TOK Essay Title May 2025
Title 6: Does acquiring knowledge destroy our sense of wonder? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.
This TOK essay title makes students intrigued with the acquisition of knowledge and the sense of wonder, often seen as opposing and coexisting forces. Why are these concepts generally perceived as conflicting?
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Students need to be critically reflective on whether and how imagination facilitates the acquisition of knowledge. How can acquisition of knowledge make us more creative?- Such intriguing questions raised by this TOK essay title 6 make students reflect.
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In the natural sciences, where acquisition of knowledge is often validated through empirical evidence, looks for scientific logic than imaginative intuition to explain knowledge, such as reflecting on whether the aurora borealis might reduce the awe factor through its empirical validation or enhance our appreciation of new knowledge. What about reflecting on the arts as an area of knowledge (AOK) where acquiring knowledge on Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa might shift our wonder from her mystic smile to the cultural context of the painting. Students may wonder whether it is justified to claim that knowledge acquisition destroys wonder or redefines it.
TOK Essay Title May 2024
TOK Essay Title 6: Are we too quick to assume that the most recent evidence is inevitably the strongest? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.
Natural Sciences
Questions to Ponder:
- Does the pressure to publish new findings in scientific research inadvertently encourage a bias toward the most recent evidence?
- What are the ethical implications of disregarding older, yet still relevant, scientific data?
My Strong Suggestions:
- Defend Recency: Let’s face it, science evolves. New techniques and technologies enable us to observe phenomena more accurately than before. There’s merit in giving weight to the latest evidence.
- Question Recency: But hold on a second. New doesn’t always mean better. Sometimes, what’s recent is simply fashionable or aligned with current funding streams. Don’t forget the enduring contributions of older research.
Real-Life Examples:
- Advances in CRISPR technology may seem like the pinnacle of genetic research, but the foundation laid by earlier work in the Human Genome Project remains significant.
- The retraction of initially promising but ultimately flawed studies, such as some fast-tracked COVID-19 treatments, serves as a warning against recency bias.
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Ethics
Questions to Ponder:
- Are newer ethical theories inherently superior because they address contemporary issues?
- Do classic ethical frameworks like utilitarianism or deontological ethics lose their potency over time?
My Strong Suggestions:
- Champion Evolution: Ethical questions evolve with society. Current theories may be better suited to address issues like digital privacy, which didn’t even exist a century ago. So there’s value in the new.
- Respect Time-Tested Wisdom: However, some ethical quandaries are as old as humanity itself. The age of an ethical theory doesn’t necessarily diminish its applicability or depth.
Real-Life Examples:
- Contemporary bioethics tackles new challenges like gene editing and AI, but its foundation often lies in older philosophical traditions.
- The continued use of the Golden Rule—an ethical guideline present in various forms across numerous cultures and eras—as a basic principle of morality.
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