Man has always struggled to understand the world around him and‚ as a result‚ has relied heavily on the sciences. The sciences first became popular in the Greco-Roman era and from then have continued to develop and ultimately diverge into two separate subjects‚ human and natural sciences. Each of these has further diverges in which there can be up to fifty categories within each subject. However
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SAMPLE TOK ESSAY GUIDE Knowledge claims must be filtered through the critical lens of reason. Do you agree? Understanding the question: The Q reminds us of Socrates’ saying: ’The unexamined life is not worth living.’ What did he mean? Should we question everything‚ even at the expense of our own personal (and social) happiness and sanity? The openness of the Q allows you to look at numerous knowledge claims (make a list in advance) and what they attempt to establish. At first glance‚ wouldn’t
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Ful lco l o u r editi on Theory of Knowledge for the IB Diploma Richard van de Lagemaat Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-66996-3 - Theory of Knowledge for the IB Diploma Richard van de Lagemaat Excerpt More information 1 The problem of knowledge ‘It is the customary fate of new truths to begin as heresies and to end as superstitions.’ T. H. Huxley‚ 1825–95 ‘The greatest obstacle to progress is not the absence of knowledge but the illusion of knowledge.’ Daniel Boorstin‚ 1914–2004
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that! But what if I do not know if that something I am being open-minded about is true for certain? If that is the case‚ I shall have to investigate to what extent this idea is relevant to the truth. But what is truth? (I am starting to act like my ToK teacher…). So when I am questioning open-minded views‚ am not being gullible. In that case I am being… what is it called again… was it not something like scektical? No‚ I remember‚ it was sceptical. So‚ to improve my search for knowledge‚ I shall
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Was it Reagan or Gorbachev? From all the sources and knowledge accessible shouldn’t we all come to the same conclusion? Even in history the use of perception and language changes the way we see and understand things. Historians continuously disagree‚ even on the matter of who ended the Cold War. Language‚ emotion‚ and perception are tools of manipulation in history; we become analytical and come to understand the past as we are‚ not as they are. This process of understanding the past is far from
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TOK Reflection: Mathematics To what extent is math relevant to your life and the lives of others you know and how can it become an even more viable area of knowledge. “In mathematics I can report no deficience‚ except it be that men do not sufficiently understand the excellent use of the Pure Mathematics.” Roger Bacon (1214-1294) Mathematics: the abstract science of number‚ quantity‚ and space; a subject considered by many to be useless‚ a waste of time‚ and too difficult. “When am
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emotion and language in the subjects of World Religions and Philosophy as well as possible counter arguments. Many followers of faith would disagree with Hitchens on this statement‚ taking the believers of the Abrahamic religions as an example; they believe that their prophets came with miracles like Christ walking on water for example. They don’t have concrete evidence yet to them they see that what came in either the Torah‚ Bible or the Qura’an is definite truth for many reasons; each generation
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