TOK G11

ESSAY TOPICS: GRADE 11 TOK SEM 2

Choose ONE of the topics below and write an essay of 1000-1500 words. For all essays, you
should use examples incorporating Ways of Knowing and TWO Areas of Knowledge. You may
use ONE Area of Knowledge in your discussion which we have not yet discussed in TOK
(Mathematics or Art), but it must be an area which you study as an IBDP subject.

Please refer to the TOK Essay Rubric as you construct your drafts. An awareness of differing
perspectives and the implications of your argument are essential elements of a TOK essay.

1. Evaluate the role of language in two areas of knowledge. Does it play an equally important
role in both?

2. "Without the group to verify it, accurate knowledge is not possible." Evaluate this claim with
respect to two areas of knowledge.

3. “Knowledge in a given field or discipline develops very much like human reproduction.”
Evaluate this statement with relation to two areas of knowledge.

4. “The more we learn, the less we know.” To what extent do you agree with this claim,
examining at least two different areas of knowledge?

5. “To claim knowledge we must be able to measure.” To what extent do you agree with this
claim, examining at least two different areas of knowledge?

6. To what extent is the concept of “truth” the same in different areas of knowledge?
 Essay Outline

To what extent is the concept of “truth” the same in different areas of knowledge?

Introduction:

P1:
- Define relative and absolute truth
- Relative truth is based on emotion, faith, sense perception and imagination while absolute
truth relies more on reason
-

P2:
- Area of Knowledge: Mathematics
- This relies on absolute truth
- The principles of mathematics are universally constant; are applied the same all over the
world
- Similar to the scientific method, mathematical concepts may be tested
- Example: To find the sum of an arithmetic sequence, one should always use the given
formula; there may be multiple solutions or methods of progression / solving – however,
the validity of one does not interfere with the validity of others.
- Mathematics is fuelled by reason because it results from an experiment that may also
verified – testable hypothesis
- A statement in mathematics is false until proven true, therefore the truth is absolute – ai
spus de multe ori absolute; trebuie sa explici ca absolute truth tinde spre perfect, dar nu
poate fi niciodata proven ca e 100% perfect / absolute
- Truth in mathematics is regarded as “the best version currently in existence (aka awaiting
further testing)
- Mathematical principles may be tested „in a social void” (independent of social context)
and remain valid throughout history. When proven false, there is a clear (logical) reason
as to why it was previously wrong.

P3:
- Area of Knowledge: Human Sciences
- This relies on relative truth
- The observation of human activity itself, even if done by specialists, is mainly based on
sense perception – sense perception is highly prone to bias and deviation, hence it cannot
be an absolute truth – citeste si fa referinta la John Locke (brief); poti folosi si Daniel
Kahneman (Thinking, Fast and Slow)
- The definition of human sciences states that it is an investigation that considers objective
data, such as sensory experience and “…data derived by means of impartial observation
of psychological experience (subjective phenomena).” – subjective is not absolute
 - Looking at psychiatry: there are discrepancies in the symptoms of specific diagnostics; a
schizophrenic may also smell certain things besides hearing voice or hallucinating.
Moreover, referring to schizophrenia again, it is important to realize how the perspective
on the disease has changed over the years: in Charlotte Bronte’s “Jane Eyre”, a novel
written in 1846, a character suffering from schizophrenia was seen as the demon’s spawn.
This relates to faith, more exactly faith in religion, seeing as people were very religious
back then and knowledge in psychiatry was limited, so a person with such bizarre
behavior would be considered demonic.
- Language is another factor that shows the change in perspective (and therefore the
change of truth). While back then a schizophrenic was considered evil and inhuman,
today it is an individual with “a serious mental illness characterized by incoherent or
illogical thoughts, bizarre behavior and speech, and delusions or hallucinations, such as
hearing voices.”
- Human sciences are overly representative of the average, and fail to accurately adjust for
exceptions – perhaps as a result of limited sample size, the difficulty of repeated /
unprohibited testing, and a larger propensity to bias via social context of the time.

Conclusion:

- absolute knowledge is like perfection; a worthy goal yet utterly unattainable

The concept of truth is prone to almost whimsical deviation as a limitation of its purpose – the
aspirational fields of science and mathematics cling to the unattainable perfection of „laws”, and
are subject to such rigurous faultfinding that any primitive flaws are rapidly discarded. Truth, in
such fields, attempts to define itself as „the most truthful truth currently available”, and it
welcomes speculation, critique and the destructive power of testing. Revin – adauga tu de aici.