T.O.K. Presentation
Examples of how to use a Real Life Situation to explore a Knowledge Question.
Real Life Situation #1: Dr. Phil and others continue to perpetuate the notion that
vaccines cause autism.
Knowledge Question:
How can we determine the validity of scientific studies?
Extended questions:
What role does the media play in disseminating scientific information?
What role do our emotions play in our understanding of scientific information?
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Application:
 Reporting on Ebola crisis.
 Global warming
Real Life Situation #2: The ban on importing goods made by child labour.
Knowledge Question:
To what extent can we use emotion to make valid ethical decisions?
Extended questions:
To what extent should we use emotion when making decisions regarding others?
How do we balance emotions and reasoning in this?
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Application:
 CIA & torture
 Not allocating failing grades
Real Life Situation #3: Mars 1 Exploration 2024
Knowledge Question:
In what ways can ethical knowledge influence discovery of scientific knowledge?
Extended question:
Does ethics help or hinder scientific knowledge?
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Application:
 Concentration camps and Dr. Mengele
 Animal testing
Real Life Situation #4: Nurse in Maine who refused the Ebola quarantine
Knowledge Question:
How do we know how reliable scientific predictors/determinations are?
Extended questions:
How do we know how reliable predictions are in any AoK?
How much authority/validity do we give them in terms of dictating human behaviour?
Who decides or how do we decide when the good of the majority supersedes the
individual’s rights?
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Application:
 National Security watch list
 Euthanasia: Terry Shiavo
 Agriculture and the use of pesticides
Real Life Situation #5: Correlation of Brain Health and Violence
Knowledge Question:
How can natural science help us make ethical decisions?
Extended questions:
How does physiology affect propensity for violence?
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Application:
 Bioethics (e.g. genetic screening/testing)
 Criminal justice (e.g. establishing guilt and sentencing)
 Sports Management
Real Life Situation #6: Government Intervention in Nutrition (regulations)
Knowledge Question:
Can shared knowledge be more valid than personal knowledge?
Extended questions:
When does shared knowledge become necessary to mandate through laws?
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Application:
 Assisted suicide debate
 Right to bear arms (US constitution)
Real Life Situation #7: Michael Garner case in NYC (July 2014)
Knowledge Question:
How does shared knowledge shape ethics?
Extended questions:
Which is more powerful in the development of knowledge: sense perception or emotion?
To what extent does shared knowledge shape our sense perception?
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Application:
 Simpson trial
 Ferguson, MO Grand Jury decision
 Clinton Impeachment
Real Life Situation #8: Fake “Eye Witness” coming forward in Michael Brown case?
Knowledge Question:
What criteria should be used to determine truth?
Extended question:
Can a criteria be established to determine truth?

Application:
 No video of Michael Brown incident; video of Michael Garner case
 Protests stemming from emotion rather than evidence
Real Life Situation #9: Bill Cosby scandal
Knowledge Question:
What is the role of emotion in evaluating an individual’s contribution to shared
knowledge?
Extended questions:
How to we evaluate the reliability of evidence?
How does emotion influence your acceptance of shared knowledge?
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Application:
 Rape culture on campuses
 Jian Ghomeshi scandal and consent
 Counter example: Lord Byron
Real Life Situation #10: Controversy over commemorating one historical figure over
another (e.g. Florence Nightingale vs. Mary Seacole: History Today article)
Knowledge Question: To what extent do present day preoccupations influence historical
interpretation?
Extended questions:
What is the role of emotion in gaining knowledge?
How valid is memory in knowledge acquisition?
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Application:
 In the U.S: Columbus Day vs. Native American Day
 Rosa Parks