Theory of Knowledge
Workshop, Level 2
John Green
Shanghai, October 2009
Session 1 – Welcomes and Introductions
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Where we come from
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TOK teaching experience
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Number of years
Different schools
Examining
Context in which you have taught TOK
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School
Nationality(ies)
Subject /academic background
Other relevant details
How has it worked in the schools you have taught in?
Order of dealing with topics?
Timing of assessments?
What do you hope to gain from the workshop?
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The New Agenda
Session 1: Welcome & Introduction
Session 2: Knowledge and Perception
Session 3: Reason, Language and Emotion
Session 4: Group 3, 4 & 5 Areas of Knowledge
Session 5: Assessment – The Presentation 1
Session 6: Assessment – The Presentation 2
Session 7: Aesthetics – Visit to MOCA
Session 8: Aesthetics and Politics
Session 9: Assessment – The Essay 1
Session 10: Assessment – The Essay 2
Session 11: Ethics and Religion
Session 12: Resources and other matters arising
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Session 1 – Welcomes and Introductions
TOK and the Learner Profile. Is TOK the
Diploma subject that best covers all
aspects of the Learner Profile?
Inquirer
Communicator
Open-minded
Risk-taker
Reflective
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Thinker
Principled
Caring
Balanced
Knowledgeable
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Session 1 – Welcomes and Introductions
The role of the
TOK diagram?
What do we think
of it and how do
we use it?
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Session 2 - Knowledge and Perception
 How do we start off?
 What is our first lesson?
 Where do we go from there over the first few
weeks?
 My approach is to start straight with the
students and how they know what they know.
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Session 2 - Knowledge and Perception
 Doubting things
– Am I sitting on a chair? How do we know it is a chair?
– What would we have to do to make it something other than a
chair?
– Is it defined by appearance, by function, in other ways?
– If “chair” is difficult , much more difficult for abstracts like “justice”
or “conscious”
 What does it mean to “know” something?
– Different meanings of “know” – (“know of”, “know how”, “know
that” - all one word in English)
– Differences between knowing, believing etc.
– Plato definition. Is “Justified” useful, can we ever know if “True”?
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Session 2 - Knowledge and Perception
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Sources of knowledge – where does our knowledge
come from?
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–
–
–
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Authority
Personal observation
Reasoning/logic
Opinion (not really knowledge?)
Other ways – instinct, intuition etc.
How does knowing relate to other similar concepts,
such as:
Facts Information Wisdom Understanding
Belief
Truth
Data

Should we seek all knowledge or is there knowledge it
is better not to seek?
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Session 2 - Knowledge and Perception
 What is “truth” and how can we find it?
– Absolute truth, my truth, accepted truth?
– Truth tests – correspondence, coherence,
pragmatism
– Utility of the concept of an unattainable
absolute truth?
– Is the true/false dichotomy a real reflection of
the way things are?
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Session 2 - Knowledge and Perception
My favourite quote on truth:
The gods did not reveal, from the beginning
All things to us, but in the course of time
Through seeking we may learn and know things
better,
But as for certain truth, no man hath known it,
Nor shall he know it, neither of the gods
Nor yet of all the things of which I speak,
For even if by chance he were to utter
The final truth, he would himself not know it:
For all is but a woven web of guesses
Xenophanes
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Session 2 - Knowledge and Perception
 The senses and their limitations
– Senses and what they detect (fun activities!)
– Sensitivity compared to other species – can we ever know how
they perceive the world?
 Why do people perceive things differently?
– Imprecise perception – the signal is not very clear (next to the
aircon in a theatre)
– Mistaken signals – signals generated internally (phantom limb
phenomenon)
– Mistaken interpretation – signal is clear but not what we think
(mirages, optical illusions)
– Inappropriate filtering – our minds cut out important stuff
(cocktail party listening)
– Not processing data correctly – illogical conclusions (medical
test results)
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Session 2 - Knowledge and Perception
With the flowers coming into
bloom and the birds singing it is
wonderful to be in Paris in the
the Springtime
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A slightly different optical
illusion
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Now can you count how many times
the basketball has been passed?
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Session 3 – Reason, Language and Emotion
 How do people deal with emotion in the context
of knowledge?
 Is it really emotion – what do we cover here?
 Activities to use with this section of the course?
 I find the emotion part difficult, so do not spend
long on it and it’s not really emotion. I’m far
more at home with reason!
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Session 3 – Reason, Language and Emotion
 The role of emotion in knowing
– What do our emotions tell us about?
– Physiological changes – are emotions the cause or
effect?
 Ways of knowing other than through our senses
– What is “intuition”?
– Evidence for ESP?
– Messages from a supreme being?
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Session 3 – Reason, Language and Emotion
 How do we approach the Language section of
the course?
 How long do we spend on it?
 What materials do we use?
 Personally, even though I’m not a language
teacher, I really enjoy this and having students
from so many countries has made it a delight!
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Session 3 – Reason, Language and Emotion
 Is language really a way of knowing?
– Yes - it is probably the way we obtain most of our
knowledge in practice
– No - because the knowledge in question must have
first been found in some more fundamental manner
 What is the function of language and its
limitations?
– The only way we can communicate a concept idea
in our minds to generate a similar one in somebody
else’s mind
– Highly dependent on having the same assumptions
as the person we are communicating with
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Session 3 – Reason, Language and Emotion
“Fishing baskets are employed to get fish,
but when the fish are caught, men forget
the baskets; snares are employed to get
hares, but when the hares are trapped, men
forget the snares; words are employed to
get ideas, but when the ideas are grasped,
men forget the words.”
Chuang Tzu
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Session 3 – Reason, Language and Emotion
Let’s try out some activities to investigate the need
for language and some of its limitations
Communicating without language:
Yes, charades! Try to communicate the idea on your piece of paper to
your partner. See which one of you is the more successful. What are
the limitations of this type of communication?
Communicating with just language:
One person has to put together a puzzle that the other has the solution
for. Some conditions are imposed, see what is written on your sheet.
Make sure the person doing the puzzle only has the pieces and does
not get to see the A4 sheet in the envelope!
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Session 3 – Reason, Language and Emotion
 The subtleties of language
– Why do we name things? Is the number of Inuit terms
for snow an urban myth?
– Connotation-v-denotation; I’m firm, you’re obstinate,
he’s a pig-headed fool!
– Loaded language; watch for it especially during
conflict situations.
– Limits of language; to what extent are Music and
Mathematics languages?
– Translation problems and untranslatable concepts.
Lets look at how computers can help (maybe!)
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Session 3 – Reason, Language and Emotion
English original
This is some test text to see what happens when some text is
electronically translated into another language. When it goes from one
language to another then round in a circle to the original, is meaning
preserved or is the text messed up?
English to Spanish (using http://www.Freetranslation.com)
Esto es algún texto de la prueba de ver lo que sucede cuando algún
texto es traducido electrónicamente a otro idioma. ¿Cuándo va de un
idioma a otro entonces redondo en un círculo a la original, es
preservado significado o es el texto desordenó?
English to Spanish (using http://translation2.paralink.com/)
Este es un poco de texto de prueba para ver lo que pasa cuando algún
texto es electrónicamente traducido en otra lengua. ¿Cuándo esto va
de una lengua al otro entonces por ahí en un círculo al original,
significa conservado o es estropeado el texto?
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Session 3 – Reason, Language and Emotion
Spanish to French (using http://translation2.paralink.com/)
L'Est est un peu d'un texte d'épreuve pour voir ce qu'il passe quand un
texte est electrónicamente traduit dans une autre langue. Quand cela
va d'une langue à l'autre alors par là dans un cercle à l'original, il
signifie conservé ou le texte est-il abîmé ?
French to Russian (using http://translation2.paralink.com/)
Восток - немного текста испытания чтобы видеть то, что он
передает, когда текст electrónicamente, переводит на другой язык.
Когда это идет от языка до другого тогда там в круг к оригиналу, он
означает сохраненный или текст, поврежден ли он?
Russian to German (using http://translation2.paralink.com/)
Osten - ist ein wenig den Text des Testes, um, zu sehen, dass er
übergibt, wenn der Text electrónicamente, in andere Sprache
übersetzt. Wenn es von der Sprache bis zu anderem dann dort in den
Kreis zum Original geht, bedeutet er aufgespart oder den Text, ob er
beschädigt ist?
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Session 3 – Reason, Language and Emotion
German to English (using http://translation2.paralink.com)
The east - is a little the text of the testes to see around, that
he hands over if the text electrónicamente, into other
language translates. If it goes from the language up to other
then there in the circle to the original, does he mean saved
or the text whether is he damaged?
English original
This is some test text to see what happens when some text
is electronically translated into another language. When it
goes from one language to another then round in a circle to
the original, is meaning preserved or is the text messed up?
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Session 3 – Reason, Language and Emotion
 Language and thought
– Do we think with language? Many people think “Yes”:
Wittegenstein – “If I spoke a different language I would
perceive a different world.”
Sapir – “We see, hear and otherwise experience as we do
very largely because of the language habits of our
community predisposes certain choices of interpretation”
Whorf – “We dissect nature along lines laid down by our
native languages”
Chomsky – proposed the idea of a “universal grammar”,
implying that the brain is specially adapted (“hard wired”) for
language acquisition.
Pinker – believes that language is a result of an adaptive
evolutionary process, as opposed to Chomsky’s view it is a
by-product of brain development.
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Session 3 – Reason, Language and Emotion
It is always interesting to reflect on the way that
the meanings of words change with time:
 In Shakespeare’s time “Merry” meant “Randy”
 In the 1960s “Gay” just meant “Cheerful”
 Twenty years ago “Rap” simply meant “Knock”
and “Hyperlink” did not exist
Let’s listen to Eric Bogle’s song – “The old mother tongue”!
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Session 3 – Reason, Language and Emotion
 Different types of reasoning
– Deduction & Syllogisms
– Induction and its inherent problem
– “Common sense”
– Fallacies
 Logic, causality and free will
– Necessary and sufficient conditions (multiple causes?)
– If logic applies then cause and effect rule our lives
– If that is the case do we have any free will?
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Session 3 – Reason, Language and Emotion
A fun exercise in reasoning:
A merciful ruler decides that, if given a chance, intelligent
convicts can be turned into useful citizens, so he gives them
a test. If they pass they are released with a sum of money to
start up a business of their own, but this sum decreases the
longer it takes them to solve the puzzle.
The prisoners come in three at a a time. There are 5 hats,
three white and two red, and working from behind, the ruler
puts one on the head of each convict, then places the
remainder out of sight. They have to guess from the colour
of the hats they can see, the colour of their own hat.
Of course if they talk to each other, look in a mirror or cheat
in any way, then its back to the cells after a thorough
flogging!!
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Lets give it a try!
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Session 3 – Reason, Language and Emotion
Informal fallacies are not really part of logic, they are
linguistic tricks, but great fun! Much beloved of politicians
around election time and equally of students who haven’t
done their work. They sound logical but have no basis in
logic. A couple of examples:
Ad Ignorantum - Maintaining that failing to prove a point
means that its opposite must be true
"Millions of dollars have been spent trying to prove U.F.O.s exist and
this has failed to produce clear evidence, so U.F.O.s do not exist.“
Ad Hominem (poisoning the well) - Attacking the speaker
rather than what the speaker is saying
"When listening to the Right Honourable member’s suggestions on
economic policy, just remember that he has just indulged in the
personal economy of deserting his wife and children!"
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Session 3 – Reason, Language and Emotion
If one event is to be regarded as the cause of
another, then
 it must occur before the effect
 its occurrence must always be associated with the effect
 there must be some physical connection between the two
events
The last condition is important - beware of
correlation. Because two things occur together, one
is not necessarily causing the other:
In the summer violent crime increases in cities
Sales of ice cream increase in the summer
Therefore eating ice cream causes violent crimes!
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Session 3 – Reason, Language and Emotion
Sufficient conditions - if this condition is met
then the effect will always occur:
The wind blowing through a tree and the movement of its
leaves
Necessary conditions - the effect cannot occur
without this, but it is not on its own sufficient:
Achieving a total of 24 points and being awarded an IB
Diploma
Is it always this simple?
Consider a guy has had a few drinks, a row with his
girlfriend and driving his old car home on a wet evening he
crashes into a tree whilst going round a bend:
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Session 3 – Reason, Language and Emotion
What is the cause?









The driver taking the bend too fast
The road being wet
The driver having had a few cans of beer
The driver having had a row with his girlfriend
The brakes needing re-lining
The absence of street lighting
The fact that the police were not patrolling that stretch of road
The planting of a tree by the roadside 50 years ago
The guy’s mother and father meeting!
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Session 3 – Reason, Language and Emotion
 If the universe really is controlled by cause and effect,
then does that mean that everything that occurs in the
universe was predestined in the first few microseconds
of the Big Bang?
 Was what I am going to eat for dinner this evening really
decided at the start of the universe?
 Do we have any free will or is this just an illusion?
 Maybe there is some escape through uncertainty
principle and chaos theory?
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Session 4 – Group 3, 4 & 5 Areas of Knowledge

How do we approach the topic of Mathematics
in our TOK courses?

Are there any particular activities or resources
we enjoy using?
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Session 4 – Group 3, 4 & 5 Areas of Knowledge
“Mathematics is the language in which God wrote the universe. ”
Gallileo
 Is the universe designed mathematically?
–
Yes; axioms must come from observing the world and the
laws of physics are mathematical in nature
–
No; we develop mathematical concepts by pure thought
(which sometimes, like multi-dimensional space, go beyond
reality) and then impose these concepts on the world
 Pure mathematics, the latter sense, is hence a unique
deductive activity, however Gödel’s theorem had a
major impact on this:
“Mathematics is the subject in which we do not know what we
are talking about nor whether any of it is true!
Bertrand
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Russell
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Session 4 – Group 3, 4 & 5 Areas of Knowledge
 Inductive reasoning in mathematics
– Often employed, such as iterative methods
– Suffers from the inherent problem of induction
– Hence lacks certainty (if we ignore Gödel!) of deductive methods
Lets look at an example, connecting points on a circle with lines:
Number of points
Number of areas
2
2
3
4
4
8
Is there a pattern? Predict for 5 and 6 points.
(n.b. be careful that you do not get 3 lines crossing at one point)
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Session 4 – Group 3, 4 & 5 Areas of Knowledge
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Interesting oddities
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You want to arrange a school knockout tennis
tournament for 376 students. Allowing 1 hour per
match how long do the courts need to be booked for?
You head S for 1 mile, E for 1 mile, then N for 1 mile,
but you arrive back where you started! Explain.
a=b; a2=a.b; a2-b2=ab-b2; (a-b)(a+b)=b(a-b); a+b=b;
2b=b; 2=1!
xyzxyz always divides by 7 no matter what digits x, y
and z are.
Calculate successive values for x’ = r.x(1-x), starting
with x = 0.5 and initial values of r = 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 3.7,
3.8, 3.9.
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Session 4 – Group 3, 4 & 5 Areas of Knowledge

What about science? How do we approach this
topic?

What about activities and resources – any
recommendations?
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Session 4 – Group 3, 4 & 5 Areas of Knowledge
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What is science?
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–
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What are scientists trying to achieve?
Does this vary with era and culture?
In what ways does it differ from other activities?
Scientific method and contributions of Popper and
Kuhn
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–
–
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Observe  Hypothesise  Experiment  Evaluate
We can never really prove things in science (problem of
induction) but we can disprove things
Does science progress smoothly or by means of revolutions
(paradigm shift)
What is the role of models in science?
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–
–
–
Why do we construct models?
Is it reasonable to expect to be able to extend analogies
Are atoms “real” ?
Really depends on what we mean by reality!
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Session 4 – Group 3, 4 & 5 Areas of Knowledge

Science and truth – consider this article:
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Session 4 – Group 3, 4 & 5 Areas of Knowledge
Maybe focus on this section:
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Session 4 – Group 3, 4 & 5 Areas of Knowledge
Questions of truth:
– Is it true now?
– Was it true then?
– How can we know if something is true? (i.e.
certain for ever)
– If absolute truth is not possible, is it a useful
concept?
– Where was the article from?
– What will the reference sources in 200
years have to say about our theories!!
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Session 4 – Group 3, 4 & 5 Areas of Knowledge
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Suggestions for how to approach the Human
Sciences?

Why is History not included in the “Human
Sciences” on the TOK diagram?

Stimulating “hands-on” exercises and useful
resources for these?
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Session 4 – Group 3, 4 & 5 Areas of Knowledge

What are the Human Sciences and how do they differ
from the Natural Sciences?
–
–
–
–
–

What areas of knowledge does the field include?
What are their aims?
What do they have in common?
Is History distinctly different?
Are they “sciences”? Comparison to natural sciences.
Methodology and the human sciences
–
–
–
What methods do these disciplines employ?
Issues of objectivity – subjectivity.
Issues of fraud in human sciences (Cyril Burt, Margaret Mead)
Now some suggestions for practical class exercises
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Session 4 – Group 3, 4 & 5 Areas of Knowledge
Can we describe people using numbers?
 Have a look at the class from the past.
 How well do you feel you know this group?
 Can you think of people you have taught who are
rather similar? How similar?
 How would you feel if I described this workshop
group in a similar fashion?
 What is the problem with describing people by
numbers?
 If not detailed enough, then what other headings
are needed?
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Session 4 – Group 3, 4 & 5 Areas of Knowledge
Let’s suppose you have been asked to spend
six months investigating the education system
of another country.

What methodologies might you use?

Choose one of these and prepare a proposal for the
study of the education system using that methodology,
emphasising the advantages of that method.

Let’s listen to each other’s proposals and see if we
believe what others are saying.

How do we decide how to go about the study?
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Session 4 – Group 3, 4 & 5 Areas of Knowledge
 What is history?
– Why study the past? Motivation?
– Methodology and selectivity of material.
– Does history tell us more about the past or about the person
writing it and the society they live in?
– In what sense was there an objective past? Can it be
known?
– Do we avoid repeating mistakes by studying History?
 History and national identity
–
–
–
–
Do you feel privileged to have the nationality you have?
Why do you feel like this about your country?
Do those from other places view these in the same way?
Should we hold a modern nation responsible for its past?
(Compare with parents who committed crimes.)
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Session 4 – Group 3, 4 & 5 Areas of Knowledge
Liven thing up a little bit with a fun source,
though remember the same questions can still
be applied as to a more serious one:
“A Brief History of the USA”
 Who produced it?
 What is their background?
 What sources did they use?
 What material did they ignore?
 What was their purpose in making it?
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Session 4 – Group 3, 4 & 5 Areas of Knowledge
What do we really know?
– A limit to what we have any information about.
– A question about the reliability of some of this.
– Lots of gaps that need to be filled in!
The case of Mr. Smith – a fictional British politician
Use the sources that you have available to write a brief
article (~1 side A4) about Mr. Smith for the school
magazine.
Read the accounts aloud and consider similarities and
differences.
What are the differences between history and historical
fiction?
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Session 5 - The Presentation 1
 Some basic issues
– When to start with presentations?
– What sized groups?
– The issue of video-recording
 Preparing students for their presentations
– Guiding students on their choice of topics
– Possible advantages of choosing something from current media
– A review of the criteria - a detailed focus on how students will
meet them
– Format; how best to present the material
– Focus on TOK issues and not popular interest
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Session 5 - The Presentation 1
Let’s have a look at a couple of
presentations, grade them (keeping notes
about why you gave it those grades) and
think on advice that you might give to the
students on how they could improve.
Over break please enter your marks
in the Excel spreadsheet
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Session 6 - The Presentation 2
 The problems of assessing presentations
– The difficulty of listening and grading simultaneously
– How easy is it to be consistent?
– Moderation between teachers – how do you do it?
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Session 7 – Visit to the Art Gallery
This afternoon we will spend the first session
visiting the Shanghai Museum of Contemporary
Art. The focus will be to consider how we might
use the resources of the gallery to prompt
students to consider the question:
"In what way do the arts give us knowledge and
how does this differ from knowledge obtained in
other ways?"
Catch the bus outside the hotel to at 1-30
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Session 8 - The Arts and Politics
 Use of resources
– If we had a resource like the National Gallery
nearby, how would we use it?
– What local resources, other than galleries, are
useful for TOK?
 Art and knowledge
– Art and aesthetics – what is the relationship?
– What kind of knowledge do we gain from these?
(Louis Arnaud Reid)
– Is beauty solely determined by culture or are there
fundamentals? (Plato, Jung)
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Session 8 - The Arts and Politics
 Some issues relating to the arts
– Is the essence of art the creative concept, its
physical expression or the effect on the audience?
– Is beauty in the eye/ear of the beholder or are there
objective standards? Implications for Group 6!
– Does art improve with time? If not, why not?
– What should determine the price of an art work?
– Issues of uniqueness and fraud
– Public subsidy for the arts? Why? Parallels?
– Where does art change to entertainment / craft /
pornography?
– Should there be limits to expression – censorship?
Lets consider some examples?
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Session 8 - The Arts and Politics
Oleg Kulik – Deep in Russia
This action took place on a hot day in the
presence of eight witnesses (Vladimir
Sorokin, writer, Iosif Bakshtein, Director,
Institute of Contemporary Art, Moscow,
Faina Koroleva, dairy-maid and others).
Kulik's head penetrated the vagina of a cow
in an attempt to be born anew. After this
tormenting action he stated 'I have closed
the theme of reality for myself. For the time
being, at least. Just as Malevich closed the
theme of painting with his Black Square.
Inside the cow I realised that there is no
reality, and that means that reality is still to
be discovered.'
Kulik hands us ammunition on a plate.
Although the artist claims to have
experienced no reality, the cow certainly
would have. It is these artist-centric conceits
that alienate many of us.
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Session 8 - The Arts and Politics
Piss Christ is a controversial
photograph by American
photographer Andres Serrano. It
depicts a small plastic crucifix
submerged in a glass of the artist's
urine. The piece was a winner of
the Southeastern Center for
Contemporary Art's "Awards in the
Visual Arts" competition, which is
sponsored in part by the National
Endowment for the Arts, a United
States Government agency that
offers support and funding for
artistic projects.
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Session 8 - The Arts and Politics
Bill Henson, considered by many to
be Australia’s foremost
photographer, has exhibited
around the world and his work is
hung in some of the most
prestigious galleries. Police raided
an exhibition of his photographs at
the Rosley Oxley9 Gallery in
Sydney following complaints of
child pornography and police have
announced that charges will be laid
under the NSW Commonwealth
and Crimes Act for "publishing an
indecent article". Within hours, the
Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, who
hadn’t seen Henson’s exhibition,
nonetheless weighed into the
debate declared the photographs
“absolutely revolting.”
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Session 8 - The Arts and Politics
 The arts and politics
– Why do all(?) totalitarian regimes limit artistic expression?
– Contribution of the arts to a free society
A possible student activity:
Ask students to think of a message they would like to send to their
government. They then have to express this in the form of a piece of nonverbal art, which they later perform for each other.
An excellent resource – “One Word of Truth”
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Session 9 - The Essay 1
 Preparing students for the essay
– Practice essay writing – how many and when?
– When to write the final TOK essay?
– Feedback on essay plans.
– Feedback on draft essay.
– Formalising self/peer assessment.
 Guiding students on their choice of title
– How to help students decide which fits in with their
strengths and interests?
– Are all titles equal? Let’s consider the May 2010
titles.
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Session 9 - The Essay 1
 For the titles you are considering:
– What are the points in the title that you feel
need “clarification”?
– What do you consider to be the major
knowledge issues?
– Which Areas of Knowledge would you
explore?
– What do you consider are the major
opportunities and potential pitfalls in the title?
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Session 9 - The Essay 1
Over break please enter your marks for
the exemplar essays in the Excel
spreadsheet
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Session 10 - The Essay 2
 Practical essay assessment
– How consistent were our marks?
– How did they compare with the IB grades?
– Why did we award these grades?
– If these were draft essays, what advice
would we give to the students?
 Experiences of external marking
– In general, how has our assessment of
students compared to the awarded grades?
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Session 11 – Ethics and Religion
Telling the difference between right and wrong
– The intention / The action / The outcome?
– Are there absolute moral criteria? If so what are these
and how do we learn them?
– Rule based criteria – religion, Platonic form, the law etc.
– Utilitarianism and its problems
– “Do unto others…..”, but which others – society or the
accused?
– Categorical imperative (Kant) – is universality realistic?
– The orderliness of society
– The issue of conscience
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Session 11 – Ethics and Religion
Let’s try applying some ethical principles
to a story that seems to really engage
(and divide) students!
Try it on your own and then discuss your answers
with a partner. Finally we will discuss our responses.
Two other activities that are also useful for class use
are “Zizzing” and “An American Story”
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Session 11 – Ethics and Religion

Moral dilemmas
– The real problems arise when two opposing
courses of action can be considered ethical by
different criteria.
– These can often be placed in distinct groups:
o
o
o
o
o
o
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Truth – v – Loyalty
Honesty – v – Happiness
Self – v – Society
Short term – v – Long term
Justice – v – Mercy
Cultural norm – v – Personal beliefs
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Session 11 – Ethics and Religion

Cultural aspects of ethics
– Can a particular action be right in one culture and
wrong in another?
– How can/do cultures change what is ethical?

The concept of justice
– What is the purpose of justice/the law?
– What determines fair treatment of the transgressor
and the victim?
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Session 11 – Ethics and Religion

The nature of the religious experience
–
–
–
–

Is there the need for a spiritual dimension?
Does this vary between societies and with time?
What do different religions have in common?
If the answer to this is “most things”, does it really
matter which we follow?
Religious knowledge
– What can we gain from religion that is not
available in other areas?
– Can the things we gain in this way be truly
classified as knowledge?
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Session 12 – Resources and other issues

TOK on the OCC
Link to the OCC
– What is available?
– What is currently preoccupying people on the
forum?

Other resources for the TOK programme
–
–
–
–
–
Useful web sites
Journals
Books
Video resources
Movies
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Session 12 – Resources and other issues

Issues we didn’t get enough time to talk about!
Thanks so much for your company
over the last three days.
I for one have had a ball!
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