IB TOK Essay on prescribed title # 4

Title #4: Do you agree that it is “astonishing that so little

knowledge can give us so much power” (Bertrand Russell)?
Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other
area of knowledge.

Session: May 2023

Candidate Code: jhc203

Wordcount: 1524
Prescribed title #4: Do you agree that it is “astonishing that so little knowledge can give us so much

power” (Bertrand Russell)? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of

knowledge.

According to Peter F. Drucker, “Knowledge has power, it controls access to opportunity and

advancement.” This sentiment has been echoed by many philosophers, who have explored the relationship

between power and knowledge, and the direction in which they are correlated. The power of knowledge

refers to an understanding of facts, information, and skills; and the influence of this power on the acquisition

of knowledge that is emphasized in a rapidly growing and globalized world, where humans have more

access to knowledge than ever. However, the misinterpretation of knowledge can lay a foundation that can

be defined in various ways, but some of the definitions I will be concerned with in this paper are imagined

knowledge, where individuals perceive an exaggerated ability on their part to induce change in their

environment or carry out their goals; power as competence, where individuals perceive themselves as more

powerful due to their expertise in a particular field, and their political power, in which individuals are able

to produce changes in policies and the lives of those affected by them. If one can change a particular

narrative and control the influx of knowledge, power dynamics can dramatically shift, creating a new

paradigm controlled by distributors of knowledge. This creates questions around the connotations and

consequences of a lack of substantial knowledge, and how that can shape our perceptions of the world.

Through an exploration of experiments conducted in the Human Sciences, specifically Psychology, as well

as Chemistry in the Natural Sciences, I will examine how little knowledge can create real or imagined

power.

Psychologists attempt to provide different explanations of human behavior that have implications of

possessing knowledge that would influence their conclusions. Hence they have long been interested in

subjective perceptions of power and competence and have explored their relationship to other factors in our

environment. One study that significantly changed our understanding of the relationship of knowledge to

power was conducted by Psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger, titled “Unskilled and Unaware

of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One’s Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments”

published in 1999. In the study, researchers administered grammar, humor, and logic tests to 4 groups, and

asked them to rate their perceived skill in each. A noteworthy negative correlation between competence

and self-perception was indicated, where the higher individuals actually scored, the lower they tended to
rate themselves. This led to the understanding of a bias termed the Dunning-Kruger effect, suggesting that

our lack of understanding of the depth and complexity of a given subject leads us to overestimate our

abilities within it. A follow up study conducted to justify the Dunning Kruger effect in 2018 also discovered

that Americans with less knowledge of politics tend to overestimate their understanding significantly more

than Americans with more advanced awareness, and this effect was found to be more pronounced in

individuals who identify with a specific political party (Duignan). These findings speak to our subjective

sense of power and authority, and how little knowledge we require to perceive ourselves as experts in a

particular field, or at the very least, above average. Thus, this cognitive bias suggests that Bertrand Russell

was accurate in his claim about how little knowledge can astonishingly influence power.

Contrasting the previous claim, human scientists have values that determine the assumptions which

underlie methods used in their experiments. Whereby, the previous disproved assumptions made by human

scientists formulate the basis of modern understandings and have power over both what was and what is

thought to be true. This is clearly exemplified in the Gall Spurzheim effect, which was composed in the late

18th century, where the development of phrenology stipulated the effect of organ and body structure on

humans’ moral and intellectual network, indicated in the assessments of the physical structure and size of

the skull to determine individual personality (Simpson). Due to little understanding of neurobehavior in the

18th and 19th centuries, the promise of providing clear and definite answers regarding the mental ability of

humans lead to a spike in popularity in Great Britain as it clearly explained the socioeconomic stratification

and class system, and assisted the upper class in reinforcing the division by keeping lower classes

subservient. However due to the nature of power pertaining to little knowledge, as attributable to its

compelling ability to lead to an increase in new knowledge that informs people and gives power, it laid

foundations for the modern understanding of the theory of brain localization, fundamental for modern-day

neuroscience and psychology (Schlag). Thus, in contrast to the quote at hand, it seems that we may have a

tendency to overestimate our true understanding of certain fields that can take over aspects of society and

requires further knowledge to truly inform the power and competence of a specific field.

On the other hand, in the natural sciences, ethical constraints play a big role in pursuing scientific

knowledge intrinsically. When scientists are biased with unfounded worldviews, they can assume positions

of power over others and subject them to suffering that they justify within their limited knowledge. A stark

example of this is the Contraceptive Trials in Puerto Rico, that began in 1956, and have their history rooted
in Eugenics. The foundations of the trial were laid by American activist Margaret Sanger, who convinced

biologist Gregory Pincus of the importance of developing an affordable contraceptive pill to give white

American women autonomy over their bodies, and to control “undesirable” populations in the country.

During the course of the trial, there was still widespread ignorance about the female reproductive system

and strict regulations on birth control development which compelled Pincus to carry out the clinical trial on

uneducated women in Puerto Rico. However, a lack of proper ethical and methodical approaches, including

full disclosure, informed decisions, or empirical research led to unethical execution of the drug trials, where

uneducated, impoverished Puerto Rican women were left with significant side-effects due to the excessive

and random doses of the pills assigned, including the sterilization of approximately one-third of the

participants, and the death of three (Blakemore). In this case, lack of knowledge allowed the researchers to

believe this study is both ethical and justified, get it approved, and exploit Puerto Rican women in the

process. When individuals overestimate their knowledge, or hold prejudiced and uninformed views of the

world, they create a space for themselves to justify whatever actions they deem necessary, correct, or

important, and that in itself is one definition of power. This can be argued as a form of imagined power, in

which individuals believe they are authorized to carry out particular actions due to a lack of knowledge,

either through bias or inadequate education.

Contrastingly, the social context of scientific work affects methods and findings in the field that

gives more power. Due to the promotion of scientific methods and findings within the natural sciences, it

constitutes a correlation of power with an abundance of knowledge rather than a lack of it. As indicated

within the case of the development and release of the Thalidomide drug. Whereby, an aggregate of

knowledge and research due to the initial catastrophe caused by limited knowledge enabled the

development of modern rules and procedures regarding drug testing, to avoid repeating the same mistake

and become more ethically prospective. Beginning in the 1950s where it was initially developed as a

sedative and subsequently utilized to treat other ailments ranging from the flu to morning sickness during

pregnancy. A lack of research and thorough understanding of the effects of drugs and their transmission

across the placental barrier meant that doses of thalidomide were not monitored strictly, leading to

teratogenesis of the fetus, which was compounded by the blind-trust in unwitting medical professionals

providing them unjust power. (“Thalidomide | Science Museum”) Accordingly, this accumulation of

knowledge and data enabled governments worldwide to reevaluate their pharmaceutical approval
methodologies, including the drug marketing, testing and production processes. By leading to an

aggregation of information through the Yellow Card Scheme 1, power was reevaluated and more centralized

in structure to avoid a similar crisis. (Kim and Scialli) Thus, increased knowledge tends to allow for more

positive and beneficial exertions of power.

In conclusion, although it would be comforting to believe that only those who are unaware are

oblivious to their own deficiencies, there is evidence to suggest that we are all, in varying degrees, biased

towards our own skills and abilities. This better-than-average bias can function in both our perceived power

and our real power that we exert over others and our environment, but it may have nothing to do with how

much we actually know, and much to do with our subconscious need for a positive self-image. Given the

gradual falsification of the Gall Spurzheim effect, I would disagree with the claim that “so little knowledge

can give us so much power.” Furthermore, based on the examples in the Natural Sciences, I would argue

that a lack of knowledge tends to create imagined power, which typically results in harmful and unethical

application of it, while increased knowledge tends to manifest itself in more beneficial and productive

exertion of power and real-life outcomes.

1
to share unknown side effects of medications prescribed
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