Theory of Knowledge Essay Revision

Happy New Year Class of 2012!

I hope you are well and enjoying this luxurious holiday from school.  You must be getting a little bit bored by now, so I thought I would take this opportunity to remind you that your final ToK essays are due fairly soon–I think in February.

For those of you who are registered as diploma candidates, I would ask you to look over your ToK essay again, especially looking at the conclusion you wrote, and consider making changes.  Theory of Knowledge, after all, is meant to be reviewed over your two year IB diploma program experience.

Have you encountered new life experiences or ideas which relate to your ToK topic?

Are there subjects you have studied which would make useful examples to draw upon?

If you make ANY changes, you will need to verify that these are your original ideas and not ideas plagiarized from the internet.  If you can not verify the changes as original, then I can’t sign off on your essay, and you won’t earn the IB diploma.  It’s best to write about personal examples that way no plagiarism is possible.

Examiners mark essays against the title as set. Respond to the title exactly as given; do not alter it in any way.
Your essay must be between 1200 and 1600 words in length.
1.
Knowledge is generated through the interaction of critical and creative thinking. Evaluate this statement in two areas of knowledge.
2.
Compare and contrast knowledge which can be expressed in words/symbols with knowledge that cannot be expressed in this way. Consider CAS and one or more areas of knowledge.
3.
Using history and at least one other area of knowledge, examine the claim that it is possible to attain knowledge despite problems of bias and selection.
4.
When should we discard explanations that are intuitively appealing?
5.
What is it about theories in the human sciences and natural sciences that makes them convincing?
6.
‘It is more important to discover new ways of thinking about what is already known than to discover new data or facts’. To what extent would you agree with this claim?
7.
‘The vocabulary we have does more than communicate our knowledge; it shapes what we can know’. Evaluate this claim with reference to different areas of knowledge.
8.
Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of using faith as a basis for knowledge in religion and in one area of knowledge from the ToK diagram.
9.
As an IB student, how has your learning of literature and science contributed to your understanding of individuals and societies?
10.
‘Through different methods of justification, we can reach conclusions in ethics that are as well-supported as those provided in mathematics.’ To what extent would you agree?