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What have you heard about ToK ?

What have you heard about ToK ?. TaK - What is Theory of Knowledge and why is it important?. What is Theory of Knowledge and why is it important?. TaK - What is Theory of Knowledge and why is it important?. 1960’s. TaK - What is Theory of Knowledge and why is it important?.

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What have you heard about ToK ?

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  1. What have you heard about ToK?

  2. TaK - What is Theory of Knowledge and why is it important? What is Theory of Knowledge and why is it important?

  3. TaK - What is Theory of Knowledge and why is it important? 1960’s

  4. TaK - What is Theory of Knowledge and why is it important? • ToK: A keystone academic course unifying the IB diploma, providing a foundation for all diploma subjects • And how does it do this? • The power of questions. • All knowledge begins • with a question …

  5. TaK - What is Theory of Knowledge and why is it important? • What does it mean to know something in math, science and the arts? • Where does this knowledge come from? • Are these the same kinds of knowledge? Why or why not? • Do Science and Religion contradict each other? • When do my feelings count as knowledge? • How does language help or hinder the pursuit of knowledge? • Where does belief end and knowledge begin? Definition Knowledge: the body of truths or facts accumulated in the course of time

  6. TaK - What is Theory of Knowledge and why is it important? • Critical Thinking • One objective of ToK is to help students • “make sense of what they encounter”, • by learning to critically examine the reliability of sources of knowledge, to distinguish between good and poor reasoning, to spot intentional or accidental bias, and to identify inconsistencies

  7. TaK - What is Theory of Knowledge and why is it important? • Why is it important? • “There is no likelihood that humans will ever tap the power of the atom” Robert Millikan, Nobel Prize Winner in Physics (1923) • “The atom bomb will never go off and I speak as an expert” Admiral W. Leahy, Advisor to the US President (1945) • “I think there will be a world market for five computers” Thomas Watson, Founder of IBM (1958) • “The Internet will never take off” Bill Gates, Founder of Microsoft (1988) • Knowledge is not static – • it has a history and changes over time. • What guarantee is there that our current understanding is correct?

  8. TaK - What is Theory of Knowledge and why is it important? • A definition … • Theory: “a body of principles” • from Greek ‘theoria’ – (same root as ‘theatre’) • “considering, contemplating, looking at” • Theory of Knowledge – • Looking at Knowledge; • Thinking about Knowledge

  9. TaK - What is Theory of Knowledge and why is it important? • In the world beyond the classroom, knowledge-seeking never stops: • governments appoint commissions • armies rely on intelligence • scientists conduct research • doctors constantly retrain • teachers undergo professional development • philosophers clarify concepts • sportsmen study their opponents • journalists check their sources • artists develop their techniques • gamblers study the odds • ...and so on

  10. TaK - What is Theory of Knowledge and why is it important? • The challenge for the ToK student is to develop the skills of discernment and discrimination: • “How can I tell the difference between the true and the false? Between the fair and the biased? Between what is reliable and what is unreliable?” • “What is the right question to ask?” • “Where do I go to find the answer?” • “What best supports an argument?” • “What will help to solve the problem?” discernment: the act or process of exhibiting keen insight and good judgment discrimination: the ability or power to see or make fine distinctions

  11. Why is it important? • “Information is acquired by being told, whereas knowledge can be acquired by thinking” Fritz Malchup • “The greatest obstacle to progress is not the absence of knowledge, but the illusion of knowledge” Daniel Boorstin • “By doubting we are led to enquire, and by enquiry we perceive the truth” Peter Abelard TaK - What is Theory of Knowledge and why is it important?

  12. TaK - What is Theory of Knowledge and why is it important? • The ideal knower: • “Do not believe anything simply because you have heard it; • Do not believe in traditions simply because they have been passed down over many generations; • Do not believe anything just because it is spoken and rumoured by many to be true; • Do not believe anything simply because it is found in your religious books; • Do not believe anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders; • But, after observation and analysis, when you find that something agrees with reason, and is conducive to the good … then accept it and live up to it.” • Shakyamuni Buddha 500BC

  13. TaK - What is Theory of Knowledge and why is it important? • What do you know? • How do you know it? • What is known? • What can be known? • How is knowledge ‘made’?

  14. TaK - What is Theory of Knowledge and why is it important? • What will we be doing? • ToK is participatory - it makes a very poor spectator sport - so we will be… • Talking, discussing, sharing, exploring • Asking questions

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