rrswong Posted March 7, 2010 Report Share Posted March 7, 2010 Hi everyone!We haven't actually started really looking at the TOK essay titles in detail or anything yet, but I was looking at this one and I'm thinking that I'd really like to do my TOK essay on this title, and with regards to literature, possibly.If anyone has any suggestions on how to approach it, or just general things to watch out for, they would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! 2 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charizard Posted March 7, 2010 Report Share Posted March 7, 2010 Well here's the general direction I would take with this topic: you could talk about the ability of art to invoke thought and make us see things in different lights and open up possibilities etc, which makes us consider and reconsider the things that we believe/know and thus refine our knowledge. It's especially good that you picked literature, because 'language' is one of the Ways of Knowing and you could check out the textbook chapter on it to find some stuff to talk about in detail - there's the huge language-thought connection and the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis about how language can influence thought and vice versa. 2 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplisticwonders Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 My TOK teacher gives the most vague answers.I've asked him and I get "look for books on art and truth".I need 4 sources by Monday.and I have no idea how to pursue them.any help at all please?thanks. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetnsimple786 Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 You're required to have a certain amount of sources?...I guess I'd start by looking into the author of the quotation. Look to see if there's some context to the quotation and look for more of his thoughts related to this. After learning that Picasso said this, I wanted to look at his paintings in a new light. What was he trying to tell his audience? Did he have a message for me, someone who lives half a world away in a different time? You're certainly not limited to visual art. I find it easiest for me to look at literature and music. Anyways, for sources, I'd look into Picasso, and once I picked a form of art, I'd hone in research on that. For literature, I'd look into motivations behind dystopian lit writers. Orwell had a lot to say about English and grammar, and lo and behold! his 1984 reflected his understanding and ability to create a lie that perhaps brought us closer to the truth. Where do you want your essay to go? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplisticwonders Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 I have no idea where I want this to go yet.I'm probably going to go with literature as my art form though.He's telling us we're required to have 6-8 sources.This may be what he wants. I'll ask. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
koo Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 I was considering doing this topic...I talked to my TOK teacher today, and he said the bibliography can just be one or two sources.About visual art...You could look at the lie of art, and how the picture can be a literal lie but possibly a symbolic truth?You could look into sites/books about cubism (because that was the time of Picasso) and how they would paint different parts of a head and mash it all up. You could also look at philosophy texts on truth and how truth is defined very ambiguously and the arguments about truth and then in cooperate that with art. 2 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cansumm Posted April 22, 2010 Report Share Posted April 22, 2010 hello could you find anything about this topic can't you share with me? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetnsimple786 Posted April 23, 2010 Report Share Posted April 23, 2010 Cansumm, what do you think about the topic? Where are you stuck? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Zach- Posted May 1, 2010 Report Share Posted May 1, 2010 same topic as me! how have you gone about discussing the "lie" part of the prompt? also, im focussing on literature. what would be the prime examples to use? i'm thinking some of the dystopian novels. they discuss a hypothetical society that is entirely fictional, but it shows the reader some truth about the world we live in. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elli1 Posted May 2, 2010 Report Share Posted May 2, 2010 Hey, I hope someone can help me with this:I thought about what "lie" acutally meant, the purpose of a lie is to cover up and hide the truth, how then can it bring us nearer to the truth? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetnsimple786 Posted May 2, 2010 Report Share Posted May 2, 2010 Well isn't fiction pretty much a lie? Writers often ensnare you into their world, and sometimes you start to believe you're there with the characters, but then you take a step back realize it's all a figment of the author's imagination. Does that mean you can't learn anything from it? About human nature? About culture and foreign traditions? I think part of answering this title is figuring to what extent art is a lie. Are you going to take the quotation literally? You don't have to. That's where you get the wiggle room to make your argument. =) 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreaellamaria Posted May 6, 2010 Report Share Posted May 6, 2010 I know this isn't directly relating to the question about this topic, but does anyone have any ideas about doing this essay with regards to Theatre - mainly musical theatre? Do you think it would work out? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAG Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 if you are doing this topic, the book, the things they carried, is perfect! 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lishnaa Posted May 16, 2010 Report Share Posted May 16, 2010 I'm doing this topic with the main theme of photography in relation to photoshop and editing.There are a lot of people in my cohort who are picking this one.One of my friends is doing it in Film... it should be very interesting! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
katty Posted May 24, 2010 Report Share Posted May 24, 2010 I know this isn't directly relating to the question about this topic, but does anyone have any ideas about doing this essay with regards to Theatre - mainly musical theatre? Do you think it would work out?yea i'm doing my tok essay at the moment and i'm doing theatre for this question. i think it definately works...its easier for me because i actually do theatre as a subject. but pretty much what i've done is addressed, what is a lie, what is the truth, and therefore can theatre be classified as a lie and can it bring it closer to the truth, in steps.hope that helps : ) 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrah Posted May 27, 2010 Report Share Posted May 27, 2010 Hello, I'm doing this topic in relation to Visual Arts. I was wondering if anyone knows of a good counterclaim that I can use? Thank you. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetnsimple786 Posted May 27, 2010 Report Share Posted May 27, 2010 Can you give more details? A counterclaim to what, exactly? Usually my counterclaims come from the nature of my actual claims. That is, the argument that I'm making might have some holes or exceptions, from which the counterclaim arises. So if you have your claims, try to look for that. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreaellamaria Posted June 1, 2010 Report Share Posted June 1, 2010 yea i'm doing my tok essay at the moment and i'm doing theatre for this question. i think it definately works...its easier for me because i actually do theatre as a subject. but pretty much what i've done is addressed, what is a lie, what is the truth, and therefore can theatre be classified as a lie and can it bring it closer to the truth, in steps.hope that helps : ) cool, yes I'm also writing mine at the moment, and it seems to be working ok - similar to yours I suppose It also helps to be interested in the topic makes it so much easier to focus :P Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adan Meza Posted June 11, 2010 Report Share Posted June 11, 2010 (edited) I'm doing mine on Literature since I plan to use fiction works and poetry for the most part. Any tips in general on writing a TOK paper on the subject of literature?Well, I know this may have been answered in earlier posts, but I am just asking for any more advice. Edited June 11, 2010 by Adan Meza Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetnsimple786 Posted June 11, 2010 Report Share Posted June 11, 2010 I'd be cautious not to limit it, in general. There is structure and logic in literature. Yes, it's a subjective area of knowledge, but there's a rhythm to it. There are context clues, there are rules that the writers first learn and then sometimes choose to break. Specifically for this question, make sure you look at the claim from different perspectives and try to argue different answers. And look different purposes of writers. You could go into satire and allegory. Animal Farm and The Crucible are two works that have blatant messages, but they're hidden under veils. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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