The Nature of Knowledge TOK1 LAJM
ORIENTATION 1 What has been a really interesting thing to learn: (a) in school? (b) outside school? Choose at least one thing from both categories How did you come to know it? try to describe the way(s) of knowing On what basis can you say that your knowledge is true? try to find some sort of way to justify your knowledge
ORIENTATION 2 What do you take as granted every day as ”true” but really aren’t sure of it? What questions arise?
Knowledge Claim An assertion that something is the case Any statement that can be true or false E.g. ”Helsinki is the capital of Finland”, ”The president of USA is a nice guy” and ”I’m in love”
Knowledge Questions Questions about knowledge Second order questions Open questions contestable, no straightforward answers General questions not subject-specific
TASK Teacher hands out pieces of papers in a random order Your task is to arrange these pieces of papers in the right order
TASK Start formulating your own knowledge questions! Use the teachers template as a springboard!
Knowledge Questions Formulating and elaborating your own knowledge questions is the GIST of TOK!
TASK What kind of knowledge questions can you find from this video? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNhlNSLQAFE
The Definition of Knowledge Justified True Belief
Truth The correspondence between knowledge claim and reality E.g. ”Helsinki is the capital of Finland” is true if Helsinki is really the capital of Finland In practise something is true if it’s beyond reasonable doubt
Belief A state of mind in which a person thinks something is the case In order to know something, the knower must understand what he/ she knows
TASK Will it ever make sense to say that a computer KNOWS something?
Justification The way how the knowers belief is pointed to be true In order to be knowledge, beliefs should be supported with evidence
TASK Try to use the ways of knowing in TOK curriculum: Try to find different ways to justify your claims/ beliefs! You may use the previous examples as a springboard You may also choose another topic and elaborate on that Try to use the ways of knowing in TOK curriculum: Language Perception Reason Intuition Emotion Memory Imagination Faith
Levels of Knowledge Information is order that doesn’t necessarily contain meaning, justification nor truth Knowledge has a subject, a knower, who forms meaningful wholes out of information
TASK Have you ever passed a test without REALLY understanding the subject? What does this tell you about the difference between knowledge and information?
Types of Knowledge (1) Knowledge by acquaintance First hand knowledge based on experience Knowledge of
TASK Could someone who has never visited, say, Lapland know more about it than someone who lives there?
Types of Knowledge (2) Practical knowledge Skill-based knowledge Knowledge how
TASK What role does practical know-how play in the IB subjects today? Consider, in particular, languages, sciences and the arts
Types of Knowledge (3) Knowledge by description Second hand knowledge which comes in the form of language Knowledge that
TASK How does your knowledge by description influence your knowledge by acquaintance and vice versa? How are the two types of knowledge related to each other?
TASK Many people can speak their own language fluently, but cannot explain it’s underlying grammar What does this suggest about the relation between knowledge how and knowledge that?
Knowledge by acquaintance TASK Do this kind of table into your memos and fill it with your own examples Knowledge by acquaintance Practical knowledge Knowledge by description My first concert: excitement failure success How to play the flute: breathing process embouchure fingerings History and conventions of different musical concerts Can you find any relation, overlap or interaction between types of knowledge within your examples?
Picture sources http://quotesgram.com/the-truth-will-come-out-quotes/ http://eng.rightscale.com/2014/09/01/importance-of-internal-knowledge-sharing.html http://philosophy.talons43.ca/2014/12/08/5832/ http://marccardaronella.com/2011/03/10/how-lenten-penance-can-springboard-your-spiritual-growth/ https://fi.pinterest.com/pin/179792210096275948/ http://www.proprofs.com/knowledgebase/call-center-software/
Picture sources http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/richard-feynman-6333.php http://www.stonecobra.com/knowledge-as-a-service-kaas-a-proposal/ http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/holding-fast-to-truth-in-a-doubting-age https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belief https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64 http://janiczek.com/why-choose-us/evidence-based-investing/
Picture sources http://www.sihd.org/getpage.php?name=information& https://www.flickr.com/photos/albertogp123/5843577306 http://www.snipview.com/q/Personal_experience http://www.lappi.fi/lappi/tule
Picture sources http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/02/08/2157682.htm?site=science/Askanexpert&topic=latest https://sites.google.com/a/chsd117.org/cheek-chemistry/ http://blog.voki.com/2014/10/16/i-need-a-study-buddy/ http://biocircuits.ucsd.edu/outreach/?p=714 http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/edl/