Question #3: Using History and at least one other area of knowledge, examine the claim that it is possible to attain knowledge despite problems of

Transcription

1 Question #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 TOK Prescribed Title Essay May 2012 Word Count: 1528

2 1 Many people say that they know things; however, are bias and selection getting in the way of them truly knowing anything? There are two distinct types of knowledge, whether absolute or relative to the individual, that are affected differently by bias and selection. The first type of knowledge is declarative knowledge; this is the procedural. For example: I know how to knit socks. Secondly there is semantic knowledge, which is the knowledge of specifics, like facts. Declarative knowledge and semantic knowledge can be affected by both positive and negative bias as well as selection, although semantic is more commonly affected by bias. Bias is a person s emotional sway, be it positive attraction or negative repulsion. Selection is simply what is picked; however, selection can be influenced by bias. Bias and selection are not always negative, but they can make it difficult to attain either kind of knowledge. I will be considering possible knowledge issues in the realms of History and Math and examine if it is possible to attain knowledge with their presence. History is thought by many to be a class that consists of cramming facts about the past into memories. But that may not necessarily be the case. History is a word that encompasses not only an academic class but represents everything in the past and how it has shaped the present. For example, present knowledge is built from past knowledge like in medicine. Medical procedures practiced today were created and are built off of medical procedures passed down through history. Because our present knowledge is also shaped by history it is hard to view it objectively or attain objective information. To ascertain how biases and selection can influence history, I broke historical knowledge down into semantic and declarative knowledge. History, from a semantic view, is the progression of

3 2 dates, people, and places throughout time and the corresponding facts. Many people accept these facts as truth straight away; should they? Moon landing conspirators are frequently mocked, but are they on to something? There is no way I can know for sure if the moon landing actually happened because I can t check the moon for footprints and I didn t watch it on television when it happened. The facts that are passed down to the public are coming directly from an authority figure, whether it s a teacher, a research paper, a book, or from somewhere else. The public must accept these facts because they were not there in the past to experience it firsthand. The idea of knowledge coming through authority leaves plenty of opportunities for bias and selection to warp the knowledge. For example, because most of the written and spoken stories that have been found or passed on through history are written by the people in power, there is usually an obvious bias towards themselves and possibly against others. On the other hand, if history comes from an oppressed or a minority, there is negative bias against those in power or their situations. The only history we can know was first filtered through their emotions, perceptions, and experiences. The next place that bias and selection can warp knowledge is when current authority figures pass semantic historical knowledge down to the public. For example, the Texas State Board of Education adopted controversial new social studies textbook standards emphasizing the Christian influences of the nation s founding fathers, highlighting conservative groups and personalities while downplaying liberal ones (PBS). In this case, the authority was the Texas State Board of Education, a conservative group in a conservative state in the south. The board of education was selecting information they deemed their public should know and was tailoring it to fit their conservative views. Their views come from their cultural upbringing and the

4 3 perceptions and emotions that come with it. However, it is impossible to really know if they are correcting history or altering it to benefit themselves. Lastly, the receiver of the knowledge can add their own bias to spin history as well as select what knowledge they accept. Most people add bias to what they learn, including me. For instance, after learning about the slave trade in the South I felt that the people in the south and their ideals must be wrong if they could do that to other humans. However, I realize that the North won the Civil War and that I was raised as a more liberal person so I tend to have slightly negative bias towards the South and my emotions interfere. Authority is not the only thing that affects semantic knowledge though. Even if I were there to experience World War One, there is little chance that I would get the full picture of the war. According to an authority figure, many of the world governments were unaware of important military events during the war. Although they lived during that period, the militaries were spreading news of false victories to the government, making it impossible for them to have any real knowledge on the war. During the war, people would have to rely on authority figures and perception as ways of knowing. However, the authority is biased as seen in the news of false victories, and perception is skewed. A person s perception would be skewed because of a limited view of events and their emotions. For example, if I had been on the French home front I would have received news of Allied victories when the reality was that the Allies were frequently losing; while if I had fought in the trenches, all I would know of the war would be the trenches. In addition, declarative knowledge is also passed down through oral stories, written documents, or skills. However, bias and selection can select what passed down in declarative knowledge. For example, trebuchets were frequently used in history and although not

5 4 used in the military are still common knowledge. Why did the knowledge of building and operating trebuchets remain while knowledge of other weapons disappear? This is a product of selection and it highlights some historical knowledge while other knowledge is unaddressed. In addition, some declarative knowledge is split by culture. For example, acupuncture is still prevalent in the East; however Western medical procedures don t utilize it and instead went a more pharmaceutical rout. Why should some historical knowledge be know by some but not others? In history, authority and experience are not reliable ways to attain accurate knowledge because they rely too heavily on emotional bias, selection, perception, and authority. Math is another area that I will examine in relation to bias and selection. Unlike history, which tended to fall victim to bias and selection, semantic and declarative knowledge in math is not affected by bias, however it is affected by selection. Although there is semantic knowledge in math, it is not affected by bias or selection. For example, the answer to is 4, but the knowledge that 4 is the answer is not affected by personal bias or selection. Alternatively, math is almost completely the knowledge of how to solve something, which is declarative knowledge. Bias still can not be realistically applied to declarative knowledge. The only arguments for bias having a foothold in math were shaky at best. For example, I may have bias towards using a calculator as opposed to doing a problem by hand, but either way yields the same answer. However, there is selection in mathematics. For example, to solve a quadratic equation I may chose to use the quadratic formula over completing the square. There are usually several ways to solve one problem and people tend to select one way or another. Furthermore, the selection of

6 5 methods in math tends to be rational. When solving a problem, it is only natural to choose the easiest and most effective method, thus leaving other methods to be obsolete as math advances. Ultimately though, the method being used has no negative affect on the answer being attained. In addition, the ability to solve problems in a multitude of selective ways may allow for new ways to look at the problem. For example, if I complete the square instead of use the quadratic formula I may, depending on the problem, gain information that will help me solve another part of the problem. I have noticed this is frequently done on IB Math examination to help the examinee realize something about the problem in order to help them solve later parts. Often reason is a way of knowing that influences selection. This selection of methods actually allows for more knowledge to be gained instead of less. Assuming that math has definite answers and solutions, bias and selection do not interfere with the attainment of knowledge in math. Bias and selection can make it difficult to achieve knowledge in history; however, it does not always interfere, as I saw in math. In history, if knowledge is not presented in full, is it possible to know anything? There are too many opportunities for bias and selection to affect knowledge in history. However, bias and selection do not always inhibit the attainment of knowledge as we have seen in Math. Math is relatively unaffected by bias and the selectivity does not interfere with the knowledge because there is no room for emotion. With this I feel it is possible to attain knowledge despite bias and selection, however, the area of knowledge matters.

7 6 Works Cited "Texas School Board Approves Controversial Textbook Changes Need to Know PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 25 Jan <

8 7 Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of using faith as a basis for knowledge in religion and one other area of knowledge according to the TOK diagram. TOK Prescribed Title Essay May 2012 Word Count: 1523 words Faith does not subject itself to the mere practice of religion but presents itself on nearly all the avenues where one is able to attain knowledge. Faith as a basis for knowledge enlists limitations due to the fact that it appeals to principles that seem beyond understanding; it bridges logical gaps or gaps in perception, and enables acceptance of things that seem beyond comprehension. The knowledge, addition of understanding in faith, is entirely subjective and entirely dependent upon the way it was derived. Faith in form acts as both an attitude of trust and belief in what cannot be proven, such as the faith within religion. As such, it is ordinarily understood to involve an act of will or a

9 8 commitment on the part of the believer (Murphey). Religious faith involves a belief that makes some kind of either an implicit or explicit reference to a transcendent source (Murphey). Whereas Mathematics employs a certain attitude of trust in consistency and reliability within the axioms that cannot be proven. The key knowledge issue regarding the implementation of faith is understanding the way in which the absence of proof, can in turn justify itself. Although faith as a pathway to knowledge lacks empirical evidence and is heavily influenced by emotion, I truly believe that it is the eternal foundation for acquisition of knowledge. It is the only basis for knowledge that is able to bridge logical gaps and enable acceptance and knowledge of things that would otherwise be unattainable. Faith in religion employs a large supply of trust within authoritative sources which in turn justify an object belief or idea. The justification of faith enlist a knowledge issue in that faith is without reason and this lack of definitive and empirical evidence, consequently leaves room for varying interpretations and a variety of ideals regarding what is justified. These multiple interpretations of what is true are illustrated in the thousands of different religions all stemming from the same core: faith in what cannot be proven. The same knowledge issue appears in other areas of knowledge like Mathematics. Mathematics employs faith in the empirical evidence, the answer, that in turn justifies an idea, formula or theorem. Because of this empirical evidence, Mathematics derives an objective truth, whereas Faith derives one that is subjective. Although generally based off of logic, the pathway to this answer in Mathematics is a religion in its self. Mathematics employs the same mechanics that faith does; an attitude of trust in what cannot be proven. The widely accepted theorems and postulates that

10 9 define Mathematics are accepted on a universal level because of faith in the consistency of the world and faith that the theorems cannot be disproven. Axioms are the fundamental assumptions that any mathematical system relies on; they are often thought of to be selfevident truths. However, the nature of axioms presents a knowledge issue in that they prevent one from trying to prove an axiom; one would be stuck in an infinite regress if this was attempted. Thus, obvious knowledge is assumed to be true, rather than demonstrated as true. For both faith in religion and faith in Mathematics, the absence of empirical evidence acts a hindrance to further justifying the faith in both areas due to the facts that the their justification cannot be demonstrated as true. However, this faith in absence of empirical evidence is necessary to establish the foundation of both Mathematics and religion. Aquinas wrote belief is an act under the impetus of the will. What one decides to be true, is subjectively true to that individual and thus the issue of emotion comes into play. The individualized will s perception stems off of the subjective truth and what one wants to see as true. Having the answers to a problem, or conflict, acts as a comfort in which faith provides. Faith in religion and Mathematics does not necessarily mean that one has intuitively understood it, but rather that one that an individual has found solace within it. I believe that there is a heaven, not because I have firsthand experience of it, but because it is comforting to think that life continues after death. I also believe that the correct way to solve for the cosine of 45 degrees is to plug into my calculator. I have an answer that provides me with comfort, but one that I have not necessarily intuitively understood or gained knowledge from. I simply know that that is the answer because I have faith in the calculator and the mathematical methods it is engineered upon. This acts

11 10 as a knowledge issue in the fact one can carry faith not based off of intuitive understanding but based off the emotional comfort that it provides. Emotion taints an individual s ability to fully rationalize objectively what it is they are believing in and an individual s level of faith may be compromised by this emotion that acts as a knowledge issue. Inversely, this same emotion that drives and individual to accept religion also is one that drives a different type of knowledge obtained through faith. Simply because one has an objective knowledge of religion, does not mean that they have a full understanding of what it is they believe. It can be argued that in order to obtain a genuine knowledge of religion, one must have experience within it and evoke emotion in order to accept it and consequently gain an intuitive understanding. However, with this personal experience within religion, is personal bias tainting the objectivity of the religion. However the knowledge issue presented, is whether faith in the objective outlines, or intuitive truths regarding religion acts as a stronger basis for knowledge. One does not necessarily obtain more valid knowledge than the other, but simply knowledge of a different substance. The same emotional desire for an answer in religion is what catalyzes the process of Mathematics. Although theorems are founded upon unchanging empirical evidence, the bias in the emotional desire to find a pattern or common thread, compromises the purity of the faith utilized. The emotional desire for an answer is arguably the greatest influence in deciding where to rest one s faith. However, this same desire consequently changes the type of knowledge that one acquires. Even in mathematics, when emotions become involved, such as the designation of pattern within a sequence, the answer is no longer subjective when the pattern is derived. This pattern will not be detected by all

12 11 because it is not objective. Faith within Mathematics is an attitude of trust. However, when emotion becomes involved, this trust is exaggerated due to the natural response of man to find a solution, pattern, or answer when there may be none at all. Inversely, some of the greatest mathematical theorems were founded by Mathematicians with an emotional passion for mathematics, who were thus able to find a pattern or answer when no one else could. In this case this emotion facilitates the mathematical process. It can be argued that faith influenced by emotion produces different results, neither wrong, nor right but simply different in nature. My entire life has been centered on the faith in God the creator and Jesus my savior. I was given a religion by my ancestry, I never chose one. I have always had objective knowledge about my religion, but it was not until I asked the traumatic adolescent question, who am I, did I genuinely consider what it was I believed in. With this emotion and thought invested within my belief, I began to gain what I considered to be true knowledge pertaining to it. In my opinion and experience, you cannot have faith in something that you do not try to understand. It took a year of questioning and hating my elitist Protestant religion, until I was able to lay my faith within it. I do not lay my faith in the organized church or the tithing s that they suggest every time you take seat in your pew, but faith in what my religion actually iterates because I have worked to internally resonate with the words my religion upholds. As for Mathematics, my faith in authority and the theorems branching from them is the sole reason for my understanding of the subject. My faith solely rests within what my Mathematics teacher tells me is true, because I, an average math student, am not able to derive the equations or theorems on

13 12 my own. I do not have the capability of doing so, therefore faith has become paramount in all that Mathematics is for me. In Mathematics and Religion, it faith is that allows me to acquire knowledge of my own. Faith is what allows me and knowledge seekers of all sorts to accept the knowledge presented. Faith must be present in all the ways of knowing for any sort of knowledge to be categorized as true. That does not make it a weakness or strength as a basis for knowledge in religion or Mathematics, but simply a necessity. Whether this truth obtained be true objectively or subjectively, faith is a mechanism of its own that is required to make sense of what logic, language, perception and emotion cannot.

14 13 Works Cited Murphy, Nancey. Religion and Science. The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Vol. 8. Ed. E. Craig.. New York: Routledge, Pp

15 Words 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. Language is the set of tools by which the human mind is capable of thought; as perhaps the most renowned linguist of the last century Edward Sapir once said, We may say that a language is so constructed that no matter what any speaker of it may desire to communicate the language is prepared to do his work. However, the proposition that humans are limited to only being able to comprehend concepts and ideas that they have words for is a naïve view at best. Humans are partially limited by their vocabulary in being able to understand abstract concepts and ideas as well as being capable of learning and developing new ones; the strengths and weaknesses of human vocabulary are demonstrated in several areas of knowledge, specifically history, mathematics, and the arts. Through history, it is simple to see that although a person may not have the vocabulary necessary to learn historical facts and figures, this should not be taken to mean that they are incapable of knowing them as that would discount the capacity to learn. When an event is studied in history, such as the American Civil War, the vocabulary used to describe the people, locations, and events are not necessarily words that a student would already know. Before the fact, it is unlikely that the layperson would be able to define antebellum, railroaded, or bivouac. However, this lack of knowledge does not in any way prevent them from gaining knowledge and knowing the concepts involved. Two knowledge issues present themselves: can one know an idea

16 15 without having a word to describe, and is there a difference between knowing a concept and understanding one? For the first, one needs only to learn the meaning of a word and the concept will forever be added to their body of knowledge. In addition, a historian may claim that while students may learn terminology and be able to know details about historical events, this represents only partial knowledge because they won t understand it. History particularly presents the issue of cultural and temporal bias; it begs the question of whether humans today can ever understand the ideas and beliefs that existed in the past. A perfect example comes from the ancient Sumerian language; author Neal Stephenson presents the discovery that the Sumerian language had no single word for the concept of evil, and that instead the closest translation of Sumerian words results in uncleanliness and disease. This presents the notion that history may cast doubt on whether or not language limits what one can know because it demonstrates how lack of comprehension can lead to misunderstandings and false knowledge. Simply because one knows that an ancient word translates into English does not mean one understands the historical connotation of the word, or how it was actually used in practice. On the whole, history offers both evidence for and against the notion that that human knowledge is limited only to vocabulary one possesses. In history, simply because one does not have the words to label a concept, that does not mean they are incapable of comprehending it, or at the very least knowing it. On the contrary, as historical vocabularies demonstrate, knowledge does not necessarily imply comprehension or the ability to comprehend. Mathematics presents similar difficulties to those presented in the study of history: mathematics as an area of knowledge uniquely has its own lexicon and terminology, used exclusively in the study and application of math; mathematics presents

17 16 the claim that knowledge of specific vocabulary is necessary to understand certain concepts and ideas. The vocabulary of mathematics is unique in that it builds a foundation through which further comprehension is possible; if one can not grasp the four basic operations, addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication, then at advanced and theoretical levels of mathematics they will flounder. Contrary to the view presented in history, mathematics points overwhelmingly to the belief that humans need knowledge of a vocabulary before being able to understand the concepts involved. For example, when I took a Calculus course in my junior year, I initially struggled because I did not comprehend the concept of limits; my ability to utilize mathematical principles was limited by the fact that my vocabulary did not encompass the necessary knowledge used in calculus. Another knowledge issue is evident: can one learn new concepts that are based off of a faulty understanding of old concepts? Furthermore, mathematics once again highlights the idea that there exists a dichotomy between knowing an idea and understanding it: in theoretical mathematics, for example, mathematicians work in orders of eight to nine dimensions. While the layperson may have the word dimension in their vocabulary, and thus know the concept, they can hardly be said to understand it on the same level as those mathematicians who actually work in the field. In addition, the application of mathematics within language can be seen as limiting the concepts that humans are able to understand. For example, there exist several languages in the world today that have no specific number words ; i.e., while there may be a word for one or two, a container of forty-seven marbles would be counted as a lot or many. Another example comes from tribes in the Amazon rainforest; they speak a language that has no words for numbers greater than one. This apparent inability to count in the same

18 17 manner as English speakers presents an intriguing knowledge issue: if a language has no specific concept words, then is the capacity for performing mental operations limited? Mathematics points to a clear affirmative. Finally, the area of the arts in terms of knowledge presents clear evidence indicating that human knowledge is not limited solely to the terminology one knows, particularly through the ability to express oneself without necessarily knowing the concepts behind it. The arts demonstrate the human capacity to think or feel without knowing what it is that one is actually doing. With emotions that an actor portrays, for example, they may not necessarily be thinking internally act angry or act depressed. Actors instead perform more complex operations such as act like a man who is coming to terms with the fact that his lover doesn t actually love him, to take an example from F. Scott Fitzgerald s The Great Gatsby. Simply because the English language, does not have a specific single word for this emotion does not prevent others from being able to understand it. A knowledge issue is evident here: can knowledge include things such as personal experiences and emotions? Simply because one cannot apply a label to something does not mean one is incapable of attaining related knowledge. Another example that I have seen is in children; while toddlers may cry and scream all they wish, they can never be said to have true knowledge about the emotional concepts of anger or desire at the age of two. Yet they express these emotions all the same. This presents another knowledge issue: is knowledge, or comprehension, necessary in order to apply a concept in reality? These ideas are demonstrated beautifully through music. Music, similar to math, has its own unique language that is used to describe everything from the notes that a musician plays to the manner in which they are playing. Even if the common

19 18 person does not know this specific set of vocabulary, they are still able to appreciate the music and comprehend how the musicians create it. Yet a perfect counter to the ideas presented in art comes in the form of the disabled: for the deaf, the mute, and the blind their ability to comprehend and attain knowledge, whether it be in the performance of music or the creation of a work of art, is limited not by their vocabulary but by physical limitations. This heavily criticizes the idea that knowledge and the ability to obtain knowledge is not limited by vocabulary because while those with disabilities may have the terms necessary to describe specific forms of information (i.e., a blind man may know the various colour words), this does not imply that they possess true comprehension of the concepts involved. A knowledge issue is obvious here: can true knowledge be gained despite limits on things such as perception? The vocabulary the disabled lack isn t written or spoken word, but real experience. Knowledge is defined by the dichotomy that one must both objectively know it as well as understand it; in this example, the ability to know a concept is indeed limited by the inability to comprehend gathered knowledge, and therefore supports the claim that vocabulary and language limit what one can know. While vocabulary may be ignored in the acquisition of knowledge in certain areas of knowledge, ultimately it does present significant limits on the knowledge that a person can know. Whether it is the language presented by historical cultures, the unique lexicon of mathematics, or the personal experiences presented in the arts, the duality of knowledge is limited in that certain factors will either limit the acquisition of necessary vocabulary, or limit the potential to comprehend said vocabulary. Language, while demonstrating the knowledge we possess, significantly limits the knowledge that we can know.

20 19 Works Cited Greene, Robert L. "Economist Debates: Language: Statements." The Economist - World News, Politics, Economics, Business & Finance. 10 Dec Web. 26 Jan < Pinker, Steven. "Steven Pinker on Language and Thought Video on TED.com." TED: Ideas worth Spreading. Sept Web. 26 Jan < Faust, Patricia L., and Mark M. Boatner. "Definitions Of Civil War Terms." The American Civil War Home Page. 4 Jan Web. 26 Jan < Seneca, Tracey. "The Power of Language in Snow Crash and Babel 17." Howard Besser's Site. Mar Web. 26 Jan < Stephenson, Neal. Snow Crash. New York: Bantam, Print.