In the new TOK syllabus, emphasis is placed on the 12 key concepts. This is especially important in the new TOK Exhibition assessment task - the first assessment that TOK students will complete. It is very important to familiarise yourself with these concepts so you can use them consistently in your writing. I suggest coming up with your own definitions for each of the following concepts and maybe one or two examples from your personal life that can really showcase the importance of this concept to our interactions with knowledge.
The Key Concept
You may already have some idea about what these words mean, but think deeply about their importance towards knowledge. I have included some key concepts and some though provoking questions for you to think about.
Truth
In TOK, we define knowledge often as "justified, true belief". What do you think is the truth? If there are disagreements between two people about what is true, how do we know which person is correct?
Perhaps truth is not as objective as we first thought and that there can be more than one truth depending on the person or community of knowers who are creating and interacting with knowledge. So that also means that what counts as knowledge could differ depending on what community we ask.
Justification
You can make an argument that something is true, but you must justify all arguments. These claims only become true when there is sufficient justification. What counts as justification? Again, it depends on the community in which you belong in.
Do you believe in karma? Some people justify it with their own personal experiences with this concept. How do people justify holding on to superstitions? It is up to each individual knower to determine whether some justifications are reliable and hence, whether it can even be justification in the first place.
Perspective
This is quite straightforward but also quite complex. How do you define each of these twelve key concepts could reveal that we all have different perspectives. Ask around the people in your TOK class and you will realise that not all of them will have the same definitions for the concepts as you.
Can having many different perspectives be advantageous or disadvantageous? Is it beneficial that communities of knowers form based on the shared perspectives they have on knowledge?
Responsibility
How is responsibility related to knowledge? We all have some form of responsibility. As students, you have a responsibility to go to school and complete your academic studies. How can you be a responsible knower? Think about the role of people who make knowledge, the people who pass them on. How important is it that your teacher has the right knowledge so that they can teach you? As a person who is acquiring knowledge in school, you have an obligation to check that you are learning the right thing. How can you verify that?
Looking at the wider world, what is the responsibility of the global community of knowers? With so much fake news going around, is it the responsibility of those who produce such false claims, or our responsibility to identify them?
Lastly...
Here's a thought provoking question:
What are the implications of not being able to determine universal definition for the TOK concepts?
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