The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Perception Deception
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Perception Deception Prompt: "We see and understand things not as they are but as we are." Discuss this claim in relation to the novel, your own experience, and at least two ways of knowing. "Whilst part of what we perceive comes through our sense from the object before us, another part (and it may be the larger part) always comes out of our own mind" (James, 1842-1910). In the words of philosopher William James, myself, and this essay prompt, all that humans perceive is altered by the beliefs and biases that constitute their identities. Not only is what we choose to believe greatly influenced by our characters and choices, but it is impossible not to be slightly biased at times. Bias and prejudice is irrational, and would fall into the category of emotional intuition, or irrational instinctive knowing. Nevertheless, what to be biased about varies from person to person, and that is why intuition and perception are considered the more fallacious ways of knowing; because they are so subjective. Christopher John Francis Boone, the protagonist in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and myself are no exceptions to this statement, as they way we describe occurrences, people, and objects are completely different, and once you know each of us, it is evident that we are completely different people. Christopher and
Theory of Knowledge - find the perfect art piece, whether it be play, musical, paintings, or other wise
Sabina Yeasmin Dr. Hall | Period 0 Theory of Knowledge June 11, 2009 Arts Essay: Mary, 1898 I had a mission ahead of me. We all had to face it, everyone in our TOK class. Our mission was to find the perfect art piece, whether it be play, musical, paintings, or other wise. It was May 19 of 2009 and Khalah, Mary, and I decided to go hunt down our targets together. We felt that the most convenient starting place would be Lasalle University Art Museum. We didn't know what to expect, didn't know if it would have our future reference items in there, but we were determined to finish the task as soon as possible. Sure I knew where Lasalle University was, but I had no clue where to go to enter the Art Museum section. It so happened that Kahlah knew how to get there, as she had gone there before to look at the art pieces. It was a very windy day, and we all kept getting dust in our eyes as we walked up the steep hill from Central High School. The walk there was long and painful, but we endured the dirt aiming for our eyes. We just hoped that our mission would be successful by the end of the day to make up for the horrible walk. At the entrance to the museum a man gave us directions to the door of the Art Museum. We followed his directions and knew that we went the right way since the first thing we saw when we opened the door was a painting of monkeys hanging from a pole. We went
Are some ways of knowing more likely than others to lead to truth?
Luanda International School 001903 Candidate Name: SAFECA Ernesto TOK Candidate Number: 001903-002 Page of Are some ways of knowing more likely than others to lead to truth? What is truth? “Truth is what stands the test of experience”[1]. When we consider the acquisition of knowledge, we cannot help question ourselves about its certainty, but even before then, we cannot help question ourselves, how do we know what we know? Reason, sense perception, language and emotions form the core of how we obtain a great deal of our knowledge. Human beings believe that something is true when they are certain about its validity, meaning that there is negligible doubt about it. However, it is not as simple as saying that something is true and something is false. The concept of absolute truth may seem beyond our grasp, but in order to organize our thinking and draw some sense from it, we must always have some sort of truth in mind. However, when analyzing truth through a relativistic point of view, we can quickly become aware that something may be true in a certain context and false in a completely different
Matrix Essay; Red v.s Blue Pil?
"The blue pill will eliminate any knowledge of the choice he has made, and will leave him in the world of illusion. The red pill opens the dates to a world which offers nothing but the terrible truth." Red or blue? Which pill would you take, and why? I To this question, I must say I would take the blue pill. There are of course many reasons to doubt my decision and take the red pill, but those don't overcome the confusion and harsh reality that would be experienced if I didn't take the blue pill. Imagine having to deal with the fact that you weren't truly living all this time, that your body had been useless to you and was simply being used as a form of energy or that everything you thought you felt or experienced wasn't really being felt or experienced. Also, how could you be sure that someone with two pills isn't just bluffing you? If you haven't had any reason to doubt the life you were living before, as in you hadn't experienced anything out of the ordinary, then how would you know that someone offering you two random colored pills isn't simply trying to drug you? I mean, isn't the idea of a Matrix a little absurd? And even if you were to believe it, and take the red pill, how do you know that the world you are going to isn't just another layer of the Matrix? How do you know when you have actually hit reality? II I would choose to take the blue pill for numerous
What is it about theories in human sciences and natural sciences that make them convincing?
Question: What is it about theories in human sciences and natural sciences that make them convincing? Peter Medawar, winner of the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1960, believed that “Scientific theories ... begin, if you like, as stories, and the purpose of the critical or rectifying episode in scientific reasoning is precisely to find out whether these stories are stories about real life” (1). It can be inferred that theories start as stories but with continuous research and development can be proven true or not. Which leads us to another question, “What is a theory”? My interpretation of a theory is that it starts out as a concept or hypothesis, and through analysis and testing if proved true becomes a theory. Natural science is the study of the natural world and scientists search for regularities to describe and explain theories. Human science is the study of patterns in human society and individual human actions, which leads to theories. In the areas of knowledge like Natural Sciences, the primary proof of theories is based on logical reasoning and inductive logic. According to dictionary.com, logical reasoning is “the process of forming conclusions, judgments, or inferences from facts or premises”(2) and inductive logic is the “reasoning from detailed facts to general principles”(3). On the other hand, in Human sciences, the primary technique of
When should we trust our senses to give us truth?
Theory Of Knowledge Essay 1 Question #2: When should we trust our senses to give us the truth? Our senses are the primary linkage we have between our minds and the environment around us, the "faculty by which outside stimuli are perceived" (Newman); we rely on them for tactical, auditory, olfactory, gustatory and visual acquisition of knowledge. Our daily dependence on our five senses makes it even more fundamental for one to critically assess the information they convey - attempting to differentiate the truth from what is false. Truth is "a medium to express actuality" (Marian), and by assuming that reality can be known directly and certainly, the correspondence theory of truth suggests that truth is "when terms of true propositions map to elements of reality in a way that validates the proposition." (Marian) Discovering "truth" is based on the constant feeding of propositions to us through sense perception - and the ability to compare one's sensory perceptions to pre-existing knowledge and ascertain whether the information is congruent. In this essay, I shall attempt to show that sense perception cannot be trusted as an independent entity to give us truth, that only by striking a balance between trusting our senses and evaluating their congruence with pre-existing knowledge can a knower achieve perceptive yet insightful procurement of knowledge. Senses are a knower's
TOK: Emotion as a Filter to Knowledge
Chapter 6: EMOTION The Nature of Emotions: The word 'emotion' is derived from the Latin word movere meaning 'to move'. In general sense it includes feelings, passions, and moods etc. An emotion usually consists of various internal feelings and external forms of behavior, and it can vary in intensity from mild irritation to blind anger. Passion is reserved for a strong emotion where mood is an emotion which continues for a period of time. * Primary Emotions: The six basic or primary emotions are: happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, And disgust. Important to remember is that even children who are born blind and deaf show these emotions and therefore this suggests that they are inborn rather than learnt. * The James Lange Theory: There exists a close relationship between our bodies and our emotions as the primary emotions have a typical facial expression associated with them. According to James Lange theory, the emotions are physical in nature, and bodily changes cause emotional changes as they come before them as well. If you remove the physical symptoms, the corresponding emotion disappears. And similarly, mimicking the appropriate physical symptoms can generate the corresponding emotion. The theory also suggests a mechanism through which one can know and empathize with others' feelings. So when one talk to someone, for example, who is depressed, they
ToK Essay What similarities and differences are there between historical and scientific explanations?
ToK Essay Plan What similarities and differences are there between historical and scientific explanations? Introduction Define "Science": According to Dictionary.com, the definition of the word "science" is: "1. a branch of knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts or truths systematically arranged and showing the operation of general laws: the mathematical sciences. 2. Systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation." Define "History": According to Dictionary.com, the definition of the word "history" is: "1. the branch of knowledge dealing with past events. 2. a continuous, systematic narrative of past events as relating to a particular people, country, period, person, etc., usually written as a chronological account; chronicle: a history of France; a medical history of the patient." Define "Explanation": According to Dictionary.com, the definition of the word "explanation" is: "1. A statement made to clarify something and make it understandable. 2. A meaning or interpretation." Link the definitions and write about each knowledge areas' objectives (science, to understand and explain the world around us) Mid-section 1 Present to the reader an example of a scientific and historical explanation. A scientific explanation must be exact e.g.: Force = Mass x Speed. There is no possible way to change the formula
Examine the ethical issues in vivisection and discuss the extent to which it should be allowed
Examine the ethical issues in vivisection and discuss the extent to which it should be allowed. Vivisection refers to "the practice of performing operations on live animals for the purpose of experimentation or scientific research" (oxforddictionaries.com). These experiments range from testing drugs for medical research to testing cosmetic products on animals to determine their effects on humans. Furthermore, vivisection raises the success rates of surgeries and procedures as they are tested on animals, and thereafter improved on, before they are conducted on people. Hence, many people support vivisection, as it seems to benefit the majority of humankind. Small mammals, such as rats, primates and cold-blooded animals are commonly used in laboratories and it is estimated that, each year, over one hundred million animals are killed as a result of experiments (peta.org). Thus, others argue against vivisection, claiming that such experiments cause the animals tremendous pain, often leaving them severely injured or dead, which is unethical since animals are still living beings. However, although vivisection causes animals to suffer, some experiments are still crucial and beneficial to humanity. Therefore, vivisection should be allowed provided the experiments conducted are absolutely necessary as the results can benefit humankind greatly, if there is a high success rate which
TOK presentation
One is conversant with the metaphorical manifestation of existence as a wheel or a river, but life as an odyssey becomes a stark reality, upon reading the novels, Sorrow of War and Camel Xiangzi. An odyssey can be defined as a journey that enables the readers to relive the adventures of the character's life, ranging from love and relationships to fatal encounters making it a kaleidoscopic microcosm. Physical suffering during an odyssey plays a vital role in showcasing circumstances as an antagonist. Xiangzi believed everything could be perfect if he gave up all the pleasures of life. His innocence towards realistic life highlights the duality of Xiangzi's ambitious world and reality. "This would bring him much, much closer to his goal"1 The rickshaw is a motif to drive Xiangzi's journey of life, symbolizing the adversities of his life. The encounter with Tigress before his marriage demonstrates this characteristic; Tigress advances towards Xiangzi in the 'sedan'2, a symbolic depiction of a bad omen since she comes "without good wishes of friends or relatives."3 a parallel to the circumstance that was coming towards Xiangzi in the form of this marriage, without any escort of optimism. Tigress was accompanied "by cymbals and drums"4 creating a cacophonic atmosphere, to accentuate the warning this impending danger was emitting. Circumstances prove its cruelty after the wedding