“Tell a man that there are 300 billion stars in the universe and he’ll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he’ll have to touch to be sure.”

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Parrish Husband

Ms. Bestwick

IB TOK

9/29/01

                                TOK Outline

“Tell a man that there are 300 billion stars in the universe and he’ll believe you.  Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he’ll have to touch to be sure.”

Intro

People are always believing in what they cannot really “know” is true, and won’t need to require any proof for their claims.  However, when people are faced with a simple truth, they won’t believe until they can test and be sure.  Many different aspects contribute to this strange habit that we humans have seem to acquired, and people are somehow willing to accept it.  In the first section of the question, it refers to what we would call an abstract truth (Abel).  It is something that we cannot directly prove, so instead we just deem it believable.  The second part of the question is referring to a concrete truth (Abel).  It is something we are able to test, so our curious human nature forces us to.  

I.  The Human Perception- The contrast in people’s views on what they know.

  1. The main idea one has to realize when dealing with human perception is that what one person views may not always be exactly what another has seen.  In fact they might not be the same at all.  Back in one of my old schools the administration tested this theory on the students, and it proved to be true.  They staged a robbery in one of our assemblies, and then had each student describe what he or she perceived.  The results showed that pretty much everyone had different views, and only 7% were even close to the truth.   Everyone assumed that he/she was right, and would not believe any other statements.  
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  1. Someone might argue that the only way we can ever find the truth is if everyone perceives the exact same thing, and once everyone is in perfect balance it is defiantly a truth.  Another might argue however that if everyone viewed something the same, they might as well all have been deceived.  

II.  Authority- How it can regulate what we know, or what cannot be true.

  1. When one is pondering over a truth of any kind, it is noted that he/she will rely on authority to validate one'’ claims.  Furthermore, a figure of authority ...

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