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The Nature of Knowledge

The Nature of Knowledge. Theory of Knowledge. “Knowledge is the small part of ignorance that we arrange and classify.” - Ambrose Bierce, 1842-1970. ToK’s Definition. Justified, true, belief. Truth. Independent of what anyone happens to believe is true

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The Nature of Knowledge

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  1. The Nature of Knowledge Theory of Knowledge

  2. “Knowledge is the small part of ignorance that we arrange and classify.” - Ambrose Bierce, 1842-1970

  3. ToK’s Definition • Justified, true, belief

  4. Truth • Independent of what anyone happens to believe is true • Simply believing that something is true does not make it true • N.B. knowledge requires something less than certainty • “beyond reasonable doubt”

  5. Belief • Belief-knowledge continuum • Question: Can a computer know things?

  6. Justification • Beliefs have to be justified in the right kind of way • Beliefs are justified through appeals to the various ways of knowing • These appeals can be more or less reliable (e.g. telepathy) • Depends on context (e.g. one may wish to be more certain if one is giving testimony in a court of law) • Implies responsibility

  7. Levels of Knowledge • Superficial grasp • Good understanding • Complete mastery

  8. Knowledge vs. Information • Genuine knowledge implies an understanding about how the various parts relate to one another to form a meaningful whole • Analogy: bricks are to buildings, as information is to knowledge

  9. Second-hand Knowledge • One of our main sources of knowledge is other people • Risk of authority worship • Ultimately relies on first-hand knowledge and, thus, on the various ways of knowing, each of which is problematic • We need to be able to decide who to trust when • Relying exclusively on ourselves is obviously too limiting, but so is relying exclusively on others

  10. Cultural Tradition • Changes over time • Balance respect with willingness to question

  11. School • Risk of indoctrination • Curriculum is selective

  12. The Internet • Fast and accessible source of both information and disinformation • Example: http://gaia-health.com/gaia-blog/2013-02-26/how-i-gave-my-son-autism/

  13. Expert Opinion • Fallible and sometimes get it wrong (e.g. 24 chromosomes; Piltdown Man; Ernest Rutherford’s belief that generating power from the transformation of atoms was impossible) • Limited range of competence

  14. News Media • Bias • Preponderance of bad news • Extraordinary events • Relevant events • People tend to choose news outlets that confirm their own pre-existing biases • Example: http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/is-this-the-most-embarrassing-interview-fox-news-has-ever-do

  15. Reference • van de Lagemaat, R. (2011). Theory of Knowledge for the IB Diploma. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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