Opinion Belief Truth Knowledge Certainty Information Fact Prejudice Evidence TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion Some key words….. Common Sense Wisdom Assumptions (Handout: terms and definitions)

What is Opinion? What is Belief? What is Knowledge? … and what is the difference between them? TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Opinion: “I think that…” Belief: “I believe that…” Knowledge: “I know that…” TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Knowledge: “I know that…” Write down 3 things you ‘know’ Discuss and refute! TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Changing your mind A. Write down one thing you used to believe* and now do not What made you believe it in the first place? How did you come to change your belief? B. Write down one thing that you believe now and think that you will believe forever What made you believe this in the first place? Is there anything you can imagine that would change your mind? Discuss in pairs *believe: to accept as true TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Certainty Write down 5 things of which you are absolutely certain Discuss in pairs

TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion The Problem of Certainty How can you be certain that: The sky is blue? Neil Armstrong walked on the moon? Snow is cold?

What is Knowledge? A definition: Knowledge… the body of truths or facts accumulated in the course of time; certain understanding (as opposed to opinion) TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Origins of Knowledge observation thought family television internet books intuition teachers friends religion etc “What do I know?” “What can I know?” “What should I believe?” “How can I be sure?” “What do I know?” “What can I know?” “What should I believe?” “How can I be sure?” etc dreams feelings experience TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

BeliefsReality TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

BeliefsReality Knowledge TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Knowledge is not static – it has a history and changes over time. Examples? What guarantee is there that our current understanding is correct? TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Knowledge begins with a question… Questions that have one correct answer. Example: “How many chairs are there in this room?” Questions that have many possible answers but which require justification and reasoned judgments. Example: “What is the best way to deal with 3 rd World poverty?” Questions that have no correct answer but depend totally on the person answering the question. Example: “Which type of chocolate tastes best?” TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Different kinds of Knowledge Different personal characteristics and experiences affect what people know. There are different levels of knowledge: A superficial grasp A good understanding A complete mastery Examples? TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Different kinds of Knowledge Knowing How (Skills) … To swim To dance To solve maths problems etc… Knowing That (Information)… It is cold 2+2=4 Obama is US President etc… TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion ToK is most concerned with “Knowing that….”

Knowledge is true belief that has been arrived at by a ‘reliable process’ (by observation, experiment, reasoning etc). Not just ‘true for me’, but ‘true for all’ (Validity of the justification – ‘poor, unreliable justification’ or ‘excellent, reliable justification’ leading to ‘weaker’ or ‘stronger’ forms of knowledge) Knowledge = justified, true belief Belief-knowledge continuum -10 | Impossible -5 | Unlikely 0 | Possible +5 | Probable +10 | Certain BeliefKnowledge Doubt TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

BeliefsReality Knowledge Knowledge = justified, true belief TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

1.Christopher Columbus discovered America in Human beings are descended from apes 3.Murder is wrong 4.Aliens have visited earth at some time in its history 5.All metals expand when heated 6.Human beings have an immortal soul 7.If A is bigger than B and B is bigger than C, then A is bigger than C TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion Belief-knowledge continuum -10 | Impossible -5 | Unlikely 0 | Possible +5 | Probable +10 | Certain BeliefKnowledge Doubt

Impossible to convince Easy to convince TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Will believe almost anything… Easy to convince TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion Impossible to convince

TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Impossible to convince Will believe almost nothing… Easy to convince TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Good Judgment We need to find a balance between being open to new ideas that challenge our ways of thinking, while keeping in mind than human beings are sometimes willing to believe strange things on the basis of little evidence TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Different kinds of Knowledge Knowing How (Knowledge by acquaintance) Gaining skills Tacit* Subjective Private Can be shown Can originate in experience May give certainty Baking bread Knowing That (Knowledge by description) Gaining information Articulated* Objective Public Must have reasons/evidence/proof Can originate in experience May give certainty Recipe for baking bread *Tacit: understood without being openly expressed *Articulated: can be clearly expressed in words TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion