BAFA BAFA

Discussion and Analysis

1. Ask the Beta members to give you words which describe the Alphans.
2. Ask the Alphans to give you words which describe the Betans.
3. Ask the Betans how the Alphans appeared to them when the Alphans
visited the Beta culture.
4. Ask the Alphans how the Betans appeared to them when the Betans came
to visit.
5. Ask the Betans to describe their feelings and thoughts when they visited
the Alpha Culture.
6. Ask the Alphans to describe their feelings and thoughts when they visited
the Beta Culture.
7. Ask an Alpha member to explain the Beta Culture.
8. Ask a Beta member to explain the Alpha Culture.
9. Ask and Alpha member to explain the Alpha culture.
10. Ask a Beta member to explain the Beta Culture.
11. Ask members of each culture in which culture they would prefer to live and
why.
12. In the game, you were not allowed to tell the rules of the culture. Are there
situations and conditions in the “real world” which make it difficult to ask
about the rules of another culture?
13. Is it possible to talk about another culture without using evaluative terms?
14. If a culture meets the needs of its members better than another culture, is
it fair to say it is a ‘better’ culture?
15. Suppose one culture believes it is good to consume goods, and another
culture believes it is good to give thanks to God and be thankful for what
you have. How would you decide which culture is better?
 16. How should a visitor react to our consumer society? Try to reform it, adapt
to it, and tolerate it? What about a visitor to a communist society? Or a
visitor to a theocracy?
17. Does prolonged contact with another group increase understanding and
appreciation between various groups?
18. Suppose one were assigned the responsibility of preparing people to go to
another culture or work with members of a subculture, what would be the
specific objectives of such a program and how would they recommend
that it be accomplished?

ToK Reflection Prompts:

Consider your BAFA BAFA experience and write a reflection, providing specific
examples from your BAFA BAFA experience as well as examples from your life.

A. How do cultures’ values differ with respect to the ways of knowing and
areas of knowledge?
B. How do beliefs about the world and beliefs about what is valuable,
influence the pursuit of knowledge?
C. What constitutes ‘good evidence’ within the different ways of knowing and
areas of knowledge?
D. What are the dangers of equating personal experience and knowledge?
E. What are the difference between persuasive explanations, good
explanations, and true explanations?
F. To what extent does classification systems (labels and categories)
adopted in the pursuit of knowledge affect the knowledge we obtain?
G. To what extent does the truth of a statement depend on the language used
to express it?
H. To what extent do the different ways of knowing influence the values
adopted by individuals and societies?
ToK Starter

Personal Reflection

1.Which of your knowledge communities’

values and rules do you feel you best know?
How might “outsiders” see you and your kn.
community?
2.Have you felt like an “outsider” or visitor
before? When? Why?
3.In our world, where do we see polarities like
the Alphas and Betas?