"In areas of knowledge such as the arts and the sciences, do we learn more from work that follows or that breaks with accepted conventions?"

"In areas of knowledge such as the arts and the sciences, do we learn more from work that follows or that breaks with accepted conventions?" There are many areas in which we may attain knowledge of the arts and sciences. In many cases, it is the knowledge from accepted conventions, which we learn from and develop for stronger understandings in what society has acclaimed to. In such, we assimilate the knowledge at hand and further it for practical purposes that permit a larger understanding in what we determine to be the truth. As well, there are the ideas and sources of knowledge that break away from conformed thoughts and introduce new realms, which have not yet been explored. In this, we settle for a new resolution that offers a new perspective, rather than the predetermined principles widely accepted by society. The knowledge in both these areas is obtained through ones own awareness and familiarity in ones own experiences. Thus, the knowledge is developed through ones own interrelated experiences and affliction with the world in itself. The main purpose here is to determine in which case we learn more and attain more knowledge. In breaking accepted conventions, one may delve into a new phenomenon, which rejects and questions society's current perception. As well, this may become the new thought process in society opening a door to many new possibilities with this new

  • Word count: 1299
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Theory of Knowledge
Access this essay

"In order to find out how things really are, one must understand the filters thorough which one perceives the world" - Discuss and evaluate this claim.

"In order to find out how things really are, one must understand the filters thorough which one perceives the world." Discuss and evaluate this claim. As human beings, we are not born perfect. Our senses, which perceive the world, are limited therefore creating bias and there are other factors such as emotion, and logic, which also filter our perception of the world as it is. The claim to be discussed is, "In order to find out how things really are, one must understand the filters through which one perceives the world." Some of the areas of knowledge in which our perception is limited are the subjects of Biology in the Natural Sciences group, languages, mathematics and the art group. The limitations of our senses and other factors such as emotion, and logic contribute towards the filtering of our perception of reality when perceiving the content of natural sciences, arts, languages, mathematics and various other areas of knowledge. Furthermore, the filtering sometimes may contribute towards the enhanced perception of the material contained in areas of knowledge such as languages, natural sciences, mathematics and arts. In my opinion, the claim, "In order to find out how things really are, one must understand the filters through which one perceives the world", is true to a certain extent, as our perception of various areas of knowledge is altered due to the filtering process.

  • Word count: 1434
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Theory of Knowledge
Access this essay

"In order to find out how things really are, one must understand the filters through which one perceives the world" discuss.

__________________________________________________________________________________________ "In order to find out how things really are, one must understand the filters through which one perceives the world" Daniel Atkins 20th November 2002 IB-TOK Prescribed Title Mr. D Ford Word Count: 1210 The Oxford Advanced Learning Dictionary defines a filter, as an apparatus for holding back substances. Filters allow something's to pass through them and not others. This word can have many different forms of usage. Yet, when talking about life or how one perceives the world, a filter has a more discrete, hidden meaning. Everyday we filter ideas via the medium of sight, touch, smells, taste and sounds through our head. These senses can be significantly applied to the topic at hand. Although forming the body of this essay with the senses, it can be made easier, by breaking the question down into two manageable questions. How are things really? And what determines the filters through which we perceive the world, and life? An idea has all four senses some how woven into it. An idea is a questioned statement that one could be asking themselves and curious about the outcome of it all. The idea may have positive or negative feedback linked to it. For example, suppose a human being, fed up with life, decided that he/she wants to rob a bank and live off other people's riches. When he/she

  • Word count: 1241
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Theory of Knowledge
Access this essay

" En largissant le champ de la connaissance, ne faisons nous pas tendre lhorizon de lignorance ?" Henry Miller. Est-ce vrai?

" En élargissant le champ de la connaissance, ne faisons nous pas étendre l'horizon de l'ignorance ?" Henry Miller. Est-ce vrai? Sur un plan imaginatif, il est possible de comparer le champ de la connaissance au champ de la vision. Ce dernier se limite par la ligne de l'horizon qui sépare le monde visible du monde invisible aux yeux de l'observateur. Cette limite reste inatteignable. Si nous essayons de l'approcher, elle s'éloigne de la même distance. Elle nous échappe. Le monde visible peut-être assimilé au champ de la connaissance limité par l'horizon de l'ignorance qui le démarque du monde inconnu. L'agrandissement du champ de la connaissance réduit-il le domaine de l'ignorance ou simplement repousse - t - il l'horizon plus loin. Est-ce que l'élargissement de la connaissance diminue l'ignorance ou l'augmente? Aujourd'hui encore il y a un nombre infini d'éléments et de questions dont nous ignorons l'existence ou la réponse. L'apprentissage de la connaissance apporte de nouvelles questions auxquelles nous devrions répondre et souvent ces réponses sont inexistantes. C'est ce qu'affirme, Henry Miller (1) (1891-1980), le romancier américain. Il est reconnu pour son écriture scandaleuse et critique. Il a engendré de nombreuses polémiques par la critique d'une Amérique puritaine et hypocrite. La connaissance de l'être humain reste prisonnière des

  • Word count: 1608
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Theory of Knowledge
Access this essay

" For some people science is the supreme form of knowledge. Is this view reasonable or does it involve a misunderstanding of science or of knowledge?"

Theory of Knowledge Essay QINISELA HOWARD VUNDHLA June 2004 " For some people science is the supreme form of knowledge. Is this view reasonable or does it involve a misunderstanding of science or of knowledge?" Different people hold different beliefs on certain scientific concepts or other areas of knowledge. These scientific beliefs are mostly affected by our certain past experiences or tremendous discoveries and other great inventions. Of course we obtain some of the best knowledge from applied sciences but it certainly is not the supreme form of knowledge. To one person science might be the supreme form of knowledge whereas on the other hand it may slightly involve a misunderstanding of science as a whole or knowledge. First to begin with we need to clarify what is meant by the term science and knowledge. Basically science is the study of the natural world through observation, identification, description, experimental investigation and theoretical explanations or in simple terms the branch of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method. So there is a general link between science and knowledge. So what is knowledge? What do we mean by knowing something? Before we answer these questions about the nature of science and knowledge we need to ask some more questions like: * What is

  • Word count: 769
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Theory of Knowledge
Access this essay

"...we will always learn more about human life and human personality from novels than from scientific psychology." (Noam Chomsky) To what extent would you agree?

Katedralskolan Uppsala Katedralskolan, Uppsala IB School Code: 1291 Session: May 2008 Theory of knowledge Supervisor: Göran Ericsson ToK Essay 5. "...we will always learn more about human life and human personality from novels than from scientific psychology." (Noam Chomsky) To what extent would you agree? Zack Lindahl Candidate code: 1291-037 Word count: 1550 Date: 2008 02 10 Zack Lindahl, 1291-037 The novel genre is per definition written fiction. The scientific study of behaviour and the mind, psychology, is based on research methods such as observations, case studies and experiments. At a glance, the main difference between these is that psychological methods are describing human personality through more or less empirical methods. In short, psychology is based on experience. However, despite the label of fiction, novels are often not branded as purely conjecture, but often attempts to realistically display human personality, based on the author's own experience. The naturalist author Emile Zola explained in his foreword of Thérèse Raquin that his aim was to observe how different personalities reacted to each other. It seems that personality can be showed in both psychology and literature. However, can human personality be reliably portrayed in these media? According to the quote, the term knowledge will refer to the knowledge about human personality only.

  • Word count: 1631
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Theory of Knowledge
Access this essay

"All other Ways of Knowing are controlled by language."

"All other Ways of Knowing are controlled by language." What does this statement mean and do you think it is a fair representation of the relationship between perception, emotion, reason and language? Xavier Davidson 8 November, 2008 Mr. Mathews IB Theory of Knowledge Period 6 Word Count: 1516 "All other Ways of Knowing are controlled by language." What does this statement mean and do you think it is a fair representation of the relationship between perception, emotion, reason and language? Language influences the way we think, the way we act and even the choices that we make in life. This prompt, however, asserts that language "controls" emotion, reason and perception (also known as the Ways of Knowing). The aim of this essay will be to assess what this prompt means and then to evaluate how fair a representation it is of the relationship between our four Ways of Knowing. Along the way we'll encounter several knowledge issues dealing with the nature of language and the limitations inherent in each of the four Ways of Knowing. The meaning of this statement depends, of course, on the meaning of the verb "control." If I control something, it cannot act without my explicit directions. There are, of course, degrees of control in the world of human affairs; one look at my bedroom shows that my parents assert some degree of control over me, but nowhere near as much

  • Word count: 1703
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Theory of Knowledge
Access this essay

"Context is All"

"Context is all" (Margaret Atwood). Does this mean that there is no such thing as truth? When addressing this question it's important that I explain what I understand by the words context and truth. My view of the word context is something (such as time or setting) that surrounds a particular event and that can alter its meaning. Truth is what happened in reality. There are two types of truth. The first one is my truth: it's what I believe it's true. For example I might say that if we laugh a lot throughout the day we'll sleep better. That is my truth only, since someone else might not believe that. Whether or not the rest of the people believe this, the truth will always be mine. In this case I think that context does not influence what I believe in; therefore in this case context doesn't affect truth. The second type of truth is universal truth. This is the truth that everyone in the world believes in. In my opinion there are few if none universal truths since not everyone agrees on something and these truths all depend on the context. For example consider this statement. "10 out of 10 people die". According to scientists that statement is true to them. It's thought to be a universal truth. However in the world there will be someone who believes that we don't die. Maybe even in some region on Earth various people believe that we never die. We also have to take into

  • Word count: 1021
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Theory of Knowledge
Access this essay

WHAT DOES CALLING MATHEMATICS LANGUAGE MEANS? DOES MATHEMATICS FUNCTION IN THE SAME WAY AS OUR DAILY WRITTEN AND SPOKEN LANGUAGE? DO MATHEMATICS SYMBOLS HAVE MEANING, IN THE SAME SENSE WORDS HAVE MEANING?

THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE WHAT DOES CALLING MATHEMATICS LANGUAGE MEANS? DOES MATHEMATICS FUNCTION IN THE SAME WAY AS OUR DAILY WRITTEN AND SPOKEN LANGUAGE? DO MATHEMATICS SYMBOLS HAVE MEANING, IN THE SAME SENSE WORDS HAVE MEANING? 2n²-32= 0 2n²= 32 n² =_32 2 n²=16 n² = V16 n = +4 or -4 A maths equation which needs to be simplified down. An average person with a basic knowledge of maths would be able to simplify this equation. To simplify the equation the negative 32 need to be moved to the right hand side and the needs to be divided by the 2 which will leave 16. Then the 16 needs to be square rooted which then we will derive with 4 or -4. The reason for having this equation was to show that without direction on what to do in English words people would be able to solve this equation. This leads us to a question "Is maths a language"? Mathematics is the study of patterns and relationship between numbers and shapes. Symbolic and abstract. One of the way we a argue that maths is abstract is because in English we know the exact hard-coded letters which extent from A-Z whereas Maths, this is a sector of our where it develops and evolves every time. An example for this is "Riemann hypothesis". The hypothesis states that distribution of the zeros of the Riemann zeta-function which states that all non-trivial zeros of the Riemann zeta functions have real part 1/2. The Riemann

  • Word count: 845
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Theory of Knowledge
Access this essay

We see and understand things not as they are but as we are. Discuss this claim in relation to at least two ways of knowing.

"We see and understand things not as they are but as we are." Discuss this claim in relation to at least two ways of knowing. Because of our different upbringings, prejudices, and viewpoints, the way we perceive or understand certain things may be different from how they are in reality. The prescribed title implies that instead of perceiving or understanding things for the way they truly are in reality, there are things that get in the way of our doing so. This essay will examine three such things that get in the way: our sense perception, emotions and language as knowers. In order to examine how these three ways of knowing affect reality or truth, the following knowledge issue will be used: To what extent does a knower's sense perception, language, emotion, or reason shape reality? Firstly, Sense Perception, in this case, is simply what the eyes see, ears hear, nose smells, or body feels. It is what the knower is experiencing through his or her sense perceptions. Secondly, Emotion refers to the emotions that a knower may feel or experience at any given point. In other words, it is the emotional state of the knower. Lastly, what reality refers to is the world of objective knowledge or truth. Furthermore, the reality of something is not subjective, but rather objective. What this essay examines is how sense perception, language, and emotion interact with reality and how, in

  • Word count: 1523
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Theory of Knowledge
Access this essay