You are on page 1of 12

IBDP

Theory of Knowledge : Class Sessions

Getting your heads around Knowledge


Chapter: The Nature of Knowledge

Lets get a working definition

Justified

Someone said so / I read it I worked it out I saw it / experienced it Its kind of intuitively obvious

Knowledge
True
Corresponds to something in reality Fits in with our current understanding Is useful or works in practice

Belief
Vague belief Well-supported belief Belief beyond reasonable doubt

Knowledge: Information or something larger?


Facts? Understanding of a concept? Use or apply the fact or concept? See the different parts and how they are related to each other? Evaluate the worth of two or more ideas / elements /things / events? Create something new?

Levels of knowledge

Levels of knowledge

Second hand knowledge or Knowledge by authority


If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.
Isaac Newton, 1642-1727

Information is acquired by being told, whereas knowledge can be acquired by thinking


Fritz Machlup (1902-1983)

If 50 million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing


- Anatole France (1844-1924)

What is the wisdom of the crowd?

Cultural Tradition
Which of the following is natural and which is only a matter of tradition / convention
7 day week 365 day year The value of pi Wearing clothes Unisex restrooms Leaving footwear outside a home Arriving at a meeting / class / event on time

The Internet
Can you recognize an urban legend? How can you evaluate information on the Internet? What goes viral? Is the Internet all about information? Is there knowledge or wisdom in it?

Expert Opinion
Experts CAN get it wrong Experts have a limited range of competence I believe that a scientist looking at non-scientific problems, is just as dumb as the next guy
Richard Feynman

Appeal to expert opinion examples from Ads? Can all areas of knowledge have experts? Why?

The News Media


What is usually included as news? Does the news become different when a channel is a 24 hour news channel? Could there be such a thing as manufactured news?

School / College (Education or indoctrination?)


Which is more important: What is taught in school, or how it is taught? If you had to design a curriculum for 14-18 year olds what would you include in it? What if the curriculum was for someone in a small town in the Andaman Islands?

Journal for the week: Do you think teachers can or should teach things they believe are right? Or should they stick to the curriculum? Explain why with examples.

The limitations of second-hand knowledge


If you did an experiment and got results different from the text book what would you do? When would you absolutely choose second hand knowledge over your own sense perceptions? When would you not?

You might also like