Theory of Knowledge
Talk about Theory of Knowledge.
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If you want help with prescribed TOK Essay titles, check this thread to see if your title has an existing thread first. Only when a thread does not already exist for your title can you start a new thread about TOK prescribed titles. Put the exam session and the title number in the thread title (e.g Nov09/May10 Title 5)
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2,043 topics in this forum
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So after moving around some titles, I settled on this one. I have some ideas, but I want to know if they're similar with those of you who are doing the same question, if any. My main point is that our approach to knowledge about the past is based on the presence of evidences. In another words, if you dont have evidencem there's nothing you can base your approach on, in which case, you wont have an approach. The approach will be limited by the use of perception(sensing something) and by the use of reason (logic). However, our approach to knowldge about the future doesnt require any evidence since it still didnt happen yet. We tend to use emotion(including intuition) and r…
Last reply by Mahuta ♥, -
- 2 replies
- 1.5k views
Hi! I woke up this morning to find that my teacher had sent my class two essay titles due in for next monday and I've been writing in circles since 9am. It is now 3.30pm and my head is close to exploding. The titles are: 1. Is it reasonable to argue for the preservation of established forms of language, for example as concerns grammar, spelling, syntax, meaning or use? Is one language common to the whole world a defensible project? 2. To what extent may the subjective nature of perception be regarded as an advantage for artists but an obstacle to be overcome for scientists? We've got a tight word limit of 850 which makes this even more difficult; I am…
Last reply by robertomx, -
- 2 replies
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I have my final test coming up, but I don't exactly understand what is ethics and what is natural sciences. my teacher only gave us paper to read and told us to read the book, but I still don't get it. can anyone explain with examples please.
Last reply by avrila, -
My ToK teacher happens to also teach the maths. Interesting combination seeing as how ToK supposedly has no right answer whereas there is only so much room for discussion in math (the noob type anyway). This kind of translates to our ToK lessons where I often feel that she takes whatever point someone tries to make and twists it into the "correct" answer. Fortunately there's a load of journals where no one can talk back The times when we do manage to initiate a randomish-sorta-on-the-topicish discussion feel like victories How's your experience with ToK (yes, I insist on the o being lowercase) teachers?
Last reply by avrila, -
- 8 replies
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A few hours ago I presented my ToK final presentation. Since I showed my teacher the outline, she said she feared it was way too descriptive so I decided to make it a debate between my whole IB group. Regardless of the result, and the way you control the group, is this a good idea for presenting in ToK or should you stick to the conventional powerpoint presentation? My knowledge issue was: What role do social class, gender and culture play in language?
Last reply by lisalisa313, -
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Hey everybody, I am doing my TOK essay which is when can we trust our senses to give us truth. If I think we can never fully trust our senses to give us truth, how can I define truth? Hope someone can help me. THX.
Last reply by lisalisa313, -
- 6 replies
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Hi everyone, Our ToK presentations are in February and March, and I’d like to somehow include the novel Perfume: The Story of a Murderer in mine, and I know some of you here have read it. (There’s a plot summary [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfume_(novel)#Plot_summary"]here[/url], but it really doesn’t do the novel justice.) I was thinking about discussing how we treat (or how we should treat) individuals that do not fit into our society, how we define good and evil (since most people would see the main character’s actions as wrong while he likely views them much more leniently), how it was possible for the main character to escape his punishment, the effect …
Last reply by Aether, -
- 5 replies
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Hey everybody i'm about to present my second TOK presentation, my first one was on language in rap music but i dint do well. My new topic is focusing on death and how it is looked at culturally,religiouslyand try and link it to other knowledge issues. However i have no idea hw to start or organise the ideas and i want to make it(death) into a focused knowledge issue All help and advice will be appreciated thank you in advance
Last reply by Mahuta ♥, -
- 4 replies
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I'm doing a presentation derived from the ToK question "When can we trust our senses to give us the truth?". My question for my presentation is then: When can our senses deceive us?. I have already taken the examples of optical illusions and mirage, but I would be thankful If you could give other examples which on the other senses and also if many senses could be deceived at the same time. I'm doing a power-point presentation so realistic and common examples would be appreciated. Thank you ~thevalley~
Last reply by desert03, -
- 27 replies
- 4.2k views
I dun know if im the only one who feels like this, me and some of my friends thinks TOK lessons as a war field. Everyone know what TOK is, teacher bring up a wierd topic and then the rest of the class comes up with their opinion. But since everyone have their own opinion, when they listen to other peoples they thinks its wrong and a war of talkning will start. I still remeber that time I had my practics of TOK presentation in front of my class. I had the topic: "Can porn be called art? Are porn art?" That time i had 3 pics with me. one from playboy, one from a random artist and a piece of art from some artist(dun remember the name) And this topic become a disc…
Last reply by KiwiFruit, -
- 0 replies
- 585 views
An essay answering one of the ten questions from the year 2007/2008 Hope it helps some of you guys a bit.
Last reply by tinkerbell18, -
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is this a good topic for my ToK presentation: Is Stem cell research and cloning ethical?
Last reply by roro, -
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[font="Comic Sans MS"][b]okay im doing my tok presentation on freedom and its limitations in america and in other countries as well but im having problems choosing an activity for the class that involves and demonstrates freedom and restrictions.[/b][/font] can anyone please help???
Last reply by roro, -
- 4 replies
- 5k views
This is what i have so far for the issue of arranged marriages but i need more for my presentation Knowledge Issues: • Should it be a choice? • Does it keep social class order? • Is it beneficial to society? • Does it cause oppression of women? • Does arranging a marriage benefit their life in the long run? • Is it better to sacrifice yourself to help benefit others? • Is it controversial to the USA only?
Last reply by roro, -
- 27 replies
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hi.. im doing title 9 for Nov 2008 and May 2009. imi quite unsure of how to format the essay and dunno what possible counter claims there are... thks alot for any kind of hlp... Title 9: “The knowledge that we value the most is the knowledge for which we can provide the strongest justifications.” To what extent would you agree with this claim?
Last reply by beachluvr123, -
- 5 replies
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My partner and I are doing a tok presentation on "to what extent do emotions affect the reliability of eyewitness testimonies" We are going to start out with a stranger running into the classroom to steal my friends laptop and then tell the audience that its part of the presentation. we then will ask them the height of the stranger and what the stranger wore. This will show how unreliable eyewitness testimonies are.we will continue with introduction to the issue. We give two theories on emotion and memory from the psychological point of view which contradicts each other. Were thinking that this is not really tok, and its more like psychology so anyone have any ideas how …
Last reply by ivy12003, -
Nov08 May09 Title 10
by Guest godlvian- 12 replies
- 2.9k views
Hey guys and girls..im having trouble developing an essay or points for that matter in this topic. 'There can be no knowledge without emotion...until we have felt the force of the knowledge its not ours'Discuss this vision of the relationship between knowledge and emotion all help would be greatly apreciated....tok noob here:(
Last reply by quixoticnarcotic, -
- 0 replies
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so for my group's presentation we had orginally had the topic [b]"what is the meaning of religion?"[/b] but everybody said it was to vague so we changed it. now its [b]Is religion necessary in defining our morals and values?[/b] we kind of need some feedback if its a good topic. also, what kind of research should we do? we are using history, ethics, and natural science as our 3 areas of knowledge. for history we are doing the start of religions that mostly began in the middle east and southern asia. ethics we are using a court case, and the moral codes of major religions and for natural science we are using the theory of evolution [counterexample] our p…
Last reply by bryana_nc, -
- 4 replies
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Heeeeeey everyone I think most people have problems with TOK and i'm no different haha. We get to do 3 presentations luckily because i totally messed up my first one! Apparently i was too 'superficial' and did not go into 'depth' with my topic. I totally don't understand why since i covered everything i was suppose to cover, but whateverrr, as long as my next two go well. It was about discrimination btw. I have no date set yet for my next presentation but i thought i'd start early this year. Anyways i really want to get a good grade now and for my next presentation i wanted to do something about war. For example: Can war be morally justified? or something in that …
Last reply by SharkSpider, -
- 1 reply
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The definition of a knowledge issue itself is still really gloomy for both essays and presentations for me. I can come up with propositions and answer the questions on essays pretty easily but i fall behind because i don't present any important "knowledge issues." Can anyone either define, explain or show me an example of a knowledge issue?
Last reply by Max, -
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Does anyone know of any successful or on going HESC transplant on humans? Anything will be greatly appreciated. Thanking you,
Last reply by veilo, -
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I was thinking of doing a presentation on perfection, can it ever be achieved and is what we consider perfect, really perfect? Need help on linking this to Tok areas and guidelines on how to construct a good presentation on this. Any help would be most appreciated!
Last reply by nasirjones, -
- 5 replies
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can someone just give me a rundown of strengths and weaknesses of language as a way of knowing? i guess what im most confused on is how is language a way of knowing? Im completely lost. can someone just give me a brief run-down and ill work my way from there? I understand that there are 4 Wok that may permeate an exploration and interpretation of the world. Language is one of them. So do i discuss how language explores and interprets the world; and the strengths and weaknesses of language? any help would be great, as of right now i have nothing.
Last reply by robertomx, -
- 2 replies
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The question is, "Does language play roles of equal importance in different areas of knowledge?" I think in terms of the more empirical areas like math and science language seems to be more certain and direct. With areas such as arts and history the language is a lot more evasive where it's almost as if the answer doesn't want to be given to you but rather found. Any ideas?
Last reply by stariixniite, -
- 13 replies
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I'm so frustrated. Me and my friend's ToK Presentation deadline has been set (middle of october) and we have been pondering, thinking, contemplate and debated over what title to talk about and as you can probably tell my this thread, we need help with coming up with something. Since we're two, our presentation has to be between 20-25 minutes and I know that the presentation can be about anything as long as it is related to tok but we would like to make it very related, i.e have a tok word in the title. We were thinking of doing something with history because it has a lot of examples to use but we're not sure. We rather not do something more abstract however. For instanc…
Last reply by meifang92, -
- 3 replies
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Thanks for your suggestions. I ended up talking about emotion as a way of knowing and supposing the role of belief in knowledge.
Last reply by MarianaHP, -
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I am thinking to take topic "body language" for TOK presentation. Can you give me some advice and tips how to do this topic? Please I need help now!
Last reply by Negin, -
- 1 reply
- 789 views
I'm doing the 'evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of reason as a way of knowing' prompt, and I'm having difficulty thinking of specific examples to illustrate the concepts of confirmation bias and intellectual inflexibility, particularly how they impair our reasoning in the natural and human sciences. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, AlphaMagnum
Last reply by moneyfaery, -
- 1 reply
- 856 views
My class has a discussion about "ways of knowing" coming up and were supposed to discuss which way we think is better, reason or perception.(we're just focusing on these two for now and will discuss emotion and language later) Which do you guys think is better, reason or perception, and why?
Last reply by SharkSpider, -
We are watching Irobot starring Will Smith in TOK. I think it is a really good movie to watch for TOK because it can apply to emotion and logic. Plus it has great entertainment value. Some people in my class disagree though. Are there any inventions today that are similar to the robot that can feel emotion, portrayed in the movie? The setting of the movie looks like something that we could have sometime in the future. Though probably not thirty years from now...
Last reply by SharkSpider, -
- 3 replies
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This topic arose during my ToK lesson today an let's say it lit up quite a fire. It left me intrigued concerning mainly the ethics behind this question. Immanuel Kant has written that lying is always wrong, even if a lie would bring out the best consequences. At first, I didn't agree, but then it occured to me that the second half of the sentence was pure speculation: you can not know the 'otherwise' effects. I can think of many examples where lying might be useful and where it is in our daily lives, such as Santa Claus, a doctor teeling a patient he has a chance to live when he has a very slim chance, placeboes, white lies... I'd like to hear some more opinions…
Last reply by bomb, -
- 3 replies
- 756 views
Does anyone have any good examples of paradigm shifts in the social sciences or arts? I definitely think in a too scientific way to find any good ones...
Last reply by Tilia, -
- 1 reply
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The full question is: To what extent may the subjective nature of perception be regarded as an advantage for artists, but an obstacle to be overcome for scientists? I was thinking of saying that artists have a more subjective art because art is the perspective of the artist. In science perception has to be more fixed. They must look to prove specific phenomena in specific terms. If it passes the test then it is more true and if it doesn't pass then it is disproven. Also in observing art, it is okay to intepret art differently from someone else and even differently from the actual artist. Science is taught more rigorously where our natural phenoma occurs though "x" p…
Last reply by Sandwich, -
- 0 replies
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Hii. I'm thinking of doing something on Safety vs. Freedom for my presentation. Does anyone know of current issues that deal with, well, the "Safety vs. Freedom" problem. Phone tapping seems a bit obvious. So, if you know of any current issues that were in the news, or anything. Please do tell me! Thank you! And do add your view on it if you want.. I'm interested.
Last reply by zYvy, -
- 0 replies
- 675 views
Hey guys! I had my TOK orals yesterday and everything went superb. The thing is that some minutes ago I realized, I forgot to hand in the "Presentation Planning Document". Now I'm in a total state of panic. Does this mean that I fail? I can't contact my teacher either cause we have the autumn breaks right now.
Last reply by humingyay, -
- 0 replies
- 744 views
hello all....anybody here writing their TOK essay on prescribed title 4? I think it would be good to work with each other during the brainstorming process or whatever, or even if there are any interesting pieces of literature that anyone knows of regarding truth vs. belief......much appreciated. 4. How can the different ways of knowing help us to distinguish between something that is true and something that is believed to be true?
Last reply by RosiePosieSays, -
- 1 reply
- 900 views
Do any of you guys know any websites or articles that contain any TOK elements?
Last reply by bomb, -
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I'm confused about the purpose of the presentation & what you are supposed to be doing with your topic. What are you trying to prove? Are you trying to prove something? What is the point of your presentation?
Last reply by humingyay, -
- 58 replies
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I go to a US school, and we have NO class period for this TOK thing so, i was wondering if people around the world have a class, or is it just stupid americans who do not realise that a class for a core subject would be really helpful?? :innocent:
Last reply by Leen, -
- 5 replies
- 1.9k views
Does any one else watch this movie in their TOK class? Its very interesting. According to the movie, everything that we know as our reality is only there because that is what we are able to perceive. Supposedly this perception is conditioned and affected by the way we have raised and everything that is in our environment. [b]BUT[/b], if it is something SOO unfamiliar to us and doesn't fit in with what we already know as reality then we can't perceive it at all. One of the examples they used was about the Native American in America. Not one of them were able to see the ships of Christopher Colombus coming in to their shores because it was something so foreign and str…
Last reply by Leen, -
- 3 replies
- 689 views
I wanted to ask people's opinions on what number of people they find works best for the final presentation. We had a practice presentation today in class, and we were 5 people. Our time limit was 1/2 an hour, which wasn't enough for anyone to properly elaborate. My teacher said that if we are 2 in the final presentation, we can only have 20 mins altogether. Is 2 or 3 people better for the presentation?
Last reply by Bee =3, -
- 6 replies
- 1.1k views
Just wondering guys..if anyone has started their essays yet, as the topics have been released recently. Thanks. I just dont know how to start it!
Last reply by zicrayfish, -
- 2 replies
- 934 views
My presentation's coming up in a few days and I'm simply blank after getting my Extended Essay done... My topic is about "Should science pursue artificial organs?" and I do beg for inputs about knowledge claims and how would one present this...
Last reply by moneyfaery, -
- 2 replies
- 885 views
Does anyone know where I can find videos of good TOK presentations? It would really help to see how people deal with problems of knowledge and how they manage to capture everyone's attention. Our class has a problem with engaging the class, we try to make it interesting but we can never think of ideas for how to incorporate movies/clips. Our TOK teacher always nags us about doing more to keep the class awake. Any suggestions?
Last reply by Vvi, -
- 2 replies
- 2.2k views
my ToK presentation is due in some time and i was wondering is this a good topic- relavence of imparting sex-education to children today...?
Last reply by Gwib, -
- 5 replies
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Hi guys..i am doing a TOK presentation on mathematics...i am really confused what to do....please suggest me something...please..this pressentation is due next week....HELP PLZ
Last reply by Bee =3, -
- 1 reply
- 2k views
the ethical issue i am discussing is on whether performance enhancing drugs should be legalized. my knowledge claims are that: a) performance enhancing drugs give an unfair advantage b) performance enhancing drugs are harmful to health my counter claims are that: a) genetic makeup gives some people an advantage by chance, and technology provides undetectable drugs and better training programmes to give an unfair advantage as well b) We should permit drugs that are safe, and continue to ban and monitor drugs that are unsafe. Provided that a drug is safe, it is unfair to the honest athletes that they have to miss out on an advantage that the cheaters enjoy how do i link …
Last reply by Bee =3, -
- 1 reply
- 778 views
Hi, i was wondering .. for tok, do you only need to write the essay and do the presentations? ta, B
Last reply by Bee =3, -
- 28 replies
- 3.1k views
Ok, The first day I had TOK, all of my classmates walked in, you know we had the personna that "we knew everything!" So we sit down and our teacher tell us to take out our homework. Our homework over the break was to bring a rock, any size-any kind, to class. Then my teachers passes out a philosophy book and delicately instructs to read the first chapter. As she slowly walks up to the front of the class to sit on her stool, we begin to read. As we read, our teacher is laughing internally as she sees our faces shrivel and turn red. The chapter is about knowledge. The book litarally says, "How do you know that a rock exists. How do we know that there isnt some mad sci…
Last reply by Solarstorm, -
- 4 replies
- 881 views
THis is kinda weird..but i was browsing this site for some TOK help and I came across a post by someone called "Tony duke" I'm not sure but I think it said administrator too..I thot that thread was very awesome... "Tony Duke" posted an approach to each and every topic...so I picked #3 and he also posted a link/pdf file, a chapter from a textbook which dealt with "Strengths and weaknesses of reasonm as a way of knowing". Its dat article that made me pick #3 in the first place. So if anyone come across that thread can you please post the link..?? THanks in advance!
Last reply by smugblack,
