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13 views

Bomb

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krvkrish9
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© © All Rights Reserved
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TOK

Knowledge & the Knower

Name: Form: 11

Perspectives
People hold different beliefs about many things. Sometimes, this just amounts to disagreement about
individual and specific claims, and often this kind of dispute can be resolved by reference to other
facts or experiences about which there is agreement. There are times when we are just wrong, can be
corrected, and are willing to accept the correction.
For example: 'Barack Obama was the 45th president of the United States.'
'No, he wasn't—here is the complete list; count them.'
But not every belief can be so easily verified or abandoned. For example, you will have an opinion
about the success of your school as a place for learning. We can call this opinion your personal point
of view. This view will have been formed through your experiences at school and also shaped by a
number of factors external to the school itself, yet important to your own identity. Before proceeding,
consider what some of these factors might be.

Passage A
Education can benefit from the application of concepts and methods from the business world.
Students can be viewed as consumers of education, and their performance measured, quantitatively
as far as possible, in terms of 'value added'. Teachers and schools can be made accountable in terms
of their success in administering this extra value to students, leading to an effective results-driven and
competitive market in educational opportunity.
Computers and related technologies have advanced to the point where they are more effective than
humans in delivering curriculum content and adjusting learning experiences according to the needs
of individual students. The role of the teacher needs to be downgraded to managing the environment
in which technology takes centre stage, or perhaps removed altogether along with schools themselves
as institutions for learning.

Passage B
Education and business are fields with distinct differences. Students need to be treated as whole
persons with individual goals and interests that inform their intellectual development. Students can
learn to take full account of these attributes and become self-directed and balanced citizens only with
guidance from experienced adults. 'Well-being' should be understood as extending far beyond
material concerns.
Objective measurement of students' performance relative to each other is difficult and is often best
measured qualitatively. Not only is the teacher key to effective learning, but schools as long-
established institutions provide the nucleus of learning communities and safe spaces in which
socialisation can take place, with teachers in loco parentis. Accordingly, teachers and schools
continue to function as effective institutions for learning.
Activity 1
What is your opinion on Passages A and B? Does one passage seem more convincing than the other
to you? Or are you in the middle somewhere, or possibly somewhere else entirely?
You might be hesitant or deeply convinced by your view, but this doubt or conviction will come from
a combination of the influences of factors such as your direct experiences, interests, and
components of your social background, including culture, gender, age, or religious and political
preferences. Identify how aspects of your own life and background in these categories might have had
an impact on your point of view on this topic.

Perspective and Influence


These factors work together to identify the 'location' from which you witness the world as a whole.
We will refer to this matrix of circumstances as your perspective, and it shapes and explains the
views that you hold.

Activity 2
Can we describe the perspectives that are likely to give rise to the positions above on the topic of the
relationship between education and business? Think about the concepts, practices, and values that
are implicit, and about what experiences, interests, and social backgrounds might lead to them.
He would think/say that because he...
In attempting to identify these perspectives, to what extent is there a danger of stereotyping? How
serious are the dangers of reaching conclusions about someone's point of view on the basis of their
perspective?

Perspectives and Their Foundation


Perspectives are stable and durable features of our outlook that steer each of us towards particular
views and the acceptance and rejection of various claims. Later on, we will examine claims on an
individual basis by focusing on the ways in which they might be supported, but a whole body of
knowledge, such as one that may arise from a perspective, might require a different approach. It is
important not only to unpack this knowledge and reveal the components of the perspective that lies
beneath it, but also crucial to examine it as a whole.

Exploring Religious Perspectives


One fruitful field for inquiry here is religion, as the perspectives that underpin religious beliefs and
practices are particularly influential.

Metaphor of the Map in Knowledge


In the example above concerning education, each passage encompasses an interlocking set of claims
that may be better described metaphorically as a map of the territory rather than as a set of
independent assertions. Each 'map' has its own emphasis. For the sake of the metaphor, it might be
argued that each on its own presents a somewhat distorted view on the subject.
Nevertheless, there are areas of consensus: that education is important, that there is a need for
differentiated learning experiences, that students must be motivated by whatever resources are
considered paramount for learning, and so on.
The positions overlap even though they may be steered by contrasting perspectives.

Activity 3: Perspectives and Community Membership


Perspectives are shaped by membership in communities. Take a moment to consider the
communities to which you belong and the contribution that each has made to your overall perspective.
Is there knowledge that you have acquired in complete isolation from any community? If so, what
kind of knowledge might that be?
Think about how your portfolio of memberships has changed over the years and how these dynamics
might have influenced shifts in perspective.
 Who is responsible for these shifts, given that membership is voluntary for some communities
but not for others?
 Might there also have been stand-out events that had a major impact?
Like an iceberg, perspectives are mainly found 'below the waterline.' You have probably found in
Activity 9 that it takes a concentrated effort to be reflective and uncover the foundations on which
perspectives are built.

Activity 4
'It is easier to identify the perspectives that other people hold than it is to describe one's own.'
Would you agree with this statement? If so, why would this be the case? If not, why not?
Implications for Social Interaction
Either way, what might be the implications for social interaction and the sharing of knowledge?

Engagement with Multiple Perspectives


The British philosopher Julian Baggini suggests three advantages of taking an open-minded
approach to perspectives and the knowledge that they promote:
 Cubist: by gathering more knowledge about an issue, we can minimise the chances of
overlooking something important.
 Disaggregating: by examining each perspective, we may discover that there is actually more
than one issue at stake.
 Pluralist: by comparing perspectives, we may come to realise that there is more than one way
of understanding the issue.

Map Metaphor in Knowledge


The map metaphor is an attractive way of thinking about knowledge in the context of perspectives.
How far can we run with it? Remember that no map is entirely true, but some are better than others.
Key Knowledge Questions
 How is it possible to know what shapes my knowledge as a knower?
 How much of our knowledge depends on our interactions with other knowers?
 Are there types of knowledge specifically linked to particular communities of knowers?
 Presented with the belief system of a community of knowers, how can we decide what we
personally believe?
 How do empathy and imagination help us understand other perspectives?

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