
Three examples of Knowledge Issues that
could be addressed in this title:
◦ To what extent do our senses give us the truth?
◦ To what extent do reason, emotion and language
(and other factors) affect our sense perception?
◦ What is the scope, and what are the limits of
sensory information in different areas of
knowledge?

Three examples of Knowledge Issues that
could be addressed in this title:
◦ To what extent can reason operate in isolation from
other ways of knowing?
◦ What is the relationship between “reasoning” and
“truth”?
◦ In what ways and to what extent can reasoning
operate in different areas of knowledge?

Aspects of knowledge
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Acquisition
Production
Shaping
Classification
Status
Acceptance
Rejection

Terms of ToK
vocabulary:
◦ Areas of Knowledge
◦ Ways of Knowing
◦ Linking Questions











Belief
Certainty
Culture
Evidence
Experience
Explanation
Interpretation
Intuition
Justification
Truth
Values

In General
◦ Open-ended questions
◦ Have more than one
possible answer
◦ Have more than one
perspective
◦ Explicitly about
knowledge itself

Levels of Knowledge
Issues
◦ Poor
 For a presentation, may be
adequate to satisfy the
criterion of KI
◦ Intermediate
◦ Good
 Necessary for higher
achievement on written
assessment (and helps with
presentation as well)
Level
Descriptor
Example
An open-ended question
Good
Explicitly about knowledge
Couched in terms of ToK vocabulary and
concepts
Not a
Knowledge Issue
Poor
Interme
diate
Precise in terms of relationships
between concepts
May be:
An open-ended question
Explicitly about knowledge
What is it about a scientific
explanation that makes it
convincing or unconvincing?
How can we decide if
acupuncture works or not?
May be:
A closed question
Does acupuncture work?
Implicitly about knowledge
May be:
A statement or a description of a
situation
A closed question
Traditional medicine
A subject-specific topic or question
rather than about knowledge itself
Real-life This could be the real-life situation for
the presentation or an example in the
situation essay
My uncle went to an
acupuncturist
Physics and God
Article on science and
religion
How can reason be
used to justify
religious beliefs?
How do religious
people come to their
beliefs?
Are religious beliefs
reasonable?
How can reason be
used to justify
religious beliefs?
Are religious beliefs
reasonable?
How do religious
people come to their
beliefs?
Physics and God
Article on science and
religion
What, if anything, do
optical illusions tell
us about sense
perception and truth?
Optical illusions
What can we learn from
optical illusions?
Why do optical illusions
happen?
An optical illusion
What, if anything, do
optical illusions tell
us about sense
perception and truth?
What can we learn from
optical illusions?
Why do optical illusions
happen?
Optical illusions
An optical illusion
Capital punishment:
why should or
shouldn’t we adopt it?
The execution of
Saddam Hussein
A book: The Execution
of Saddam Hussein
How can we know if
capital punishment is
right or wrong?
What role should
intuition play in
justifying capital
punishment?
What role should
intuition play in
justifying capital
punishment?
How can we know if
capital punishment is
right or wrong?
Capital punishment:
why should or
shouldn’t we adopt it?
The execution of
Saddam Hussein
A book: The Execution
of Saddam Hussein
Will predictions on
teenage smoking turn
out to be correct?
To what extent can
human sciences use
mathematical
techniques to make
accurate predictions?
Stopping teenagers
smoking
A new government
policy
How can we use
models to predict
social behaviour?
To what extent can
human sciences use
mathematical
techniques to make
accurate predictions?
How can we use
models to predict
social behaviour?
Will predictions on
teenage smoking turn
out to be correct?
Stopping teenagers
smoking
A new government
policy
Example
Intermedi
ate
Should we believe
paranormal claims?
Poor
Does the paranormal
exist?
Is swine flu likely to
kill millions?
Not a Knowledge
Issue
Good
Level
What is the sixth
sense?
What do we mean by
an epidemic?
Wearing jeans in
school
Real-life
situation
A film on haunting
A news report on a
new swine flu
An interview with Miss
Anne
Level
Descriptor
Example
An open-ended question
Good
Explicitly about knowledge
Couched in terms of ToK vocabulary and
concepts
Not a
Knowledge Issue
Poor
Interme
diate
Precise in terms of relationships
between concepts
May be:
An open-ended question
Explicitly about knowledge
What is it about a scientific
explanation that makes it
convincing or unconvincing?
How can we decide if
acupuncture works or not?
May be:
A closed question
Does acupuncture work?
Implicitly about knowledge
May be:
A statement or a description of a
situation
A closed question
Traditional medicine
A subject-specific topic or question
rather than about knowledge itself
Real-life This could be the real-life situation for
the presentation or an example in the
situation essay
My uncle went to an
acupuncturist
Good
To
We
oftenextend
have to
can
To what
what
extent
does
assume
reason
some the
facts
reason justify
influence
ourare
true
presence
continue
of
belieftoon
paranormal
thinking.
paranormal
stuff?
does this
cliams. How
hinder or enable the
process of knowing?
Intermedi
ate
Should we believe
paranormal claims?
Poor
Example
Does the paranormal
exist?
Not a Knowledge
Issue
Level
what
extent
is does
To
Towhat
whatextent
extentdo
does theToTo
what
extent
individuality
emotions
media affect
affect
ourour
Miss Anne'simportant
reason/
a way of influence our
trust
perception
on medicin?
of certain asauthority
world issues, and can developing
behavior inselfschool
perception
high-jeans
we trust it?
torwards in
wearing
schoolers?
Miss Anne right about
Are
news
saying the IsWhy
why the
do we
trust
should we wear
thinking
that we
truth
about the Swine
medicine?
jeans in school?
shouldn't wear
Flu?
uniforms?
How
Is
it mandetory
useful are to wear
Is swine flu likely to
uniforms?
jeans
in school?
kill millions?
What is the sixth
sense?
What do we mean by
an epidemic?
Wearing jeans in
school
Real-life
situation
A film on haunting
A news report on a
new swine flu
An interview with Miss
Anne
Not a Knowledge
Issue
Poor
Intermedi
ate
Good
Level
Real-life
situation
Example
Is what we learn at any
To what extend does
point in time certain, if
the social medias
we are likely to change
change our
our minds and interpret
interpretation of reality,
things differently as we
and does it change our
gain more experience?
behavior?
Why should we trust
What is the relationship
Are the social networks of maturing senses and
scientific trust of
chocolate helping bad to blame for or
perceptions of truth and
behavior?
mood?
knowledge?
Will chocolate help your Can social medias
Does our capacity to
bad mood?
change our behavior?
learn change as we
Can you prove through
emotion and sense
perception the changes
that chocolate has or
doesn’t have in you?
grow older?
Does chocolate taste
good?
Eating chocolate
What are social medias? You notice details you
didn’t before.
Social medias and mass Revising a childhood
behavior
book.
◦ To what extent do our senses give us the truth?
◦ To what extent do reason, emotion and language (and
other factors) affect our sense perception?
◦ What is the scope, and what are the limits of sensory
information in different areas of knowledge?
◦ To what extent can reason operate in isolation from
other ways of knowing?
◦ What is the relationship between “reasoning” and “truth”?
◦ In what ways and to what extent can reasoning operate
in different areas of knowledge?
Assumptions
Main Points
Counterclaims
Explored
Justified
Argument or
Example
Perspectives
Explored
Relevant
Knowledge
Issue
Examples
Explored
To KI
Links
WoKs & AoKs
Implications


Knowledge Issue
Main Points
◦ Statements being made
 These are your paragraphs

Examples

Different Perspectives

Links

Counterclaims

Implications

Underlying Assumptions
◦ Relevant and Effective
◦ Another view on your topic or concept raised
◦ Between KI, WoKs, and AoKs
◦ An argument against a statement you are trying to justify
◦ What does your argument imply?
◦ What are you assuming?

Knowledge Issue



Knowledge Issue
◦ To what extent do our
senses give us the truth?
Assumptions
◦ That truth is a belief
that is justified.

Main Points
◦ Senses bring us
knowledge about the
world.
◦ Limited senses limit our
knowledge
◦ Senses can give us faulty
knowledge
◦ I can share my
experience with others

To what extent can reason
operate in isolation from
other ways of knowing?
Main Points
◦ Emotion can not be
understood without
reason.
◦ Sense perception can
record data about the
world around us, but
reason evaluates,
compares, and
concludes.
◦ Language provides the
medium to communicate
but reason gives that
communication
meaning.

Knowledge Issue



Knowledge Issue
◦ To what extent do our
senses give us the truth?
Assumptions
◦ That truth is a belief
that is justified.

Main Points
◦ Senses bring us
knowledge about the
world.
◦ Limited senses limit our
knowledge
◦ Senses can give us faulty
knowledge
◦ I can share my
experience with others

To what extent can reason
operate in isolation from
other ways of knowing?
Main Points
◦ Emotion can not be
understood without
reason.
◦ Sense perception can
record data about the
world around us, but
reason evaluates,
compares, and
concludes.
◦ Language provides the
medium to communicate
but reason gives that
communication
meaning.
Assumptions
Main Points
Counterclaims
Explored
Justified
Argument or
Example
Perspectives
Explored
Relevant
Knowledge
Issue
Examples
Explored
To KI
Links
WoKs & AoKs
Implications