International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

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THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE
ESSAY
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Question 9: Discuss the roles of language and

reason in history
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School Name

TOK International

Candidate Name

Peremo Langlogic

Candidate Number

001234-001

Session

MAY 2011

Word Count

1, 272 words

PeremoLanglogic

Theory of Knowledge # 9:
Discuss the roles of language and reason in history

Historyandhistoriansaretwothingsthatcomplementeachotherfortheirownexistence.
Tobeexact,historyisanexponentofhistoriansinwhichonecannotsurvivewithoutthesignificant
other.Howdidthefactsemergeinthehistorybooks,encyclopediasofhistory,andbiographiesifit
isnotthehistoriansdoing?Itisthehistoriansjobtoincludeeventsineveryperiodofhistory,thus
thisdependsonthemtoclassifytheperiodsofhistoryinatimelinesuchasMedieval,Renaissance,
andReformationperiodorAmericanRevolution(17751783),FrenchRevolution(17891799),and
Napoleonic War (18001815). Before a historical event transpired, ways of knowing (language,
perception, reason, and emotion) are used by historians to examine evidences, interpret reliable
sources,justifytheoccurrence,anddeduceitscauses.
History is not a record of events, but the story in which historians decide to tell. The
subtletywithinhistorythatpeopleoftendisregardisthathistorianscarefullyselectwhicheventshas
takenplaceinthepast,sotodecidetheirprioritiesforthepresentandlatergenerationtoknow.To
whatextentcanthesestatementsbetrueandbelievableinhumanperception?Thisiswhenlogical
validityorrationaleisrequiredtoarticulate,justify,andassessknowledgeclaims.Everyknowledge
claims must have supportive evidence. In this case, historians refer to primary sources such as
eyewitness accounts, visual materials (sculptures and paintings), artifacts, and written or printed
documents(letters,treaties,manuscripts,journals,courtdecisions,andgovernmentlaws.)1
Inhistory,reasonisusedasaformofassuranceorclarificationtoinferencesgatheredfrom
primary sources. Coherence or consistency, as suppose, is a shared standard of evaluation when
restoringahistoricaleventparalleltotheevidences.Inahistoricaleventsuchasaseverepolitical
dispute,historiansmakeuseofreasoningtouncoverhiddenmotivesbehindthedeterminationofa
patriot,apoliticalruler,oranopposingcountry.However,whenitcomestothirdparties,anavid
readerofhistorywillusereasoningtoproceedwiththedeductions,compareopinions,andmayor
maynotaccepttheknowledgeclaimforitisratifiedorrejectedbyhisownbasisorground.People
lookforcoherenceoftheknowledgeclaimagainsttheactualproofbeforebelievingoracceptinga
particular notion. Therefore, the ability to reason an argument is important to assess a subject
critically,asinthiscontextishistory.
Although the most obvious and distinguishable use of language in history is seen by the
existenceofhistorybooks,almanacs,andencyclopaedias,itisrathersuperficialtosaythatlanguage
is only used in the presentation of historical events and information. Language may actually
stimulatethinkingprocessesandsubsequentlydrawsinotherwaysofknowing:reason,perception,
and emotion. Especially for readers and revisionists of history, they need the information to be
derivedfromlanguagewhichresultsinsubsequentthinkingprocesses.Nonetheless,languageisnot

http://www.library.ubc.ca/hss/primarysources.html

Comment [a1]: Removethesectionin

yellow.Otherwise,thesentencedoesnot
makesense

Comment [a2]: Thisparagraphisnot

focused.Perceptionandlogicis
mentioned,thenabandonedtodiscuss
evidence.Scraptheevidencepart.Focus
onperceptionandlogic

Comment [a3]: Thisparagraphisnot

successfulastheargumentisvague,noKI
isidentifiedandtherearenorelevant
examples
Comment [a4]: Goodargumenthere.
Giveanexample
Comment [a5]: Whoarethese
revisionists?

PeremoLanglogic

only a meretoolofcommunication inpublishinghistorical data, but is important touse alongside

otherwaysofknowinginordertoassessknowledgeclaimspriortoshapingaparticularconclusion.
Therearecasesinwhichperceptionsandemotionsplayalargeroleforinterpretationofa
historical event such as a ruler gives harsh treatments to his citizens is seen as a tyrant or
menacingautocratbutlabelledasapatriotbyanoutsiderforbringingmajoradvancementsinto
thecountrydespiteimposinghighdisciplinaryactions.Thecitizensemotionsineffectoftherulers
harshtreatmentsmarkedagroundreasontoperceiveanythingrelatedtotherulernegatively,while
the outsiders reacted positively. The variation in the human perceptions that occurs as a natural
phenomenoniscalledparadigm,inwhichitwilleventuallyshiftafteraperiodoftime.Thismeans
that the rationale concepts of the individuals which are preconceived or readily accepted to be
right or wrong, good or bad will be passed down to the next generation and will
subsequentlybecomeacommonacceptanceorreason.
As evidences cause historians to induce a particular judgement, the claim supported by
reason can be transferred between mankind. A historical fact is eventually established, published
and presented through language. However, there are some biases in these ways of knowing.
Information translated from one language to another may bring slight defect or deformity to the
actual meaning. This is due to the difference in precision of words as some information stated
conciselyinEnglishmaybewrittenandexplainedinalengthywayinanotherlanguage.Averymuch
commonoccurrenceeveninthepresentdayincludesthissimpleexample,theSpanishexpressionto
showsurpriseorastonishmentisQueFuerte!whichalmostbringthemeaningofOhmyGod!in
Englishbutiftranslatedliterally,itmeansthatstrong!.Anotherpossibilitywouldbethefactthat
presentdayhumanbeingsarelackinginunderstandingofthepasteras,hencethewordstodescribe
the actual message are absent. Language interpreters and translators play vital roles in passing
messagessotohavesimilarunderstandingandavoidmisinterpretationsbybothparties.Therefore,
different meaning of words translated from one language to the other can cause differences on
interpretation,justliketheolderandlatestversionofthebiblewhereJonah1:17says,"...Jonahwas
inthebellyofthefishthreedaysandthreenights"andthemodernversionstatesthat,Matt12:40
says "...Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly...", whales and fish are not
related.2
Apart from these, historical facts that are known to normal citizens may be tampered by
powerfulrulerslikethegovernment.Theversionofhistorytaughtwithinaschoolsystemisalwaysa
choice decided by the political authority to be considered as the most important or substantial
knowledgeforthenewgeneration.Indirectly,thegovernmentiskeepingitscitizensignorantasits
ulteriormotives.Forexample,historytextbookscommonlypresentfreedomfightersasinsurgents
or terrorists when they fought colonial powers in their colonised countries. Paul Revere is
celebrated as a hero known as the midnight rider in USA but as a rebel in UK.3 This shows an
exampleofafallacyoflogicwherethegovernmentisinfavourofaparticularsubjectoveranother
inareasonedpoliticalargument.

http://www.freethoughtdebater.com/tenbiblecontradictions.htm

http://www.uktoday.net/mtcolumns/newscommentaries/36630historybooksbiasedsaywriters

Comment [a6]: Repeatedargument,

fromearlierintheparagraph

Comment [a7]: Whilsttheargumentis

goodandlinksseveralWOKs,theexample
istoogeneralandunrealistic.Getaspecific
example

Comment [a8]: ImafraidIdonotsee

wherethisargumentisheadedto

Comment [a9]: Thisappearsmuddled.

Getridofevidence,claim,reasonandbias.
Focusonlanguageandproblemsin
translation.Later,linktobiasi.e.whenitis
mistranslatedonpurpose
Comment [a10]: Thisexampleisnot
relevant.Findanexamplefromhistorythat
involvesmistakesintranslation

Comment [a11]: Notthebestof

examples,butitwilldo

Comment [a12]: Goodargument.Link

ittologicandlanguage,thentoperception
i.e.toaffectpublicsperception

Comment [a13]: Good,relevant

example

PeremoLanglogic

Finally, how do we verify the validity of a given assertion? Prior to record selection,
historians use reason and language to shape interpretations after examination of historical
evidences,puttingintoaccounttheemphasisoftheircausesandeffects.Alongtheway,historians
may cross path with issues of reliability of sources, issues of identifying cause, persuasion and
propaganda.Asaknowerinstead,wehavetobroadenourperspectivesbyexercisingallofourways
ofknowingtoeliminatepossiblebiases.

Bibliography
1.

Press,IBID,andMichaelWoolman.Waysofknowing:anintroductiontotheory
ofknowledge.2nded.1.Victoria:IBIDPress,2006.113.Print.

2.

"Reason."MoreWords.com.,19Feb2011.Web.20Feb2011.
<http://www.morewords.com/word/reason/>.

3.

"primarysources."UBCLibrary.TheUniversityofBritishColumbiaLibrary,19
Nov2008.Web.21Feb2011.
<http://www.library.ubc.ca/hss/primarysources.html>.

4.

"TOKwaysofknowing."Staianoland.N.p.,n.d.Web.20Feb2011.
<http://www.staianoland.com/pdf_files/tok/wok.pdf>.

5.

Blair.William."Historybooksbiased,saywriters."Mirror13Dec2010:n.pag.
Web.20Feb2011.<http://www.uk
today.net/mtcolumns/newscommentaries/36630historytextbooksbiasedsay
writers>.

6.

Edwards,P.Wesley."BibleErrorsandContradictions."FreethoughtDebater.
FreethoughtDebater,01sep2004.Web.21Feb2011.
<http://www.freethoughtdebater.com/tenbiblecontradictions.htm>.

__________________________________________________________________________________
THIS SECTION ONWARDS IS THE RESPONSE FROM tokessaycomments.com.

Overall comments
This section shows the overall comments provided by the staff that marked your essay.

The first thing that caught my eye was the length of your essay. Its just over two pages in
length. Given rather standard font size, most essays would be three to five pages in length,
depending on line spacing. I checked your word count 1272 corresponds to the entire text
cover page, your essay, footnotes and bibliography. Was this an oversight on your part?
4

PeremoLanglogic

You should only count the essay itself in this case, 1116 words. Since you have not fulfilled
the requirements for the word count (minimum of 1200 words), you will not earn more than 4
marks for Criteria D.
On the whole, you essay did not effectively address the question. This is largely due to
vague and general arguments. Where a clear argument is presented, it is usually not
developed well enough, and not backed up with relevant examples. KIs are not evident in
your essay. There were some bright moments, but these were not sustained throughout the
essay. Counterclaims were ignored in most cases. Personal examples were not given. Your
voice as a knower was not evident.

Balance of AOK and WOK

This section looks at the balance that you have achieved in your essay with regards to WOKs
and AOKs. There is no standard formula as the requirements vary based on the question
chosen.

The question was very clear in that it asked for one AOK (History) and two WOKs (language
and reason). You did admirably by not only discussing the required AOK and WOKs, but
went beyond and made linkages to perception and emotion. The arguments need to be
strengthened though.

Assessment criteria
This section estimates the marks that you are likely to obtain for each criterion. The marks are
based on how well you have met each criterion.
Criteria A Your marks: 5 out of 10

You did not identify KIs in a clear manner. Implicitly, KIs are present so this qualifies as
some treatment of KIs. Some understanding is demonstrated. As pointed out in my
comments, some effective links are drawn. You need to identify your KIs clearly. Follow my
advice on the linkages between AOKs and WOKs (see my comments).

PeremoLanglogic

Criteria B Your marks: 4 out of 10

You have not scored well for this criterion due to a lack of personal involvement. Your voice
as a knower is not evident. You need to bring in your own examples and views.
Criteria C Your marks: 4 out of 10

Your performance for this criterion needs to be improved. This can be done by justifying your
arguments i.e. develop the arguments. You missed this in several paragraphs. You need to
include more counterclaims and some implications.
Criteria D Your marks: 4 out of 10
You qualify for 5 or 6 marks here, but unfortunately you would only earn the capped limit of 4 marks
due to not meeting the word limit. Of course, this can be easily overcome by ensuring that write at
least 1200 words. If you improve your work in the first three criterion, your performance for Criterion D
will almost automatically increase.
Total: 17 out of 40 (estimated)

Action Plan
This section provides suggestion on what needs to be done to improve your essay.

1. Read and digest my comments in the essay itself. Do as suggested e.g. remove
sections/add sections/add examples/change examples etc.
2. Be more focused. For each paragraph, identify one claim e.g. language can tell us
about history. Develop the arguments and give an example. Then think of a
counterclaim and develop that argument. You might add a counterclaim against the
counterclaim.
3. Add personal examples, but dont overdo it. Simple ways are to give personal
examples when you studied History, or maybe something you watched on History
Channel. Use phrases like in my opinion or I think when stating your personal
views.
4.

Keep this outline introduction, 3 arguments for language (claim and counterclaim),
3 for reason (claim and counterclaim)and conclusion.

5. Make sure you meet the word limit.

6

PeremoLanglogic

Good luck!