Understanding Knowledge Issues

For these purposes, these are taken to be the areas of knowledge, the ways of knowing and the concepts in the linking questions authority, belief, certainty, evidence, experience,
explanation, interpretation, intuition, justification, truth and values.
Level Descriptor Example F Example G Example H Example I Your own Knowledge
issue
G
o
o
d

- Open-ended question
- Explicitly about
knowledge
- Couched in terms of
TOK vocabulary and
concepts
- Precisely stated
- What role does society
play in shaping our beliefs
about paranormal claims?
- To what extent does
something have to be seen
to be true?
- Are sensory perception or
reason better at justifying
controversial knowledge
claims?
- What role does authority
play in determining what is
ethical?
- To what extent is good
behavior universal?
- How does our knowledge
of the past influence our
ethical views?
- What role does the mass
media play in affecting how
we understand a global issue?
- What role do emotion and
reason play in shaping
scientific explanations?
- What role does culture play
in shaping scientific
explanations?
- How does mathematical
knowledge play a role in
helping human scientists
create truth?
- How does proof differ in
the human sciences from
the natural sciences?
- What role does authority
play in shaping societal
values?
I
n
t
e
r
m
e
d
i
a
t
e

May be:
- An open-ended
question
- Explicitly about
knowledge
Should we believe
paranormal claims?
- How can utilitarianism
measure how much
happiness an action brings?
- Is utilitarianism or duty
ethics a more appropriate
ethical theory?
- How do beliefs about swine
flu differ across cultures?
- What sources are
considered reliable for
justifying scientific
discovery?
- Should we believe the media
when it comes to science?
- How can we know who
is to blame for the credit
crisis?
- How can we know that
the credit crisis actually
exists?
- How can ethical theories
effectively be used in
schools?

P
o
o
r

May be:
- A closed question
- Implicitly about
knowledge
Does the paranormal
exist?
Why is utilitarianism
appealing?
Is swine flu likely to kill
millions?
- What is the credit crisis?
- Who is to blame for the
credit crisis?
- What caused the credit
crisis?
- Is the new tardy policy
fair?
- How do rulers control
society?
N
o
t

a

K
n
o
w
l
e
d
g
e

I
s
s
u
e

May be:
- A statement or a
description of a
situation
- A closed question
- A subject specific
question or topic
What is the sixth sense? Utilitarianism
What do we mean by an
epidemic?
The credit crisis What is tardiness?
R
e
a
l
-
l
i
f
e

s
i
t
u
a
t
i
o
n

This could be the real-
life situation for the
presentation or an
example in the essay:
A film on haunting
A patriotic poster saying
Buy British its good for
everyone
A news report on swine flu
An interview with
bankers who have just
lost their jobs
School Tardy Policy