TOK Title 1

TOK TITLE 1 – THE MAGNIFYING GLASS

Looking at this topic through the magnified lens opens up a wide avenue of contestability on the acceptance and rejection of the knowledge claim based on trust. As I was intensely reflecting on the claim, pertinent questions started arising such as-

• Can claims be considered always trustworthy?
• What makes a claim to be treated as a knowledge than an information?
• What kind of evidences do a knower or receptor of knowledge look for when he or she is on the brink or threshold of beliefs to accept a claim?
• When can claims be rejected?

HOW DO WE CLAIM WHAT WE CLAIM? WHAT ARE THE PARAMETERS?

For a claimer, a claim is a definite statement with the element of certainty and we all claim many things almost every day. Food for thought! What are the influencers which guide us to claim? What about reasoning or emotions? For that matter, we cannot afford to neglect the individual and shared knowledge as
influencers.

EVIDENCES MATTER

How cogent is the evidence to back up our claim? Does trust form a premise for acceptance of ou claims?

HOW RATIONAL IS THE FILTRATE?

It’s quite rational to use your filter funnel to remove bias and subjectivity from the filtrate.

THROUGH THE CLAIMER’S AND KNOWER’S LENS

To do this a rational approach is to always critique the assertion from the point of view of the claimer and the knower or the receptor of the claim.

THE BLIND FAITH ILLUSION

So, if a knowledge claim is accepted by the knower, is it necessary that the most convincing influencer is trust? Is trust so firm and convincing? Or, is it unknowingly being miraged as blind faith?

WHAT WOKs CAN BE LINKED TO TRUST?

The nexus between trust and WOKs like emotion, reason, faith, and language can be reasonably analyzed.

ARE THE WOKs AFFECTING TRUST SUBJECT TO BIAS? UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES RELATIVISM AFFECT PERSONAL AND SHARED
KNOWLEDGE?

The WOKs might be subject to personal bias and discretion. They can be a fruit of personal experiences or socio-cultural impact. If WOKs are susceptible to bias, so is also trust. In that case, can trust be the parameter for acceptance of a claim? Let’s spin the thread of accepting a hypothesis based on trust in two areas of knowledge (AOKs).

KNOWLEDGE CLAIMS IN PSYCHOLOGY

Consider Psychology, under Human Sciences, where your trust in the information on the optimum use of the brain can be testified based on different evidences. No wonders you can also be soaked in an ‘echo chamber’.

KNOWLEDGE CLAIMS IN ARTS-

• How can we claim anything in the ARTS?
• Is it through our imagination, emotion, and sense perception?
• Does reasoning affect our acceptance of the creativity of an artwork created by an emerging achiever?
• In the name of creativity are ‘deep fakes’ or ‘image manipulation’ alluring you?
• Based on many such case studies a scrutinized analysis of this claim serves as an ice breaker to the students in their process of elucidating the different perspectives of the claimers and receptors.

Related: TOK TITLE 2 , TOK TITLE 3 , TOK TITLE4, TOK TITLE5 , TOK TITLE6