Is knowing that you like music the same as knowing that the earth is round?

International Baccalaureate Theory of Knowledge

Alshaima Alhinai IB1- 4

Theory of knowledge

26th of October, 2008

In this essay I shall attempt to see under what circumstances is knowing that you like music different from knowing that the earth is round, and by looking at the areas of knowledge – such as the arts and the natural sciences – and the ways of knowing – such as emotion and language.

Music is part of an area of knowledge called The Arts. There are two theories which explain (the nature of) the arts; the first is the emotional theory and the second is the mimetic theory. The emotional theory states that the arts are (subjective and) a way in which an artist expresses emotion. The mimetic theory states that “the arts imitate the nature of the world,”1 for example when drawing or painting still life. An imitation however, does not need to be an accurate representation of nature, but could capture the essence of what something really is. In music an artist uses lyrics and notes (musical notes) to produce an audible representation of emotion.

I know that I like music because I enjoy listening to it. Emotion is a way of knowing which is classified into four groups; they are:2

Instinctive emotions: which include; anger, love, or joy
Social emotions: which include; guilt, shame, or jealousy
Inward-looking emotions: or emotions where we are “drawn into ourselves”. Which include; fear or grief
Outward-looking emotions: or emotions where we are

“drawn out of ourselves”. Which include; wonder or awe

Knowing that I like music is instinctive, it is an emotion that a person feels from the inside without ...

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I know that I like music because I enjoy listening to it. Emotion is a way of knowing which is classified into four groups; they are:2

Instinctive emotions: which include; anger, love, or joy
Social emotions: which include; guilt, shame, or jealousy
Inward-looking emotions: or emotions where we are “drawn into ourselves”. Which include; fear or grief
Outward-looking emotions: or emotions where we are

“drawn out of ourselves”. Which include; wonder or awe

Knowing that I like music is instinctive, it is an emotion that a person feels from the inside without any thought or reasoning. When I listen to music I feel that I can connect with the artist; harsh music and lyrics can make me feel anger and upbeat music and lyrics can make me feel joy. Thus the way of knowing that you like music is through emotion.

“The earth is round” is a scientific claim found out by natural sciences. Natural sciences involve using the scientific method (observation, reason, and experiment)3 to prove or falsify a scientific claim. The claim “the earth is round” has not yet been falsified and so it is thought to be a fact. It has gone through a series of tests and reasoning. The reasoning behind making this scientific claim confident is the fact that4;

The claim that the earth is flat has been falsified; the world has no edge.
With a round earth there is (/should be) a horizon.
People should be able to see further, the higher up the go – at the time the theory was made, this reasoning was proven by the idea that someone at the mast of the boat could see further than someone on the deck of the boat.
Whether sailing east or sailing west it should be possible to reach a certain point on earth – also at the time the theory was made, “sightings of similar land found by sailing east and sailing west”5
These days, we could prove that the earth is round by looking at pictures that were taken by satellites in space. Another way to prove that the earth is round is that someone on a plane could see further on the horizon than someone on the ground.

I know the earth is round because I have been taught that it is by someone who has expertise in that field of knowledge. Language is a way of knowing through communication (or being told something). Therefore the way of knowing that the earth is round is through language.

The claim “the earth is round” provokes the knowledge issue of relativism. According to the belief of relativism all points of view are equal; no point of view has more authority over another. This dismisses the facts that have already been established such as Magellan’s theory that the earth is round. Since all points of view are equal Magellan’s concept/point of view of the earth being round would be at the same level of authority as the point of view of people who believe that the earth is flat. How can the earth be both round and flat at the same time?

Another knowledge issue is skepticism. Extreme skeptics only believe in what they have personally experienced and so if they have not seen the earth (/that the earth is round), then they would not believe Magellan’s theory – that the earth is round - to be true. Therefore, there would b e no way of knowing that the earth is round.

Also these days, many people believe that anything scientifically proven is definitely true.

After looking through the areas of knowledge and the ways of knowing, I think it is right to say that knowing that I like music is different from knowing that the earth is round. I in turn hope that I have shown that there is a different way of knowing and a different area of knowledge for each case (knowing that you like music – Emotion, The Arts and knowing the earth is round – Language, The Natural Sciences).

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