Personal and Shared Knowledge TOK1 LAJM

TASK Draw a map of the world as accurately and completely as you can without any assistance You have ten minutes of time to draw Don’t waste your time! Just do it!

TASK Compare your map to your neighbours maps and engage in conversation: How different are your maps? Can you suggest any reasons for this? What is the centre of your map and why? What parts of the world were drawn in greatest detail? What parts were drawn in little detail or left out? Why did you draw the map like that?

TASK Further questions: What factual inaccuracies do your maps contain? How do you account for these knowledge gaps? What kind of biases, assumptions and presuppositions did you have when you drew your maps? What are the various cultural, social and political conventions that map-making might be based on? What are the implications of all these questions?

A Map Is Not A Territory...

The Point of The Map Task In the map task we can find a relationship and interaction between personal and shared knowledge

Personal knowledge (1) Experimental knowledge Knowledge by acquaintance Practical knowledge (2) Second hand knowledge Academic knowledge Informal knowledge

TASK Do you have knowledge that you cannot communicate to other people? Try to indicate this kind of knowledge To what extent this kind of knowledge exist in general?

Shared knowledge The stock of academic knowledge, informal knowledge and practical knowledge which can be communicated verbally or non-verbally

TASK What kind of groups exist in your school? What kind of knowledge do they have which binds them together and excludes others?

TASK To what extent do you think it is possible to know another culture if you were not raised in it? What is the role of informal knowledge in this context?

TASK How are your beliefs about right and wrong influenced by the beliefs of those around you?

TASK Can we have shared knowledge that nobody is aware of anymore? Can some knowledge just be buried in libraries or internet servers? Is this kind of ”forgotten knowledge” knowledge?

Summary

Picture sources Map drawing <http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Map> Accessed 17th of August 2016. Map of the world from Australia’s perspective <> Accessed 17th of August 2016. Figure of personal and shared knowledge Theory of Knowledge Guide 2015. Rodin’s Thinker <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Thinker_Musee_Rodin.jpg> Accessed 1st of September 2015. http://simplyphilosophy.org/personal-knowledge/ Knowledge head <http://www.abbymedcalf.com/top-tips-for-effective-communication/> Accessed 1st of September 2015. Talking heads <http://www.meetup.com/sutherland-shire-st-george-friendship-group/> Accessed 1st of September 2015.

Picture sources Group and hands <http://youthvoices.net/discussion/culture-5> Accessed 1st of September 2015. Right and wrong sign <http://www.armstrongeconomics.com/archives/26307> Accessed 1st of September 2015. Internet servers <http://www.eteknix.com/server-free-internet-become-reality-future/> Accessed 1st of September 2015. Summary of personal and shared knowledge van de Lagemaat, Richard: Theory of Knowledge for the IB Diploma, Second edition, Cambridge University Press 2015, page 44