International Baccalaureate: Theory of Knowledge
-
Seven Days: A Brief History. During the week of November 7th to November 13th of 2011, there were a vast number of events that occurred worldwide that made headlines and affect people in some way. In this following paper, the events that have passed in t
United States officials also warned that hotels occupied by foreigners in Nigeria may be bombed by a radical Muslim group as the Nigerian death toll have rose to more than 100 people.2 For the day of November 8th, there were events that included the resignation of Greece's prime minister and already finding an interim prime minister because of how their government has gone downhill over the past days and months. Also from this happening, the country of Italy is also going through a downward spiral.
- Word count: 2054
-
Theory of Knowledge People need to believe that order can be glimpsed in the chaos of events (adapted from John Gray, Heresies, 2004). In what ways and to what extent would you say this claim is relevant in at least two areas of knowledge?
Perception and reasoning affect whether one will require an appreciation of order amid chaos; however, the interactions between these ways of knowing are different between the arts and the natural sciences, and thus, the necessity of order in a chaotic situation will vary slightly in each area of knowledge. A knowledge issue to consider in examining the prescribed title claim is: In what ways and to what extent does human perception in the arts and natural sciences affect whether an individual requires order in a chaotic situation?
- Word count: 2069
-
TOk Discussion - Do we impose mathematics upon nature or is it naturally inherent in the physical world? Does mathematics mimic nature or does nature follow the rules of mathematics?
It could be a biological aid in understanding the mechanisms of our world. It has been posited before that beauty signals safety and security. The ideal Savannah landscape features open spaces, trees with forks near the ground, and nearby water sources. Cross-culturally, people find this type of landscape in paintings beautiful, as it fulfills our primitive basic needs for survival. A: So are you saying that mathematical beauty does not need to be applied to nature for us to perceive natural beauty? V: Well, you don't need to know the mathematical formula behind nature's beauty to find nature beautiful.
- Word count: 2421
-
Vemos las cosas tal y como son, o tal y como somos
lo hermoso o lo bello como la han expuesto, sin embargo, es una representaci�n ordenada o desordena de los sentimientos de una persona, que esta misma obra se puede interpretar de distinta manera dependiendo de las circunstancias. Por ejemplo, Kant define a las artes y la est�tica como una ciencia que le da prioridad a la sensibilidad. Bas�ndome en esto puedo afirmar que la est�tica es objetiva, pues cada quien percibe las cosas de distinta manera, "vemos las cosas tal y como somos, no tal y como son".
- Word count: 2671
-
Tok essay 2009
Es decir que actualmente no vemos las cosas de igual manera que como las ve�amos hace veinte a�os. Ninguna otra persona o sujeto ve los mismos objetos de igual manera que como los ve uno mismo. Esto est� fundamentalmente determinado por las diferentes historias, culturas, pensamientos y sentimientos de cada uno de nosotros, de cada sujeto en particular. A medida que vamos adquiriendo conocimientos propios, tanto sea por medio de la experiencia1 o por medio, contradictoriamente, de la conexi�n de impresiones2 o incluso como muchos otros piensan, por medio del uso de la raz�n3; nuestro an�lisis y comprensi�n de los objetos mejora, sin importar cual sea el medio por el cual obtenemos el conocimiento.
- Word count: 2063
-
How can the different ways of knowing help us to distinguish between something that is true and something that is believed to be true?
To support these I have accompanied each of the ways of knowing with examples from various areas of knowledge mainly using math, science, language and history. Truth can be divided into two separate entities: subjective and objective. Objective truth is usually a fact that has been proven true, meaning it has been discovered through science or math rather then created. Empiricism arises from sensory experience and relies heavily on experimentation and evidence, which is used predominantly in science. Empiricism is a fundamental part of the scientific method where all the hypothesis and theories should be tested against observations in the natural world.
- Word count: 2059
-
Tok Essay - Question 5 2010
The strongest theories are those that have withstood the most attempts to disprove them, and even those which seem to have stood every kind of test are liable to be caught out by an exception sooner or later. Newtonian mechanics, formulated in Principia Mathematica in the year 1686, remained unchallenged for over 200 years and in 1900 Lord Kelvin, a prominent physicist, stated "There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now. All that remains is more and more precise measurement"2.
- Word count: 2005
-
-
Context is all. from the novel The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood brings a curious topic into light and presents a challenging question: Is there no such thing as truth?
It is important to note that ways of knowing act only as impulses to attain truth and their dependence on context is of negligible importance. My discussion will focus on how truths in different areas of knowledge are context dependent. I start my discussion by analyzing the few truths, for example those given to us by mathematics and pure science that are considered to be absolute truths devoid of all contexts. Consider the statement, "1+1=2". Given Peano's axioms for arithmetic(2), this statement can easily be proven.
- Word count: 2068
-
Does Language Determine or Limit Thought?
Also, are the same factors that limit thought applied to more than one form of communication? Written language for instance, can include ambiguity, vagueness, sarcasm, metaphors and irony.4 These are all used to create an effect in conveying the message. An ambiguous sentence can have a number of different meanings, therefore different people might comprehend the sentence in a different way from others. Does age play a role in how the sentence is comprehended? Will it be understood the same way by a seven year old as by a thirty year old? These questions often occur when dealing with written language, showing that it can cause limits in thought.
- Word count: 2523
-
To what extent is truth different in mathematics, the arts, and ethics?
In order to discern the difference between the truths in mathematics, the arts, and ethics; we must first question whether or not mathematics is an 'absolute' truth. The mathematician Joel Spencer once claimed that mathematics is "as close to absolute truth as [he] can see [it] getting."1 Mathematics is considered to be axiomatic and based on axioms; where the truth is self-evident and undeniable. It is as such because it is based on numerical theorems and formulas (that are universally accepted as true).
- Word count: 2281
-
Show Me Some Stats
What is this, multiple choice on the Chemistry HL test? And you are in IB? Joy: (To audience) Don't give me that look you know couldn't get perfect either. Candice: This is all part of a larger scheme. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proud to announce that I have just proved that Joy here, an IB Year II student, knows statistically significantly less about the world than a chimpanzee. Joy: But what do you mean I know less than a chimpanzee? Candice: A chimpanzee would be right half of the time! Joy: What? How? Candice: If I gave a chimpanzee two bananas, one representing Sri Lanka and the other Turkey, they would be right half of the time.
- Word count: 2576
-
Difference of Truth and knowldge
It may be more closely linked to the category of emotion and perception as a way of knowing and, in general, be affected by human experience and therefore may differ from person to person.?These two phrases, however, are commonly misused. One could say "It is certain" when one should be using "I am certain", as the statement is not backed up by any form of reliable evidence. I once knew a child who believed the clouds moved because he pushed them with his mind.
- Word count: 2449
-
The Law of the Universe: Entropy
In this case, I am making the knowledge claim that low to high entropy is a valid concept. The issue here is, 'why'. Can we ever rationally know why entropy naturally leads from the low complexity to high complexity when all we have ever known is our own universe? Probably not. Recent developments suggest that every universe has its own set of 'constants' which define how the universe works - for example, in our universe thus far, one plus one has always equalled two. In another universe this may not be the case. Similarly, in other universes perhaps there was originally high entropy and the universe has lead to an ever increasing trend towards lower entropy.
- Word count: 2789
-
Seek simplicity and distrust it. (Alfred North Whitehead). Is this always a good advice for a knower?
We shall seek simplicity as it enables us to understand reality and to detect 'truth' to a greater extent than possible otherwise. However, a knower has to comprehend, that this has to be understood as a model and that the 'reality' is far more complex and that truth in this sense can never be detected. This essay will discuss the value, role and restrictions of simplification and, on the basis of this, investigate whether Whitehead's statement can always be regarded to be good advice for a knower.
- Word count: 2096
-
TOK essay
If the premises and logic are true, then the ultimate claim that is arrived upon is true. This adds a solid foundation to the knowledge, one that makes comprehension straightforward and simple. For example, we know that it is warm in Mumbai and we also know that heaters are only required in regions where the temperatures are low. Now, if one uses deductive reasoning3, these premises would give the conclusion that the number of heaters in Mumbai will be low.
- Word count: 2033
-
Are the WOKS controlled by language?
Most of the documents on the web, for example, are encoded in HTML. Since it is standardized, web browsers merely have to conform to the standard in order to process the document as display it on your screen. In this way, we can have Apple's Macintosh's Safari browser, Microsoft's Internet Explorer, or Mozilla Firefox in Linux all being able to process and display HTML pages on the web. It is about the same with language. A language is a standard in that it has certain words that mean certain things, and its grammatical structure that strings words together into more complex sentences.
- Word count: 2278
-
Whats going on in Gaza?
* International law states that an occupying power has the responsibility of the civilians that are under its control. It seems that either Israel did not understand this requirement or simply preferred to ignore it. * In an effort to guarantee that civilians do not suffer as they did in World War II, several principles were instituted in what is known as the Geneva Conventions. * One of the world's leading violators of these set principles would be Israel which on a regular basis imprison possibly innocent civilians (children as well), confiscate privately owned land and abuse inhabitants in numerous ways.
- Word count: 2358
-
Coherence Essay
Our disagreements all come from different perspectives on what is true, what is good, and what is beautiful. Perhaps these truths do not have any concrete existence, but rather our reality is defined by ourselves and our cultures, a coherence way of thinking. Perhaps the answer is that truth, morality, and beauty are hard-fast, universal laws, a correspondence view on the universe. These two theories differ almost as much as a California Grey Squirrel and a Great White Shark, and these dissimilarities would affect almost every aspect of our lives; politics, economics, and the arts. However, despite the problems that arise from having a coherence view on the world, correspondence seems to be faulty at its very core.
- Word count: 2177
-
Context is all (Margaret Atwood). Does this mean that there is no such thing as truth?
However, trough perception and reasoning I have no reason to doubt that those would be true. Or at least quite accurately represent the truth. Consequently we can consider the question: what is reasonable doubt? The people who lived before the 16th century and Copernicus' heliocentric model of the solar system had, in fact, no reason to doubt that the universe is geocentric i.e. that everything, the sun, the stars, the moon in fact the whole universe would orbit the earth. It seemed probably very plausible. The people observed the sun go up in the morning and they saw the sunset in the evening, therefore it seemed that the sun orbits the earth.
- Word count: 2915
-
Agua Potable
v�as urinarias, y principalmente habr�a deshidrataci�n que llevar�a a una baja de defensas y provocar�a dolorosas llagas en la piel a causa de recibir tantos rayos solares. Se dice que el promedio de vida llegar� a ser de m�ximo unos cincuenta a�os. La industria quedar� paralizada a nivel mundial, y el desempleo ser� dram�tico. El precio del agua ser�a el m�s alto alguna vez conocido, m�s que cualquier pieza de oro, o cualquier diamante. Mientras que el promedio actual de vasos de agua diarios de una persona es de ocho vasos, en esa �poca lo m�ximo ser� de medio vaso.
- Word count: 2265
-
Food Aid, who benefits?
On average, every five seconds a child dies from starvation. There is no doubt that many countries are facing a huge shortage of food and the people in these countries are greatly affected by repeated famines, and thus need food aid as a source of survival. Food aid does indeed help these people to brace through these famines and survive through the storms. For example, in Ethiopia, six million people are in dire need of assistance, and require immediate food aid to avoid a tragedy.
- Word count: 2117
-
Emotion Vs Reason
A belief derives from one's personal and cultural background and is steeped with personal experiences and the resolutions behind them. In elaboration to this, when a belief undergoes an investigation of its pre-existing ideas, and hereby gains a fluid verification of that idea, it can finally be labelled as knowledge. As we draw light to this, the differentiation between the two can be a difficult one, which is how we are introduced into the other ways of knowing. While differentiating between beliefs and determining knowledge, it is largely accepted that reasoning plays the most significant role.
- Word count: 2116
-
TOK essay
In denial, Peter tears the door open but only sees his wife. The predicament summarizes the four tools one can apply in many situations to reveal the truth. Each one concludes with a potential truth, but proposes conflicting facts. Thus it illuminates problems that arise with ways of knowing and the reliability of truth. With an emotional approach, Peter follows his intuition which denies any sin commited by his wife. Using deductive reasoning, his wife is definitely adulterous, which the neighbor, an authority (language), confirms. His perception, however, plays tricks on him: he hears "strange noises" but sees nothing.
- Word count: 2050
-
Reliability of Sigmund Freud's claims
Determinism versus free will also has a role to play. If we accept Freud's ideas as true, then we remove the responsibility of the individual's actions, good or bad, because the criminal's actions are merely a natural response to a cause: the parents. If Freud's ideas are discredited, and it is shown that an individual can develop freely from its parents, then the knowledge is useless because it doesn't apply to the perceived reality. Since Freud's ideas are neither accepted or rejected, the knowledge is neither useless nor useful.
- Word count: 2775